Betty's Story: Part 3, A New Home
So, I plan to be "brief" in the backstory parts 1 and 2.
Part 1, If you don't know how we "acquired" Betty - she ran into our backyard through a hole in the fence on Thanksgiving Night 2005. We decided to keep her after finding the original owner - a college kid down the street who sort of had things out-of-control with Betty. We renamed her "Betty" (she was "Joy" but didn't really answer to it - she was energetic and a little wild).
So ends, part 1 of Betty's story.
Part 2, begins with us keeping Betty and taking care of her up until March of 2008. The plot in the middle involves Betty escaping a few times, initially, until we figured out how to tether her down in the backyard and keeping the front door tightly closed. She would "rahr, rahr, rahr!" with Puck (open mouths gnashing teeth together - see photo) for seemingly hours on end on the dining room rug. She took over Puck's dogbed until we bought her her own... then she took over our bed until we installed a baby gate before the birth of Evie in July 2007 (she still sneaks in, however). Betty has been on road trips to North Carolina and stayed with other friends when we traveled. She has learned how to fetch a ball, sleep in the bathtub on rainy days, to "wait!" before rushing to her dinner bowl, to pee on command, and how to "go to bed!" while in our care. She has had 2 bad teeth extracted (just last week) but otherwise been in excellent health.
Betty, will be missed. I know we are are feeling the strains of a small house with too many legs so its hard to imagine missing her... but I know Puck will, eventually, when he gets lonely in this house by himself. And, I'll miss her when I am out back and anticipate a ball rolling in between my feet. And Evie will when there's no one to lick her outstretched hands. And, yes, even Rob will miss her when he has to go back to cleaning up dog poop in the yard because there is no one to eat any of it.
Part 3, (See photo of Kirby and Betty above - do you think she knows its another dog? ha ha!) We have gone back and forth and back and forth (endlessly) for over a year now. Do we or do we not get "rid" of Betty?
I really couldn't walk her the last part of my pregnancy (I could barely stand up without losing my balance as it was without having Betty pulling on a leash). And, I couldn't play ball with her (I couldn't even tie my shoes!). After Evie was born, it was too hot to play with her and it was really too much with the baby using all my energy. Then, after going back to work, it was too much to get home and make dinner let alone take a dog out to play or for a walk. Then, it got cold. Oh, *sigh* you see where this is all going, don't you?
Betty has slowly become more and more confined and crazy because of it. Her craziness makes us then lose our cool. We have been at breaking points far too often this past year. So, it was with heavy heart that I stop threatening and begin seeking a new owner.
I felt like - a failure.
I emailed everyone and emailed all my co-workers, nothing. I contacted the "Lab Rescue of Richmond" who offered a courtesy posting since she was not full blood Lab. Over a month went by with people inquiring but having no follow through.
Then E contacted me and wanted to meet Betty. She and her husband, A, came over to meet Betty last week Sunday. They excitedly talked about their 6-year-old Golden Retriever (boy) at home and how he's just like what I posted about Betty. A match made in heaven?
She showed me a pic of Kirby and its so funny to think that Betty will be going to a home with a dog that looks like Puck. A house like this one... only, with less stress, hopefully.
E and A played ball out back before taking Betty for a walk. If anyone would walk away from Betty, it would be her crazy ZIG-ZAG walk that would do it. Well, they returned unphased. Shocker!
We phone tagged and emailed all week long.
Today, Saturday March 1, I drove Betty over for a play date. E and A have an out-of-town engagement and asked that we keep Betty until next weekend. Sure, I thought, but let's make sure they even get along first before I sit and think this will all come to fruition.
E was out back with Kirby and she opened the wood fence. Pounce, pounce! Kirby was so excited! They ran and played! E and A's yard has big trees and is... HUGE! They actively play ball with Kirby so the lawn is a bit worn in the back - which is great for Betty! I'd hate to take her to a manicured lawn only to have her tear it all up.
Kirby brought me his ball (oh, it was disgusting!). He promptly dropped it and rolled on it. A tells me that Kirby will slobber all over it and roll on it till he has stripes of slimy dirt on his back. Excellent! Betty rolls and gets dirty, too! I can't believe the dirt doesn't make them cringe like it does me... this is fantastic!
Kirby apparently foams when he's excited. He worked up quite a lather before I left Betty in their hands for a few hours. I was very, very hopeful.
Upon returning, everyone was inside. This place is HUGE! Its a tri-level house complete with one big open living room (no coffee table in sight. There's just a big 8'X10' rug with couches against the wall). Apparently, Kirby likes his space. Perfect! They'll have a wrestling pit!
Kirby also has an orthopedic bed on each floor since tearing his ACL a few years ago and undergoing knee surgery. He eats organic food since mom and dad got scared with all the Chinese dog food issues last year. WOW, Betty will sleep and eat like royalty! I looked at Betty and thought of her flat, lifeless cotton dog bed in our dining room and how we throw lettuce on the floor for her to eat. Shit, will she miss us at all?
Betty walked to A sitting in his chair and wanted a face rub. Betty then farted. Great, now that she's going to clear the room - it will all be over.
Nope. E and A tried to figure out if it was Betty OR Kirby since he is apparently, stinky, too! Dear Gawd, could this be happening? Betty has found the PERFECT MATCH.
We talked about our lives a bit and found out that we were a bit of a bizarro world couple. He likes Superman and she's an artist. It really got more and more odd as the conversation continued but I'll spare you all, gentle readers. Let's just say that I might need to hang onto their contact info and see if we could hang out sometime in the near future.
Betty came over for a face rub before walking off into their sunroom (one last walk through). Kirby came over and sat on my foot and leaned into my legs. It was truly a great expirience. This place is a resort for dogs. Betty is blessed to go with these people, I mean this truly. E and A treat their dog like a true member of the family. They even really love having multiple dogs over for playtime (they are having a March Madness party the weekend Betty goes home with them because they are both Pisces with all Pisces friends! Everyone brings over their kids and dogs and whoop it up. I told them about the Aquarius Party... again, bizarro world!)
So, Betty and I decided to roll on out. On my way out I asked if they would change her name. They said no, they liked it. Good, I thought, she knows it and I like it, too. Then they said that they already bought her name tag for her. She's apparently all set up and ready to move on in!
Wow. Betty - you are one lucky dog who's life just keeps getting better and better with age, I swear.
Love ya Betts.
Part 1, If you don't know how we "acquired" Betty - she ran into our backyard through a hole in the fence on Thanksgiving Night 2005. We decided to keep her after finding the original owner - a college kid down the street who sort of had things out-of-control with Betty. We renamed her "Betty" (she was "Joy" but didn't really answer to it - she was energetic and a little wild).
So ends, part 1 of Betty's story.
Part 2, begins with us keeping Betty and taking care of her up until March of 2008. The plot in the middle involves Betty escaping a few times, initially, until we figured out how to tether her down in the backyard and keeping the front door tightly closed. She would "rahr, rahr, rahr!" with Puck (open mouths gnashing teeth together - see photo) for seemingly hours on end on the dining room rug. She took over Puck's dogbed until we bought her her own... then she took over our bed until we installed a baby gate before the birth of Evie in July 2007 (she still sneaks in, however). Betty has been on road trips to North Carolina and stayed with other friends when we traveled. She has learned how to fetch a ball, sleep in the bathtub on rainy days, to "wait!" before rushing to her dinner bowl, to pee on command, and how to "go to bed!" while in our care. She has had 2 bad teeth extracted (just last week) but otherwise been in excellent health.
Betty, will be missed. I know we are are feeling the strains of a small house with too many legs so its hard to imagine missing her... but I know Puck will, eventually, when he gets lonely in this house by himself. And, I'll miss her when I am out back and anticipate a ball rolling in between my feet. And Evie will when there's no one to lick her outstretched hands. And, yes, even Rob will miss her when he has to go back to cleaning up dog poop in the yard because there is no one to eat any of it.
Part 3, (See photo of Kirby and Betty above - do you think she knows its another dog? ha ha!) We have gone back and forth and back and forth (endlessly) for over a year now. Do we or do we not get "rid" of Betty?
I really couldn't walk her the last part of my pregnancy (I could barely stand up without losing my balance as it was without having Betty pulling on a leash). And, I couldn't play ball with her (I couldn't even tie my shoes!). After Evie was born, it was too hot to play with her and it was really too much with the baby using all my energy. Then, after going back to work, it was too much to get home and make dinner let alone take a dog out to play or for a walk. Then, it got cold. Oh, *sigh* you see where this is all going, don't you?
Betty has slowly become more and more confined and crazy because of it. Her craziness makes us then lose our cool. We have been at breaking points far too often this past year. So, it was with heavy heart that I stop threatening and begin seeking a new owner.
I felt like - a failure.
I emailed everyone and emailed all my co-workers, nothing. I contacted the "Lab Rescue of Richmond" who offered a courtesy posting since she was not full blood Lab. Over a month went by with people inquiring but having no follow through.
Then E contacted me and wanted to meet Betty. She and her husband, A, came over to meet Betty last week Sunday. They excitedly talked about their 6-year-old Golden Retriever (boy) at home and how he's just like what I posted about Betty. A match made in heaven?
She showed me a pic of Kirby and its so funny to think that Betty will be going to a home with a dog that looks like Puck. A house like this one... only, with less stress, hopefully.
E and A played ball out back before taking Betty for a walk. If anyone would walk away from Betty, it would be her crazy ZIG-ZAG walk that would do it. Well, they returned unphased. Shocker!
We phone tagged and emailed all week long.
Today, Saturday March 1, I drove Betty over for a play date. E and A have an out-of-town engagement and asked that we keep Betty until next weekend. Sure, I thought, but let's make sure they even get along first before I sit and think this will all come to fruition.
E was out back with Kirby and she opened the wood fence. Pounce, pounce! Kirby was so excited! They ran and played! E and A's yard has big trees and is... HUGE! They actively play ball with Kirby so the lawn is a bit worn in the back - which is great for Betty! I'd hate to take her to a manicured lawn only to have her tear it all up.
Kirby brought me his ball (oh, it was disgusting!). He promptly dropped it and rolled on it. A tells me that Kirby will slobber all over it and roll on it till he has stripes of slimy dirt on his back. Excellent! Betty rolls and gets dirty, too! I can't believe the dirt doesn't make them cringe like it does me... this is fantastic!
Kirby apparently foams when he's excited. He worked up quite a lather before I left Betty in their hands for a few hours. I was very, very hopeful.
Upon returning, everyone was inside. This place is HUGE! Its a tri-level house complete with one big open living room (no coffee table in sight. There's just a big 8'X10' rug with couches against the wall). Apparently, Kirby likes his space. Perfect! They'll have a wrestling pit!
Kirby also has an orthopedic bed on each floor since tearing his ACL a few years ago and undergoing knee surgery. He eats organic food since mom and dad got scared with all the Chinese dog food issues last year. WOW, Betty will sleep and eat like royalty! I looked at Betty and thought of her flat, lifeless cotton dog bed in our dining room and how we throw lettuce on the floor for her to eat. Shit, will she miss us at all?
Betty walked to A sitting in his chair and wanted a face rub. Betty then farted. Great, now that she's going to clear the room - it will all be over.
Nope. E and A tried to figure out if it was Betty OR Kirby since he is apparently, stinky, too! Dear Gawd, could this be happening? Betty has found the PERFECT MATCH.
We talked about our lives a bit and found out that we were a bit of a bizarro world couple. He likes Superman and she's an artist. It really got more and more odd as the conversation continued but I'll spare you all, gentle readers. Let's just say that I might need to hang onto their contact info and see if we could hang out sometime in the near future.
Betty came over for a face rub before walking off into their sunroom (one last walk through). Kirby came over and sat on my foot and leaned into my legs. It was truly a great expirience. This place is a resort for dogs. Betty is blessed to go with these people, I mean this truly. E and A treat their dog like a true member of the family. They even really love having multiple dogs over for playtime (they are having a March Madness party the weekend Betty goes home with them because they are both Pisces with all Pisces friends! Everyone brings over their kids and dogs and whoop it up. I told them about the Aquarius Party... again, bizarro world!)
So, Betty and I decided to roll on out. On my way out I asked if they would change her name. They said no, they liked it. Good, I thought, she knows it and I like it, too. Then they said that they already bought her name tag for her. She's apparently all set up and ready to move on in!
Wow. Betty - you are one lucky dog who's life just keeps getting better and better with age, I swear.
Love ya Betts.
posted by Brooke Ullman at 8:37 PM
3 comments
