Elora's Essay

Today we are sharing an essay from Elora B., age 11, who came to visit us in March:

When I first met Penny

This story is about 2 of my aunt and uncle's dogs. Their names are Keli and Penny. Keli is the older one and Penny is the younger one. Penny is only a puppy. Keli is about 6 years old.

My Aunt Donna and Uncle Richie just got Penny a few months ago. They got her from a shelter. When they first got her, her name was Wendy. They didn't like that name very much because their old dog was also named Wendy it was just spelled differently. {Editor's note: Actually, our first Westie's name was Wyndi and the similarity was one reason we were drawn to Wendy, but it was just too similar to keep.} They are all the same breed of dog. This breed is called a White West Highland Terrier. "Westie" for short. My aunt and uncle got Penny because they always thought that Keli was lonely. She was always so quiet and didn't want to play anything. So my aunt went online to see if there were any westies available around her area. There was one that they found. I just met her for the first time, 2 months ago when I had a sleepover at her house for 2 days. When she first met me she jumped all over me. I knew that she would be a lot of fun to play with. She also barked a lot but I knew that wasn't her fault. My Aunt Donna warned me that she was going to do this for the next few hours. Penny did keep her promise but after that she was very cute & sweet. When Me, my Aunt Donna & the 2 dogs went out for a walk Aunt Donna had Penny and I had Keli. They both did what they had to do and when we got back home all Penny wanted to do was play. Keli was about to fall asleep on the couch. When it was time for me to leave the next day my aunt drove me home. We decided to bring Penny to our house. We got her harness and seatbelt on and off we were. When my Aunt Donna stopped for gas Penny started barking at the man that was filling up her gas. Penny started barking at him and got all wrapped up in her harness. My aunt said that I should un-strap her because she was driving. Penny was running everywhere all over the backseat and she ran all over me. After we got to my house Penny started acting the way she did when she first met me. She was jumping all over everybody. After a while she was she was calmer and more well behaved. After lunch Aunt Donna and Penny went back home. This is what happened when I first met Penny.

We had a really good time while Elora was here visiting. At first I wasn't sure who she was, but Keli liked her so I knew she must be okay. Keli was allowed to sleep with Elora, but I still had to stay in my crate at night . . . because of something 'bout housebreaking. I'm still not sure about that . . .

When Elora was here, we went for walks and she played with me and Keli and we made a video about me and the tunnel. And then the next day she and Donna made peanut butter biscuits for me and Keli and they were really quite tasty and I ate a lot of them and no they didn't make my tummy hurt at all. And they were called "Elora's Tasty Treats".

Then the next day when Elora had to go home, I got to go for a ride in the car, too. But I got nervous after a while 'cuz I never went for such a long ride in the car before. That's why she let me out my harness, so I could sit on her lap and then I felt better. But I was okay on the way home, 'cuz I knew it was going to be a long ride again.

When we got to Elora's house there were lots of new people there I'd never seen before -- Jenna and Emily and Richie and Elora's Mom and Dad and Emily's Mom and probably a few I forget. I was so excited I barked sooooo much! Even when they gave me cheese, I still was so excited and barked a lot. And Jenna was only a little bit scared of me. We didn't stay too long, just for lunch and then it was time to go home again. I slept on the ride home.

And then, you know what else? After we got home and had a snack, it was time for me to for another ride and we went to "training" at PetSmart. I barked a lot there, too. It was fun.

Thanks for reading our blog! Bye for now, Penny