Bengal... the "puppy in the window"... the beginning.

Bengal... where do I even begin? Bengal is my 9lb Pomeranian/Westie mix... or so they say.

I grew up a girl, who lived in the woods, with a lot of land, where kittens often got lost and trapped in a bush somewhere up my steep driveway, so naturally I ended up coercing my parents into keeping and having cats my whole life. I came across every animal you can imagine living in our woods, and we even have a pack of deer that I swear I have watched grow old with me.  This is perhaps how my love of all things furry began.

When I was about four years old, I did in fact own a dog. Her name was Zeus, and she was a pure bread Doberman that my mother showed up with after a fight with my dad one day (go figure)... I hear I am a lot like her :). A beast of a girl from the photos- 90 lbs of muscle, and from the stories my father tells- an absolute Gem of a living creature. Zeus passed away at 8 years old from cancer, and my parents never got a dog again due to the the pain from the loss, so I was unaware of what it meant to really own a dog, and be a dog owner... I just had stories of this creature that terrified the priest who came to bless the house when they first moved in, but licked him when my dad commanded him down, while on two legs pinning him to a wall... a dog whom could find a marked ball in the thick of the woods so my dad could show off to his friends how insanely smart she was... but also a dog that fiercely protected my mother, then my sister and I when we were just babies from those that approached us,(again, until called down by my parents). But this inst where it began, this inst how I started referring to myself as the crazy dog lady.

It began with Bengal. Sad to admit this now that I've taken the path of rescuing dogs, and actively promoting how amazing this dogs are, and how its not their fault,... but I went to the pet store to buy cat food for my most recent lost kittten, brought home to the family, and there he was. I was 22 years old, had just graduated from Ohio University (go bobcats!), and moved back home to find a job, live with my rents, and hang out with my friends! I dont know what it was about him, but the other puppies in that tiny window were crawling all over to what I then referred to as "garbage pal puppy", and I said- give me this dog so I can give it some air! Well... I left that store an hour and a half later in tears, calling my parents, sister and boyfriend, telling them that I must have this dog, but can I afford a $1000.00 dog right out of college from a pet store?

Needless to say, after a lot of drama, and a return with my sister, I bought that "garbage pal puppy" who is now my Bengal Bear (my first credit card purchase ever), & he became an immediate hit with my family. Thankfully I had my first career started, and was living home rent free- with AMAZING parents who still do not realize how supportive and helpful they are, because Bengal became the absolute love of my life and still is to this day... in fact my husband constantly reminds me that I love Bengal more than him (which is in fact not true, but equal love of both is a fact!)

After I got Bengal, my detailed personality needed to know EVERYTHING there was about being a dog owner..... unfortunately what I didnt know, is the cruel, horrible decisions humans make about how they treat a life that depends on them. I discovered puppy mills, dog fighting, abuse, abandonment, euthanasia, the ASPCA, PETA, The dog meat trade, and so much more... so much horrible, unimaginable things, that made me so happy I was the human Bengal chose, but so sad at the thought that I in fact probably had a puppy mill dog.... So for a while, I shut my computer, stopped researching took care of my dog best I could, and tried to forget..... Then came along my amazing (now) husband.... and Roxie, our amazing first rescue.