After years of researching breeds, Joanie Comenzo of Manhattan decided to get a Welsh Terrier. When she went to pick up her new dog, Nelson, the breeder pushed him into her arms and said "Your puppy is an alpha." Joanie loved him from the moment she saw him, and that love never waned, even after he bit her multiple times, and sent her mother and boyfriend to the hospital. Over the last eight years, Joanie has sought training and medical advice from a wide array of professionals. Today, Nelson wears a muzzle every moment of the day that he isn't in his crate. He and Joanie live a happy, if unusual, life together. This is their love story.



Notes: Nelson's preferred muzzle - Fun Dog Fact Of The Day: As late as the early 1900s, dogs were allowed to roam off leash in Philadelphia as long as they were muzzled - Woof Shout Out: Zuri, who wears a muzzle to deter people from pestering her for being so cute, can be found on Instagram at Instagram.com/zurithebolo - Music: "Love Is Strange" cover by Toast Garden

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Partial Transcript:

Joanie speaking to Nelson:

Good boy Nelson, Oh, what a good boy.

**music**

Annie:

I'm here with a client of ours, Joanie Comenzo and her dog Nelson, who is, a Welsh terrier. Is that right?

Joanie:

Yes

Annie:

I wanted to speak to Joanie about being Nelson's person because I think as a dog human pair, they've encountered some,pretty formidable obstacles and have come out on the other side, still loving each other.

But let's start from the beginning. So you got Nelson when he was a puppy?

Joanie:

Yeah, 14 weeks.

Annie:

Okay. So what made you decide to get this breed in particular and where did you get him?

Joanie:

Well, I had a Yorkie that I had as a teenager and then I went off to college, so it kind of became my mother's dog. And I knew I wanted something a little bigger, but I liked, you know, Yorkie was a good experience, you know, as a terrier. I knew I wanted a terrier. Everyone told me that the Jack Russell's too insane, don't get a Jack Russell. So I was, I listened, funny story that I ended up with Nelson, but, and I'd seen a few Welsh Terriers around. I was thought they looked interesting and then I just did some research and they just seemed like the perfect dog for me, you know, they said good with kids, I thought I was going to have children. You know good with kids. Good for city or, you know, country living. They adapt well to an apartment or you know, like they just--



Annie:

I always feel like those breed books make such grand generalizations, right? And yet so many people buy their dogs based on what it says.

Joanie:

Yeah. And just so much, you know, everything I read about them, I was like, I think this is going to be the dog for me. And then I researched rescues, it was impossible to get and you know, Welshies are just so hard to come by. There was no rescue with the dog for me and I was like, you know, I waited and I waited and I researched breeders and I found, you know, the top Welsh terrier breeder and you know, in the country and I was on a waitlist there for a really long time and they went through this huge interview process. You know, they were interviewing me to make sure that I was proper for their dogs, you know--



Annie:

Which is something you want from a breeder. You want them to be doing their due diligence too...



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