Penelope, Foster 4/30/10-8/4/10

I ♥ Penelope.

As a foster family, once we hear who is next coming our way from the south, the first thing we do is check out their Petfinder bio. It provides some insight as to the dog's personality, but the fact is that we just never know what life will be like after picking up the dog from the kennel.

It's been five weeks, and Penelope has been nothing but a sweetheart. Aside from being house-trained and well-mannered, she is a perfect, loving companion to our little family. She is just a 45 pound ball of silky, fluffy love. It amazes me that any dog with such a gentle temperament has been available for adoption since last year!

When I arrived at the kennel that Friday afternoon to bring Penelope home, the kennel manager let her out of her crate and she padded softly over to me, immediately looking for love. We walked outside and I tried to coax her into the car, but she just kept looking at me like I was some sort of alien trying to lure her into my spacecraft. We were making no progress with encouraging words, so I just bent down and hoisted her into the car. She stood on the backseat until I got in the car and promptly sat as if she were a person, looking contentedly out the window.

Upon arriving home, we let Penelope into the yard and went inside to let Gabe and Sam out as well. We opened the door and Sam went flying off the deck, Gabe a little slower, but still close behind, and all I could think of was poor Penelope! As she was looking for us, she probably heard a stampede, only to turn her head and see two little maniacs flying towards her. But, good girl as she is, the introduction went well and after some exploring around the yard, we went inside.


Penelope has proved to be an extremely easy dog, who wants nothing more than love, attention and some playtime. She made her transition really easy for us. Looking at her Petfinder information again, I was surprised to see that she was surrendered to a high-kill shelter in the south by a family who said she had too much energy for them. Out of curiosity, I spoke with her foster mom in Tennessee to see if she had any further information, and apparently her previous owner was an elderly woman. Despite being some sort of Australian Shepherd mix, this girl has no more than a medium activity level. She walks well on a leash and just lopes along at whatever speed is good for you. If you're resting on the couch, she will rest beside you on the floor. If you're outside playing with a tennis ball, you better believe she is ready to fetch and jump, and she certainly holds her own playing with dogs of all sizes. She is amazingly gentle, often taking a submissive play position, with the smaller dogs. She is unfailingly happy to do whatever we're doing, as long as we are together.

The weekend of Mother's day was a meet and greet event in Marshfield at a pet adoption day sponsored by the Marshfield High School. The weather was miserable that day, constant thunder, lightning and torrential downpours the entire morning and most of the afternoon, but it was still a great turnout! About half of the Great dogs at the event were adopted as a result, but even though many people expressed interest in her, there were no applications for Penelope. I was surprised, but not at all concerned. As always, the right family needs some time to find her.

I realize that I am gushing, but I can't say enough good things about "Penne Pasta", as I have become accustomed to calling her. As I type this, she is laying on the couch near my feet, my loyal friend ever by my side. She has never met a person she doesn't like, she adores other dogs, and was very gentle around my friend's 9 month old baby when they visited one evening. It is so easy to walk her and whenever we need to run out to the store, we just pop the three dogs in the car and one of us hangs out with them while the other goes in to get what we need. We went to Tufts one evening earlier this week to give them all a chance to stretch their legs, socialize with other dogs and really run free, and I did something that I've never done with another foster dog. I let her off leash, and she was very well-behaved and responsive to her name. She stuck right by us and came right back when called. She also thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the other dogs and romping around with them in the tall grass, which is starting to resemble wheat fields and swallows up my two little dogs when they venture into it.


There is meet and greet next weekend, and I have my "paws crossed" that Penelope's new forever family walks through the door. I can't imagine why people look past her, but the ones who take the time to get to know her will see how beautiful she is, and their lives will be richer and fuller for having such a faithful companion as an addition to their family.