Meet Ben! Have you ever seen a sweeter face? We haven’t. Those lovely big brown eyes, sweetly drooping ears and slightly smushed face are too cute! Add in a snaggletoothed underbite and he’s downright irresistible! Gentle Ben is a friendly fellow who enjoys getting pets and scratches. Are you ready to get petting?
Here’s a note from his foster mom!
Ben, Benjamin, Menjabin, Bean, or Bennie, I call him all these names because he’s so easy to give cute nicknames to! He doesn’t respond to any of them (yet!), but to be fair he got these names less than a week ago. Ben ALWAYS responds if he thinks he is going to get pets.
Ben is a perfect little resident. For the most part, he’s as quiet as a mouse (or in my case, the resident cat). He does whine and do a bit of a bark if he’s not near the action, MAJOR FOMO. We are working on this right now with some crate training and he’s making progress! Ben stays in his open crate all night at the foot of the bed without a peep.
He’s a perfect gentleman with the resident cat. He gives her space, doesn’t chase her, and lets her sniff him while he’s napping (because she’s a creeper).
Sniffing is his favorite activity. I think he enjoys walks so much because he can sniff everything and every dog. He prefers a 15-30 minute walk every 3-4 hours. However, he can go on an urban hike with you for 2-2.5 hours with no issues! On his walks he has no issues with greeting dogs and understands their signals if they don’t want to be sniffed.
Ben is quite good on leash – he walks mostly in a straight line, unless he pulls to sniff something particularly exciting. He will come back if you keep on walking. Ben doesn’t really get startled by any loud noises (unmuffled motorcycles, cars backfiring, tree arborists, jackhammers, fireworks….) – there’s no startle. However, if there is an over eager dog who barks at him a lot (e.g. a puppy), he does try to hide behind me.
If he gets out 4-5 times a day (or has access to the outside), there are no accidents. He had 2 when he first got here since I didn’t know his bladder capacity. He has no issues with the carpeted stairs inside the house and will do the wooden stairs down to the backyard, but prefers to be carried up and down those because they’re open and a bit intimidating for him.
If we aren’t out on a walk, he spends his time sleeping on the couch, his bed, or on the deck in the sun. If I’m on the couch, he likes to sit close and when he wants pets he paws me. His favorite song is Bennie and the Jets, while he doesn’t wear electric boots, he is permanently in a mohair suit and if he knows food time is coming he becomes a tiny dancer. He wants a forever home that will hold him close!
