Meet Betty

As you may or may not know, my dog Coco passed away three days after Christmas last year. I was heartbroken, and I didn't know when I would be ready to own another dog.

The past couple of months, I wished that I could have another dog to love. But I didn't go and look for a dog mainly because I was afraid my beloved but grumpy cat, Felix, would be too upset with the presence of another dog. He loved Coco, but he had known Coco since she was a puppy (Felix is over 14 years old).

So, I figured if I was meant to have another dog anytime soon, that God would bring the right dog into my life. Well, that happened this past weekend.

On Saturday, my sister was driving down a busy highway between her house and mine and found a skinny, terrified female Black Lab standing in the middle of the road. She had obviously just weaned some puppies, because her teats were hanging down. My sister could not leave this poor dog to be possibly hit by a car (cars had been dodging her), so she called the dog and she jumped right in her car. My sister took the dog to her home.

Later that day, my Mom and I went over to my sister's house to see the dog. I found a skinny but beautiful, gentle creature with a sleek, black, shiny coat. She was a bit skittish at first, but when we spoke gently to her and petted her, she automatically trusted us.

This dog, even skinny, is a big dog. My sister said that she would keep the dog if we didn't want her, but that we were welcome to take her if we wanted to. My Mom and I discussed it. My Mom was reluctant, but I proposed that we just give her a chance -- that we bring her to my house and see how things work out. The main thing I was worried about was the cat.

We brought her to my house on Sunday afternoon. I walked her into the back yard and she immediately started rolling in the grass. She seemed hot, so my Mom got a hose (since we were about to give her a bath anyway) and she was very eager to be wet down -- she just loved it. We gave her a bath and she seemed to really enjoy it. To make a long story short, everything has worked out wonderfully and we have decided to keep her.

While my cat gave her the evil eye and hissed if she tried to bump noses with him, he did not run away and hide or anything. (Felix is not a house cat -- he lives on the back porch and in the back yard.) Yesterday, he slapped at her and even chased her, but I noticed this evening that he seemed to be more at ease with her. The dog seems to pay more attention to my cockatiel Monkeyboy than to the cat. This naturally scares the bird. We tell her "No!" when she goes near the cage, and she turns away.

I took her for a vet visit yesterday and she got her shots and they took blood from her to test for heartworms. She seemed wobbly on her back legs the first couple of days after my sister found her, but they checked her legs and found nothing wrong. She seems to be walking more normally today. At the vet, she weighed in at 83 lbs. The doctor estimated that she is about 3 or 4 years old.

I found out today that she does have heartworms, so she will need to be treated for them over the next few weeks. I'm giving her antibiotics right now, and they will start the treatments next week. I want to get her spayed, but I will have to delay that until after she is rid of the heartworms.

I don't know what kind of a life she had before my sister found her, but I have a feeling it wasn't a good one. I've been checking the lost and found in the paper and haven't seen anything. I don't think I will.

I named her Betty and here are some pictures. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

Betty is a wonderful dog. She's very sweet, affectionate, smart and she minds well. Thank God my sister found her and saved her from an awful fate. And thank God for bringing her into my life.