My Pack: The Story Of Bean

Oh, Bean,

Most people do not realize her official name is Princess Tiabeanie, off of the Netflix Original Disenchantment. Princess Tiabeanie is portrayed on the show as foul mouth drunkard princess. We could not let Zena be the only princess in the house, so along came "Bean."

Alan and I have always been big dog people and took lots of conversations about the possibility of adding a third dog to our pack. Oakley and Zena were not the cuddly types, especially when they were two years old. I wanted a cuddly small dog. I knew a puppy would be easier to introduce to the rest of the family and train to work with me and help socialize little dogs. Bean just so happened to show up on my Instagram feed by a Veterinarian Assistant friend. Bean's mom was named Penelope, and she had come into the clinic for a broken leg. After an owner surrenders, Penelope, due to not affording surgery and the hospital not wanting to do behavioral euthanasia. Her quality of life would still be good once she could get the surgery. A few days later, she gave birth to two puppies before they could get her into surgery. One of those puppies is our sweet girl, Bean.
If you have met Bean, you know she is the sweetest Chihuahua you will ever meet. Bean is now almost turning three years old, and I cannot believe it. She has taught me so much about the perfect balance of confidence and compassion that comes with being a small dog mom. Having bigger dogs, small dogs are a different ball game most of my life. Bean holds the record for the smallest dog I have ever trained. When we got her around three months, she was one and a half pounds. Three years later, she is a hefty four and a half pounds.
Bean came into our life a year after my Celiacs diagnosis, and there were more bad days than good when it came to my health. Figuring out what I could eat and even the slightest bit of cross-contamination can keep me hurled over with cramps and sickness for hours to days. Having a dog to snuggle in bed or on the couch was something I needed. I wanted Bean to be a good little dog citizen and socialize her from a puppy to prevent her from becoming a yappy little dog.

Bean, of course, is not perfect, nor is any dog. I love when we get compliments that shes the sweetest Chihuahua someone has met. She has taught me so much about training little dogs. There is something different about a smaller dog's love and attachment than bigger dogs. We could not have had a perfect puppy come into our home.