Love at First Sight
Cast of Characters: Oh, Penny. Or Penelope Lane Tenney, if she’s in trouble (which is most of the time). She’s lucky she’s cute.
Grayson and I used to talk about getting a Bernese Mountain Dog way back during our college days. When we moved into our new home (with a backyard) in 2013, we knew it was finally about time. We found a breeder in Oregon, interviewed to be a puppy’s human parents and got our names on a waiting list. Penny was born February 12th, 2014, we visited her at 5 weeks, and she came home 3 weeks later. We named her Penelope Lane Tenney. Penelope because I liked the name for a future child, but what well-meaning mother names their child Penny Tenney? Middle name Lane as a nod to the Beatles (Penny Lane).
Those first nights were so tough! (I know, I know, she’s “just a dog”). For three nights, I curled up on the floor next to her crate so she wouldn’t be scared. We slept in the basement guest room for a month (okay, maybe two months) so we were close in case she needed us. She chewed things up, she had “accidents” in the house, and she was just the cutest thing in the world. Fast forward a year, and she still chews things up and is still the cutest puppy in the world. Penny loves people and other animals more than any dog I’ve ever met. If you move, she moves. She gets upset if we are on a walk and someone passes her without stopping to say “hi”. She loves to give people hugs, which is fine, except she’s now 100+ pounds. She was supposed to be like her doggy mom, maybe 80-85 pounds. When she was a puppy, that scale just kept going up and up. I stopped tracking when she hit 80 pounds at 6 months.
She is our fur baby. She goes everywhere with us. The first time my in-laws watched her at “Camp Bend” I cried and cried when we dropped her off. (I know, I know, she’s “just a dog”). I’m much better now, for the record. Just a few tears usually. Penny loves her new baby brother and has to check on him whenever he cries. There is some confusion on which toys belong to who, but hey, it’s confusing when Sophie the Giraffe squeaks.
I love our dog. But she does get in So.Much.Trouble. (Sophie is the least of it). We call her Dad’s dog when she’s in trouble, and again, it’s 100+ pounds of trouble. The upside is I always know what to get Gray for a present – a new LA Dodgers baseball hat because Penny undoubtedly chewed up the last one (again). I have so many stories, and I know there will be many more. Oh, Penny.
You can follow Penny on Instagram too! Find her at the bottom of this blog, or Penny.Tenney on Instagram.
