Welcome Callie: Welcome Besse

Besse arrived yesterday. Truth be told, yesterday wasn't the first time we met her. My daughter and I transported Besse from IL to WI a few weeks ago along with half a dozen other dogs. Besse made an impression on both of us and lucky for us we happened to have an opening at the "inn."

It's probably hard to tell Besse's size from the pictures so I'll tell you that she's about 14-15 inches tall to the shoulder and is about 16 pounds. We believe that she's a puppy and is probably about 6-12 months old. I will tell you that her legs are long and her feet are small so my guess is that she probably won't get much taller but she will probably fill out a pound or so.

She is a wonderful girl. That's why we liked her so much when we first met her. She is doing very well with my three dogs. Even when my fussy male, Miles, gave her a few warning barks on the first day she was fine with it. She has enjoyed following my standard poodle, Missy, around. They both look so elegant together with their long legs. Besse is just short enough that she can fit underneath Missy without having to crouch. It's funny to see. Why go around when you can go through?

She is doing very well with our whole family, me, my husband and my two girls (11 and 13). She walks fairly well on a leash. I think the whole leash thing is new for her so she pulls some and doesn't stay to one side but it's not too bad. We took two walks yesterday and two walks today. She was unfazed by the whirling lawn mowers and racing bicycles that we passed. She did nicely.

Last night she sat on the sofa between my husband and I while we watched a little TV. She slept. At bed time we put her in the crate in our room and she slept soundly all night. She did not get up until I got up this morning. She made no messes in her crate. In fact, in the two days she's been here she has not had any accidents in the house. I don't know that she's fully housebroken but I'll say that she knows to do her business outside and has been doing everything in the back yard and on our walks so far.

I work from home so today she hung out with me and the dogs while I worked. She chewed on some toys. She walked in the yard. She rested. She slept on my lap while I was on a conference call (shh..don't tell). She went on a walk with Miles and me. She had a nice day and was well behaved. She is a pup so does need things that she can chew.

We don't really know what kind of mix she is. We know that her hair was longer and that it's been shaved because of mats. I can tell you that she is black with little specks of white and had a white "bib" on her chest. Her hair is wiry and she does shed. I haven't heard her bark much but I would say she's talkative. For example, today when I was getting the food ready for the dogs she let out an "a-roooo." It was very cute and reminded me of the schnauzers I grew up with. Who knows, she might have some schnauzer in her. She also made some little "yawning" noises when my girls got home from school. I think it was her happy "roo" noise. Again, it kind of reminded me of a yawn. Very cute.

She is a puppy so doesn't know her manners yet. She will jump up when she's excited and she does not know how to sit. But, I believe she's a smart girl and she will learn these new things. For example, yesterday I closed the screen door on our sliding glass doors. So, when Besse tried to go back inside the house..she bumped into the screen door. She then waited until I opened it for her. Well, today she stopped before she got to where the screen door was and looked back at me as if to say "well, are you going to open it for me." The screen door wasn't closed so she could have walked right in but she learned from that one event yesterday that the screen door is hard to see and it can prevent you from getting in the house. Smart girl.

Here is what her Alabama foster mom had to say about her....
MY STORY: Bessie still has a lot of puppy energy in her!
Still working on house training.
Walks pretty well on leash.
She is very submissive!
Interested in getting to know my cat, perhaps to play, but my cat says NO WAY!
Loves to play with my small dog, Cricket (10 lbs).
She sleeps in her crate overnight, and goes in crate if I will be gone for more than an hour.

I would agree that she's submissive (she will roll over when I try to pick her up sometimes). You've read my comments about house training...so far so good in our house. I don't have a cat so can't tell you about that. I would say that her energy level is typical for a pup about 9 months old. Some play time, some walk time and some chew time and this girl is tuckered out.

Here are some pictures and videos from the last two days. We will add more info as we get to know this sweet girl better.

Thanks for reading and thanks for thinking rescue. (Shh...I must close the laptop quietly....she is sleeping next to me as I type this).

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF BESSE