The Middle Child: Wrigley Bean

Oh Wrigley. Where do I even begin? Wrigley came into our lives approximately a year after Maizy did. We had decided on adopting another larger, young dog to play with Maizy and to give Cornholio a little peace. As with Maizy, we had hunted around Petfinder and I had been in contact with a rescue in central PA when the internet struck!

Custom collar from CollarMania.com

A friend in a pit bull community online mentioned that someone had posted about a dog being kept in south Jersey in need of a home. His picture was cute and I showed it to my husband. The girl who knew about the dog was named Kristine and that Friday after work, we picked her up (Shawn, Maizy, Wrigley, and I) and headed to where the dog was located.

Wrigley in his first days home.

The story was never fully clear about where Wrigley came from, but he was being kept chained up under a trailer in a field. As I understood someone had left him with these people while he went on vacation and never returned to pick Wrigley up. He was homeless and nameless. He was 5 months old and living life on a heavy tow chain. We had to use a flashlight to go see him because by the time we got there it was dark. Wrigley was happy just to see someone holding treats, Maizy was happy to chase the flashlight beam (this borders on an obsession with her), and Cornholio was generally disinterested, so he passed the test. We couldn't have left him there, anyway, and so we headed home. When we dropped Kristine off at her house, she gave us a black bath towel in case Wrigley had an accident in the car (he hadn't yet, but you never know with puppies). Years later, Wrigs still sleeps with that towel in his crate.

That night we got Wrigley home and went to bed. We didn't have a crate for him because we hadn't been sure we were going to get him, so we tried to sleep with him in bed with us and Cornholio (Maizy was crated). Wrigley wiggled his butt off in sheer excitement for hours while I had a fitful sleep until I finally went downstairs and got a large cat carrier for him to spend the rest of the night in. It wan't ideal, but we all slept better after that and in the morning Maizy got a new crate and Wrigley got his first hand-me-down and a new life!

Wrigley with his favorite towel.

Wrigley was always a happy-go-lucky pup, but as he matured, he became increasingly anxious and difficult outside of the house. Getting him to the vet is nearly impossible and he is so anxious on walks that we might make it three houses down the block before going back home. He barks when on leash and at anything on the other side of the fence. We have tried training and are now working on supplements. It's amazing to me because Wrigley is the sweetest, most well-behaved dog inside the house, but once he is outside the house or the backyard, he is a totally different dog.

Despite his issues (likely due to a lack of early socialization with people and dogs), Wrigley is a giant sweetheart who wants only to please people. He is a true pittie, despite the fact that he is probably a mix (we think Pit Bull/Black Mouth Cur). Wrigley has grown to match Maizy's 75 pounds, but with a much stockier build. So, that's Wrigley... my problem child. He is sweet as sugar once you get past that barky, unapproachable shell. And despite how he acts when you're standing outside, once you're inside his fence, you become his best friend.