The Golden Girls: Two Personalities, Two Sweaters, One Happy Ending

Sometimes the best stories are the ones you never planned.

Not long ago, Nikole at The Simon Foundation introduced me to Blanche and Rose, two chihuahuas who were closely bonded and had been in the shelter system for almost a year-and-a-half. Loving and sociable, it was hard to imagine why they had been there for so long. But given they would need a home that could take both of them, adoption took longer than anyone wanted.

Shelter staff referred to them as “the ladies” while I called them “The Golden Girls” given 1980’s sitcom most likely inspired their names. I offered to make sweaters for them, so Nikole took The Honored Dog™ personality quiz to determine what personalities and color palettes I would use.

Despite being a bonded pair, of the same breed, and quite possibly the same litter, the results showed just how different Rose and Blanche are.

Blanche came back as a Bossy Pants, our confident, expressive personality who tends to have opinions about how things should be done. Rose, on the other hand, was a Goodest Girl, our sweet, steady personality who doesn’t ask for much but gives so much in return.

I loved that immediately. Here were two dogs living side by side, experiencing the same shelter, waiting for the same next chapter, and yet each of them had her own completely distinct way of moving through the world. That is exactly what The Honored Dog is about: looking beyond breed, circumstance, or labels and taking the time to recognize the individual dog in front of us. While the idea of the “Color Profiles” originated here with Westie Wear as a way to select sweater colors, I had expanded them out to their own entity with The Honored Dog earlier in the year after realizing they had their own potential to shine separately from the Westie Wear brand.

At almost the same time, I was beginning another new chapter with Westie Wear®. I had just welcomed my first member of the Craft Pack. The idea behind it being to have a small group of makers helping me create custom sweaters as Westie Wear grows. Blanche and Rose became the first Craft Pack sweater assignment.

We created a sweater for each girl, inspired by her Honored Dog personality. Blanche’s sweater would be made of bright teal and accents of yellow and green. While Rose’s sweater would be made of dusty rose pink and grey, with a touch of green accents to complement her sister’s garment. It felt like such a fitting first project for the young woman who had just joined the Craft Pack and would be making the sweaters from my pattern. The sweaters weren’t just something warm for two shelter dogs to wear. They were made specifically for Blanche and Rose, with each girl’s personality in mind.

Once she had crocheted the sweaters, they were packaged up and ready to go. When I delivered them, I took the opportunity to spend some time with Rose and Blanche and get some photos. Seeing them in motion in their new sweaters was even better than I had imagined it would be. But things were about to get even better.

Then came the news so many of us had been hoping for: Blanche and Rose had been adopted.

The ladies would be going home together with their sweaters, just in time for the cooler months to come.

There is something about that last part that gets me. These two little dogs entered the shelter with their own histories, their own personalities, and no idea what would come next. Somewhere along the way, someone took the time to notice who they were. Nikole identified a Bossy Pants and a Goodest Girl. Someone else made something especially for each of them. And eventually, a family saw two dogs they wanted to bring home.

When I started Westie Wear, I thought I was making sweaters. When The Honored Dog grew out of it, the work became about something much bigger: recognizing the dog inside the sweater.

Blanche is not simply one half of “The Golden Girls.” She is Blanche, a Bossy Pants with her own unmistakable way of being in the world. Rose is not simply the dog beside her. She is Rose, our Goodest Girl.

Now they get to begin their next chapter together, with a family who will have the chance to keep discovering all the little things that make each of them who they are.

@westiewearpack Rose & Blanche ended up in the shelter system a year and a half ago after their parent passed away. They finally found their furever home after being adopted from The Simon Foundation in Bloomfield CT 😇🥰❤️❤️❤️❤️ These sweet Golden Girls were so loved while @The Simon Foundation. Grateful to have beem a part of their journey to their furever home. #adoptachihuahua #shelterdogsoftiktok #smalldogadoption #donateddogsweaters #customdogsweaters ♬ The Golden Girls – TV Themes