If you read my blog post about my dad's dog Betty you know what situation she was in and what kind of dog she is.

In short, my dad kept her restricted to the kitchen and backyard 24/7 for the past year. She spends significant amount of time in her cage and is never taken out for walks.

Being a boxer mix she is extrmely hyper and needy, constantly wants attention and playtime. Will whine if left alone and destroy things.

My dad's busy and he doesn't have enough time (or desire) to spend time with the dog, but of course it's not an excuse. He's been talking about giving her away for a while, but doesn't want to dump her at a shelter or give her to someone he doesn't know.

So anyways,

About a week ago he left for a 3 week vacation with his wife and toddler and transferred the dog to my apartment. She and Shiro are playing all day every day, chasing each other, tug a war, wrestling, etc. Sometimes she's too much for him to handle and in that case I separate them for some quiet time.

First 2-3 days she whined like someone was stabbing her every time when left alone (very loud and frightening), destroyed a part of her cage and got out (didn't get to anything in the living room thank god), would not leave Shiro alone and jumped all over the place whenever one of the humas got up. She was a real handful and made me appreciate how really calm and easy my boy Shiro is.

One week down and she is a different dog. Sleeps a lot, plays nicely, haven't whined once, listens to commands... She still is more hyper than Shiro, gets excited easily and will go nuts over new people or dogs, but man, just a little company and play time totally transformed the dog!

Shiro is pretty happy too, he has a play buddy all day long and sleeps the rest of the time. I finally don't feel bad about not taking him for long walks to give him enough exercise. In addition, Betty's scary face and protective disposition make me feel safer alone.

Evan is getting attached to her and says he won't want to give her back to my dad, which I know 100% my dad will be totally OK with.

The thing is, I'm not totally OK with it. We live in a 1 bedroom 700sq. ft. apartment and it's cramped. Also, she has a very weird smell. She stays in the living room and every morning the room is full with the smell. I have no idea what it is, I washed the dog and the bedding, didn't seem to help. I do not remember my dad's house smelling like that, so perhaps the small apaerment size contributes.

We're going to ask around some friends who want a dog. She'd make a great addition to any family and I would definitely consider keeping her if my apartment wasn't so darn small.