Entered: 03/03/2013
Status: Adopted
Age: 10
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 38 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Washington, DC
Health: UTD, HW-, healthy weight accomplished, history of occasional ear infections, mild age-related hearing loss
Temperament: Good with people of all ages, good with other dogs, good with cats
Update 05/08/2013: “The biggest joy in Bethany’s life is taking a walk.”
What a sweetheart Bethany is! Her foster mom can only talk about her in superlatives. This wonderful, seasoned Springer has all of the qualifications of a perfect pet.
You can pick out Bethany in a crowd because she always sports a jaunty red bandanna with a cupcake print. Soon after arriving at her foster home, she attended a clothing swap with her foster mom. She left with the bandanna and has been wearing it ever since. Bethany seems to know that accessories are a very important part of a girl’s wardrobe.
The biggest joy in Bethany’s life is taking a walk. She often waits by the door eagerly hoping that a walk is next up on the schedule. As she heads out the door, Bethany always turns her head and gives her leash a little bite. Maybe she’s telling her foster mom that she needs to hurry up! Bethany regularly takes walks that last for an hour or more and does great, showing no sign of her age. When returning from a long walk she goes inside for a drink of water, lies down for a few minutes, and then she’s as eager as ever to go out again. Don’t tell this senior girl that she should slow down!
Children as young as two years old are often encountered on walks. Many of them point at Bethany with interest. When they want to meet her, Bethany sits right down and lets the children pat her. Of course, she loves having someone pat her, and they are amazed at how incredibly soft she is! She is so patient, and really a perfect dog to introduce to kids so they learn that dogs are friendly and not scary.
Two encounters with cats gave a good insight on how Bethany reacts to them. A stray cat that wandered into her territory, and was briefly taken in by her foster family, became VERY interesting to her. She was very curious about that strange creature. More recently, she had an encounter with a neighbor’s kittens which went extremely well. One of the kittens was daring enough to approach Bethany, who, naturally, sniffed and sniffed. She then left the kitten alone, but returned occasionally to give it another sniff. The kitty kept trying to bat at Bethany’s nose to get her to play, but Bethany wasn’t familiar with that game. Unless a cat approaches her, this sweet girl will leave cats alone. Her foster mom feels that if Bethany were to join a feline friendly family, she would be friendly, too.
Belly rubs are high up on Bethany’s must have list. She rolls over, exposing her belly for that treasured rub. If it stops, she does what her foster mom describes as her “Superman move” stretching her front legs out in front of her as a signal for more. No wonder Bethany LOVES having her people around. She’s always sad to see them go, too. When her foster mom walks out the door without her, Bethany runs to her little bench by the front window and hops up on it to watch her walk away. It’s really hard to leave such a hopeful little face!
Described as a “doll” and a”peach” by her foster mom, Bethany would be an ideal pet in any home. Don’t miss your chance to add his super soft senior girl to your family!
Update 04/04/2013: “Her immediate inclination upon meeting anyone is to walk right up to them and sit down as close as possible, expecting that she will automatically get an ear scratch or two.”
Bethany continues to charm everyone she meets these days. Her immediate inclination upon meeting anyone is to walk right up to them and sit down as close as possible, expecting that she will automatically get an ear scratch or two. She enjoys going to the dog park because there are more people there who might pat her. She still doesn’t show much interest in other dogs; it’s the people who turn her head. She has now met the neighbor’s cat and alternates between showing no interest at all and showing a lot of curiosity, but from a distance.
Bethany has had one major milestone……….she turned 11! To celebrate, she “played” with a few friends’ dogs. (More accurately, she ignored the dogs and walked around the room getting attention from all the different people!) and went on a nice long walk through the neighborhood and park. She continues to LOVE her walks and has taken to lying down by the door so that she will be ready at a moment’s notice when someone wants to take her out. She still gets distracted easily on walks, but she is improving. That Spaniel nose just won’t let up; however, she doesn’t run off after birds or squirrels. And she certainly gets a lot of compliments on her sprightly step, big smile, and super soft fur.
Continued walks with her adopting family and getting the proper amount of food will keep this social gal healthy and feeling her best. If you’re looking for a laid-back and loving dog, Bethany is the one for you!
Original: “Bethany really likes to be where her people are.”
Bethany is a friendly, down-to-earth, and playful senior lady whose Maryland owner relinquished her to MAESSR when the family’s financial situation didn’t allow them to keep this sweet gal any longer. She is housetrained, crate trained, and very well-behaved. Her previous owner noted, and her foster family has observed, that while she begs for food occasionally, she does not jump up on the table, counter-surf, or get into the trash. She knows she’s not supposed to get up on the sofa, but a couple of times her foster family has come home to discover her perched up there nonetheless. She gets a stern talking-to each time, so hopefully this behavior will start to diminish.
Bethany is pretty good on a leash but could use a little bit of extra training. Her foster mom thinks that because Bethany used to live in a suburban area and had a big backyard of her own, she isn’t used to the sights, smells, and distractions of frequent walks in a city. She has to be coaxed along frequently; she’s still learning that she shouldn’t stop and say hello to every person who comes by. With more time and experience, she’ll become more adept as a walking companion and won’t become sidetracked so easily.
For a senior Springer, Bethany’s health is quite good. She does get occasional ear infections that can be kept under control with regular cleaning. She’s a little chubby, so her foster mom is working on getting her to lose a few pounds through regular exercise. Her previous owner said that she might have some hearing loss due to age, and her foster family suspects this might be true as well. They’ve notice Bethany doesn’t respond very well to her name or to being told to “come,” although a few claps and beckons get her attention.
Since being in her foster home, Bethany has met several other dogs, both out in the neighborhood and at home when friends have brought their dogs to visit. She generally doesn’t show a lot of interest in other dogs, but will occasionally get a little playful. She does get annoyed when other dogs are too excited around her or jump on her incessantly, but she just barks to express her discontent and does not nip or growl. Good girl, Bethany! She has met preschool and elementary-aged children several times while out on her walks, and she is great with them. She sits down to let them pat her and is very patient. Her former owner reported that she was frequently around small children in their extended family and she was always very good with them. Since she is such a laidback dog, this doesn’t surprise her foster mom at all.
Bethany really likes to be where her people are. She doesn’t want to be right next to them (unless she is desperate for some ear scratches or tummy rubs), but she wants to be in the room where she can keep an eye on the action. Since she’s an older gal, she doesn’t have tons of energy, but her foster mom has been taking her on several longer walks a day and throws toys inside the house for Bethany to run after. These indoor games of fetch last about 10 or 15 minutes and, along with the walks, seem to meet her exercise needs.
Overall, Bethany is a lot of fun to be around. Everyone loves running their fingers through her super soft coat, and if you stop patting her before she thinks you should, she will paw at you to remind you what you ought to be doing! She is a big fan of getting her tummy rubbed. If you stop she will stretch her front legs straight up in the air to get your attention so you will return to the task at hand. Most of the time, she is happy to just chill in the same room as her people and watch life go on around her. She just likes to love and be loved in return!