Penny's first foster mom

Penny and I ran into her first foster mom when we were at Ideal Pet Stop today. Synthia saw her and her eyes teared up. "Oh Penny," she said, "you've grown up and you're such a gorgeous girl." And, Penny was so happy to see her and her partner. She played and teased them, pulling unbought toys out of a basket and wrassling with them.

Synthia was Penny's foster mom from the time Penny was 6-8 weeks until she was about 9 months. She remembers Penny as being a little sweet bundle of love. When she gave Penny up, Penny was almost as tall as she is now, but just a stick of a girl. She didn't have nearly the big head that she now has or the wide chest. When I got her, she weighed just over 50 lbs.

Synthia clarified Penny's beginnings. The north end animal shelter (Everett? Mount Vernon??) called the Pitbull Project after three puppies were found stuffed in a backpack in a hotel room. The hotel guests had OD'd. Synthia thought that the people who OD'd were a mom and a daughter combination.

The three pups had mutilated ears. Synthia had been told they had been cut off with scissors and cauterized with lighters. How awful!

Her beginnings do explain some of her fearfulness of the unknown, but do not explain her dislike of most tall, African-American, men. Or tall men with tattoos.

Catching up

Penny has one more week of antibiotics to go -- at least that's my count for 8 weeks of antibiotics. She saw Dr. Walker last week and got the ok to start walking again. Still no off leash activity, but she's up to 15 minutes.

She's back at Ideal Pet Stop during the day and with me at night. She's sneaking onto the bed when she gets cold in the middle of the night. I wake to find all the covers pulled off and that she's sprawled out on most of the bed. Me and the cats have just one corner.

She's been curious about our little house guest, Rainier, a rescue from a feral colony. He's fearful, but at the same time wants to play with Penny''s tail. Then, when she tries to play back, he runs away.

Penny last Saturday with me at a Pet Expo at Le Chic Pet in Issaquah. She was pretty well behaved -- not as good as a Delta dog, but we were there for7 hours and she did just fine. SHe was the only big headed dog there!