Betty’s life before coming to Animal Aid is a mystery, but foster parents Lissa and Carolyn believe it must have been traumatic. “All we know is someone tied her to a pole,” Lissa said.
When Betty arrived at Carolyn and Lissa’s home on September 5, they noticed other behaviors that indicated this three-year-old black-and-white pit bull mix had led an unhappy life. During her first week at their home, Betty gobbled all of her food as soon as it was put in her dish, as if she feared she wouldn’t get another meal. Whenever anyone would raise their arm, she would blink her eyes like she was expecting to be hit.
Since spending more time in her foster home, however, Betty has been learning about the good life. Her two favorite things are running around in the backyard and snuggling on the couch with Carolyn and Lissa. She was afraid of squeaky toys at first, but has grown fond of them as she’s learned more about the joys of playtime.
Betty is Carolyn and Lissa’s first foster animal. Carolyn filled out the application to foster with Animal Aid after Lissa recovered from the passing of her mother’s dog, whom Lissa took care of for almost eight years after her mother died. Carolyn loves animals, too, so fostering appealed to both of them.
Soon after they joined the Animal Aid foster family, they were contacted about taking care of Betty.
“She was very cute,” Carolyn said. “She was very friendly and looked like she just needed love.”
Lissa agreed. “She’s just a sweet dog.”
During the past month, Carolyn and Lissa have discovered that Betty has a wide range of quirky characteristics, such as:
She’s organized: She likes to stack her toys.
She’s a good communicator: When she wants to go outside, she goes to Lissa and Carolyn, looks into their eyes, and wiggles.
She has short energy spurts, usually consisting of running in circles around the yard (a.k.a. zoomies!).
She points when she smells anything outside.
She rarely barks. When she does, she has a quiet voice.
She’s a great listener who is a pro at making eye contact.
She ranks her priorities in this order: 1) Get love from her humans, 2) play with her humans, 3) go outside, and 4) eat.
She likes to fall asleep to Carolyn singing to her while massaging her head.
Betty has also taught her foster parents how to fetch. This happens whenever Carolyn and Lissa are playing with her and a toy accidentally hits a wall. The noise scares Betty, so she won’t retrieve the toy. That means Carolyn or Lissa must retrieve the toy to continue the game.
Carolyn and Lissa believe the best forever home for Betty would be with someone who’s athletic—preferably a jogger, hiker, or cyclist—and who doesn’t have other animals, as Betty likes her humans all to herself.
“She would be great on an agility course,” Carolyn said. “She needs more than what we can do, because we’re not terribly athletic.”
Betty will be available for adoption once she has been spayed, with this operation scheduled in November. Until then, Betty will continue to enjoy her yard, toys, and adoring humans.
Can you provide a home-awaiting-home for a dog or cat in need? Consider becoming an Animal Aid foster! Learn more about cat fostering and dog fostering, and fill out a foster application to get started.