I love this silly girl so very much.
Penny’s been with us for about a year and a half now.
She’s fully settled into life and the routine. She’s healthy. She’s an absolute delight of a dog–with a handful of quirks that make her uniquely Penny.
Looking back to when she came home to us the week after Christmas in 2023, you can see the worry on her face in every picture. You can see little scabby bite marks on her muzzle, and her milk was still in.
Her nails were too long (they still are–she HATES nail trims), and she constantly flinched, pancaked, or fled if someone stretched or stepped over the baby gate or tossed a ball.
Despite it all, despite the cruelty and neglect she faced, Penny is the sweetest, gentlest, calmest little angel who ever walked this earth. She will go anywhere, do anything, meet anyone, and wag her tail the entire time.
When once we celebrated getting her to walk to the end of our driveway without getting scared, now when she sees her leash come out, she dances around with joy.
Truly, Penny is a magical little pup.
She’s also super weird. (:
Penny’s got some quirks that keep us on our toes.
A year and a half in, and she still won’t walk down the front hall of our house or enter the dining room. She only goes into the bathroom when she’s really, really frightened, and she sits on the bath mat and waits for someone to come collect her.
She’s a resource guarder, which makes sense considering her background, but she can never finish a whole bully stick or dental chew, so she hides them in the corners of the couch. Since Penny’s been here, all the couches and chairs in our living room are totally destroyed from her digging into them to hide her spoils. Now, though, we have to keep a tally on who has what where and move the resources so she doesn’t guard them against Stola.
She walks so slowly that people often mistake her for a senior dog, even though she’s only 3-4 years old.
“Awww, what a precious old pup,” people say.
“No, she’s just kinda lazy.”
Penny adores Stola. They get along beautifully, thank goodness, but Penny tries to “mama” her a little too much. She’ll lick Stola until we stop her or Stola leaves. (She tries to do that to people, too. Her favorite? Going for your armpit. Be forewarned if you come to our house wearing a tank top!)
On a hot day, Penny loves to curl up in a patch of dirt and bake herself under the hot sun. The rest of the time, her favorite place to sleep is on a blanket inside the closet in John’s office. I think it makes her feel safe to cuddle up in a small, mostly-enclosed space.
I recently shared a story on Substack about Penny making friends with an older gentleman at our public library. She’s like that everywhere she goes. She sidles up to the worker at Lowe’s who happens to need a hug that day. She curls up next to Violet when she’s had a tough day at school. She wags her tail at kids at the playground and makes them laugh. I think Penny will make an incredible therapy dog someday. I just need the time to train with her, but she’s truly a natural.
(Full disclosure: ALL my training time is with Stola now. Penny is so rock solid in her personality that I can let behaviors and cues slide… for now, at least.)
She’s a unicorn, that’s for sure. She just happens to be a super quirky one!
What quirks does your dog have? Anything you accommodate because it’s just your pup’s personality? I’d love to know in the comments!
Also, my book is NOW AVAILABLE for pre-order from anywhere books are sold with my girl Penny gracing the cover! Click the image below to see several retailer options, and THANK YOU for your support!
