Skip to main content

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! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Snow Days....for Real

  Expectation Reality Screaming yelling and fighting by 8:30 a.m.  Mom chugging coffee.  Dad trying to have work calls while trying to pretend there isn't screaming in the background. Dog paw prints all over the floors.  Instant headache.  Thinking about having a good cry.  Kicking the kids outside.  Kid takes snowball to the face. More tears.  All of the deep breaths. Trying to maintain my work ethic.  Longing for spring and realizing it's very far away.  Wishing I was in my quiet office.  Setting a time to drink wine. 

Dancing Around Your Thoughts

Today I looked in the mirror and thought "good grief my eyes look so tired today." It's one of those days where there's just not enough concealer and you need that second or third cup of coffee. Most of my blogs are typically silly and about rocking the mom life. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love it and wouldn't change it for the world. But we are all human and there are just certain things that can start to eat at you when kept within. Sometimes when you hold your emotions in, because you literally can't let it out in front of your littles, it can make you feel like you are going to explode. It can make you freaking crazy. In those moments, I tend to take mine and channel them into a good sweat. But sometimes we just need to talk things out. One of the toughest aspects of my current stage of mom life is when you have something on your heart. Whether you are dealing with some crazy emotions, someone you care about has hurt your feelings, you've...

The Last Firsts

At this time last year, this day felt so far away! My girls are turning one in just two days! Some might say "We made it!" And while I'm so incredibly proud of not only myself and my husband for raising two precious baby girls at the same time, I'm also so proud of these two beauties and who they are becoming. This time last year I couldn't wait for them to arrive. I was miserably pregnant, hot and just ready for the next phase in our lives. Now I look back and think to myself, that was the last time that I would ever experience pregnancy. Everything that we've experienced over this last whirlwind of a year was for the last time. I remember leaving the maternity ward in a wheelchair with our new bundles in tow. I looked back and my eyes filled with tears, because having spent so much time there last year for testing, I got to know the nurses and I realized that I wouldn't be back.  Everyone told us how challenging this would be; that raising two babies w...