She’s as Stinky as She is Cute: Meet Penelope

Subscribe to Isabella + Penelope

Penelope’s Adoption Story

When my husband and I began dating several years ago, I was talking to him about how I wanted to adopt another puppy. My home was happy and full with Isabella, but I wanted to get her a playmate. 

At the time, I was working in an office eight hours a day, and the Bean girl was home by herself during this time. With her having slight anxiety being left alone, I thought it might help for her to have a constant companion. That said, I wasn’t sure I was ready to take on two pups by myself. After all, I brought Belle with me everywhere, and of course, that wouldn’t change with two pups!

You can read Isabella's story here>>

Shortly after my husband, Alex, and I got engaged, he took a call from a mysterious number (well, mysterious to me) and I heard him talking about showing them around my apartment. After my constant prying to figure out why he was having someone come to my apartment, he reluctantly told me he had been speaking to a local rescue in Charlotte, NC about adopting a little sister for Isabella for Christmas. The mystery caller was going to come and do a home inspection and meet Belle.

As excited as I was about adopting a new puppy, I was also a little nervous. Isabella had been an “only child” for almost four years and tends to be selective on the dogs she likes. (She’s always been a people person.)

A few days after being cleared on the home inspection, Alex and I went to meet the rescue, Catering to Cats & Dogs, at our local PetSmart where they would be bringing the puppy for us to meet and decide if she would be a good fit for Bella.

Penny was a recent rescue for C2CnD, and she didn’t even have a formal file yet. Typically, rescues don’t bring out animals for adoption opportunities until they’ve been in the rescue for a few weeks to get all the paperwork completed. Because of this, there were a few miscommunications regarding where Penny was supposed to be brought that day, and we ended up waiting eight hours to meet her! We had a gut feeling about this sweet girl.

When Penny arrived, her foster mother held her out to me, and my eyes widened. This pup was LOOOONGGG! She was so tiny I expected her to be lightweight when I took her in my arms, but let me tell you… Penelope was a chubby bunny.

Alex and I just melted looking at this nervous little pup with the large ears, and we just knew she was meant to join our family. Shortly after, the adoption papers were signed, and Penelope was officially a ‘Daniels.’ 

Saving Penny

Rescuing a dog has a funny way of destroying your heart and putting it together all at the same time. You never know what you’re going to get when adopting. I’ve rescued some that were completely healthy, and I’ve adopted others that were so sick we didn’t know if they’d make it. 

Penelope was the latter.

Being so new to the adoption agency, the rescue team didn’t even know her health situation fully. Almost immediately after getting Penny home, she became a full-blown sludge machine around the clock. She lost three pounds in two days. For her to have been 13 pounds when we adopted her, that’s a lot of weight to lose.

After a few days of letting her get acclimated to her new home and her new sister (it took Isabella a little while to come around), Penelope’s poops weren’t getting any better. Everything she ingested was immediately coming right back out. At her vet checkup, we discovered she had Giardia.

Giardia is an intestinal infection caused by a parasite and can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting in animals. It can be transmitted by eating or sniffing the cysts from contaminated ground or by contaminated drinking water (#beagleprobs).

We went through three different treatments to try to kick the Giardia. Poor Penelope couldn’t keep anything in. She was getting us up at the most 10 times a night to go to the bathroom, she constantly had to go out during the day, and she just kept emitting the grossest, stinkiest sludge poops. 

This lasted for almost three months, and our little pup was having a hard time gaining any weight and we were worried we might lose her. 

After the third round of treatment, the Giardia was entirely out of her system, but her intestines and digestive system were just wrecked from the parasite. Alex and I were exhausted from little sleep over the past few months of taking care of her, and we began to get desperate for a way to help regulate Penny’s poops.

We tried many different types of foods and many different supplements as recommended by our vet. After a ton of research, we decided to try adding a supplement high in fiber to her diet, so we began adding a tablespoon of pumpkin to her kibble. 

It worked like a charm! 

With the pumpkin included in each meal, Penelope was finally able to keep her food in and digest it properly. She began to gain weight and was no longer this sick, weak little puppy. Her personality began to shine, and she was finally able to play like a healthy puppy. Her poops were finally solid!

Our Sweet Little Poo

From our experience saving Penelope, she got the sweet, but stinky nickname “Poo.” 

Even though she’s petite from the Giardia (about 10 pounds less than the others in her litter), now she’s a happy, healthy, active, and strong little pup. 

Penelope has the silliest antics and the most vibrant personality. She’s brave, and she’s ornery, and, boy oh boy, does she make us laugh! We often say Penny’s like a cartoon, in both personality and appearance. 

Poo snores all day long, regardless of if she’s sleeping. Despite her stumpy legs, she runs fast as lightning and gives Bella a run for her money. She burrows in and under everything. I swear, she’d rather not see the light of day, except for when she wants to bake outside in the sun in the 90+ degree weather. 

She’s deceptively heavy for her size, but solid muscle, mind you. She sniffs so hard she sounds like a helicopter, and she has to inspect everything. And sweet little Poo always has to be with and/or touching Mommy, which makes my heart explode.

She’s a little thing at 23 pounds, but she never stops surprising us. Penny’s exactly what we never knew we needed. She made our family whole. 

We’d Love to Hear from You!

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about our sweet little Penny girl! I hope her story warms your heart and makes you smile because that’s the impact she has on us every single day. And I’d like to invite you to follow us on Instagram to see the silly Penny antics daily! 

If you have any questions about Poo, the adoption process, her story or anything else I mentioned above, I’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment or shoot us a message!