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Betty's Story

 Let me preface with this. The Zehnle family was not looking for a dog. For over a decade, I remained firm in my stance against getting a big dog. The commitment, costs, added responsibility to our already loaded plate, my need for clean, etc, were all reasons why I never thought that adding a big dog to our family would be a good idea. I also believe that sometimes four legged family members find you at the right time, when you are not even looking. I'll admit, hearing Michael's half of that phone call made my skin crawl at the idea. However, I saw his face. And in that moment, I knew it was happening. I can't be the villain forever and he was willing to step up and take care of her. 

After that phone call, I had the next couple of weeks to wrap my head around the idea. Ready or not, Betty was coming to live with The Zehnles. I'll be honest, I lived in total denial for those couple of weeks and prayed that things would fall through. That Saturday morning arrived though (along with a snowstorm of course) and in walked a wagging tail and floppy eared chocolate lab puppy. She was 17 weeks old and didn't take long to love her new family. My one big ask was to be able to name her. I chose Betty after the late Betty White and one of my favorite T-Swift songs. I think it's fitting given the personality she's already shown us. 

While I don't know the exact story of where she was rescued from, I do know that the circumstances were bad. Think dirty, covered in her own you-know-what and a place no dog deserves to be. However, we weren't the family to rescue her initially. Betty came to us from another family who, for a short time, tried to give her a loving home. He is a single father of two children, both who have special needs. Their therapist recommended getting a dog. However the bigger she grew and the more puppy energy she had, the more terrified the two children became of her. It was causing them more emotional harm than good and the added stress was too much to handle. Can we take a moment to give props to this dad? I can't even imagine! 

This father did the right thing. He sought out to find a loving home and connected with us through mutual friends. When I heard this story, I knew we couldn't say no. The father asked nothing from us other than to hear more about our home dynamic and make sure that we were a good fit. He even took her to her next round of shots so that she would be fully ready to go. While I wasn't thrilled to add a dog to our family, I'm also not made of stone. I'm very thankful that she wasn't abandoned somewhere. Michael drove to pick her up and bring her home forever. We surprised our kids who were over

the moon to learn that they were getting a puppy! 

We're over a week in to having Betty and every day gets better. I cringe at times, but she's very sweet, very smart and she's working her tail off (no pun intended) to win her new mom over. So far, the toughest aspects are that we have to keep her and my chihuahua separate and she still struggles with potty training, which is disgusting. I know she will get the hang of it, so I'm trying to remain patient. She's finally sleeping through the night in her kennel, which I'm very thankful for. I value sleep so much at this stage of my life, so going without it was a challenge. She's learning not to be on the furniture and keeps us laughing with her clumsiness and sudden puppy zoomies! 

Sometimes she does the funniest things. For example, she has a love of wine. I should clarify. She hasn't actually consumed wine, but she loves the smell and is in my face when I try and enjoy a glass in the evening. I guess that's evidence that one day she may just win me over. Maybe. Just maybe. She's also terrified of the robot vacuum and rug cleaner, which she'll have to get used to having me as her mom. Eventually I will relax when I can trust having her around, she's fully potty-trained and knows her boundaries. In the mean time, I will enjoy the little moments that make me smile, keep scratching her belly and telling her she's pretty! And I look forward to the day when I don't have to freeze my booty off taking her on walks and outside. Come on spring! 

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