I introduced Penny to my mom’s Basset Hounds, and they hit it off right away! I’ve never seen Penny play so much! She had a really good time. On the days where the weather is nice, we go on longer walks which Penny really enjoys. She also enjoys just being outside, and she has a tree that she likes to lay next to. I took her down to the walking trails by the river, and she wasn’t too sure about the water. She seemed to be studying those waves pretty hard to figure out what they were doing! Penny has a lot of curiosity, and I am always going on the Internet to find enrichment ideas to keep her occupied. Her favorite game is tug-of-war, and I can usually get her interested in playing that at any time! Penny doesn’t have a gender preference when it comes to humans or dogs. She does have a preference for being around smaller dogs, though. She gets a long great with our resident Teacup Yorkie and my mom’s Bassets, and she made a friend with the neighbor’s Beagle mix down the street. Whenever we walk by the Beagle's house, Penny whines and looks around for her friend. I can tell she is disappointed when we don’t see him. Penny is having fun and enjoying life!

Penny with one of her Christmas presents, Mr Plushy

Penny has started smiling! As you can see in one of her pictures, Penny has a big, beautiful grin on her pretty face. She just started doing this a couple of weeks ago. She is just so happy to be loved! Penny's anxiety has gotten better now that she has a predictable schedule. We have noticed she will grab something off of the counter if she thinks it will be tasty, and if the aforementioned treat is in a container of any type, that will get eaten as well. Penny has an incredibly long reach, so even when we think we have moved something far enough back that she can't get to it, we will come home and find only crumbs left! We have started just putting everything inside a cupboard or on top of the fridge. I suspect that she has Go-Go-Gadget Paws, although this hasn't been confirmed yet.

Penny loves playing tug-of-war. If I get the toy away from her and throw it, she will run to it and jump on top of it, then pick it up and run to her bed and start chewing on it. She mostly likes to play inside the house. I've tried to get her interested in chasing a ball or playing tug-of-war outside, but she is more interested in sniffing and exploring. Penny loves going on walks. She is so curious about everything and loves to be able to explore. Since she also loves just sitting next to me (or on me) and cuddling, she would make a perfect pet for someone no matter what their activity level is.

Penny has been my foster dog for about 2 weeks now and she fit right into our family from day one. As long as she is with her humans, her world is good and she is content. When I come home from work and sit down to take off my shoes, she comes to me and puts her paws around my waist and lays her head on my stomach and hugs me. I look forward to a Penny hug all day! She does have heartworm and the treatments have been very painful for her to endure. Even though she has been in a lot of pain, she has remained her same sweet self the whole time. She really is an adaptable dog. She would do well in an active family or a more laid-back family. She gets along with our resident dog and our cat and plays with them both when the cat is in the mood!

I can tell she gets a little nervous when she sees a new dog for the first time and she will bark, but I’ve been working on redirecting her when she does this and she is getting better; and once she is familiar with a dog, she doesn’t bark anymore if they meet, like when she and the neighbor dog are out at the same time.

Penny has separation anxiety, so she would need a family where someone could be home with her or, at the most, only worked part time.

She likes to have her own special spots in the house she can go to. We have her dog bed in the living room and her blanket by my bed, and she has requisitioned the cat’s bed and does her best to fit into it!

Penny is a loyal, loving, intelligent family dog. When you see the love in her eyes when she looks at you, it makes you realize how lucky you are to have this dog in your life and how special she really is.