Sassi/Bearded Lady
Age: Adult
Breed: Brussels Griffon
Sex: Female
Weight: 10.06 pounds
Kids: Not Tested
Cats: Not Tested
Dogs: Good
Fenced Yard:
Location: Anna, Texas
Special Needs:
About Sassi/Bearded Lady:
Breed: Brussels Griffon
Sex: Female
Weight: 10.06 pounds
Kids: Not Tested
Cats: Not Tested
Dogs: Good
Fenced Yard:
Location: Anna, Texas
Special Needs:
About Sassi/Bearded Lady:
UPDATE 7/27/26
Sassi is a gentle, sweet soul who is looking for a calm, patient family that will let her blossom at her own pace. She wants to be near her people, but she prefers to choose when and how she interacts. If you’re standing, she’ll often keep a little distance. But the moment you sit on the couch or climb into bed, she’ll quietly appear beside you, ready to cuddle.
Building trust with Sassi takes patience, but it’s incredibly rewarding. She warms up best to people with calm voices and gentle energy. Food is definitely the way to her heart! She has become especially attached to my husband, who works from home, and you’ll often find her peacefully napping under his desk while he works. She initially bonded with me first, but now happily splits her cuddle time between both of us.
Sassi has done well around our dogs and cat. She isn’t intimidated by other animals and would likely do well with another calm, respectful pet. She would probably not enjoy living with a high-energy dog.
She appears to be mostly house-trained, though she is still gaining confidence outdoors. She can be timid outside and sometimes wants to head right back inside, so having someone accompany her during potty breaks helps. As she continues to settle in, she may still have an occasional accident.
One of the most important things to know about Sassi is that she thrives in a quiet environment. She is naturally alert and cautious, even while eating—she’ll take a few bites, pause to look around, and then continue. Because of this, she would do best in a peaceful home without the constant activity and noise of young children or very energetic teenagers.
While she’s still nervous around loud voices and big personalities, she’s making progress. Our 18-year-old son has a naturally loud voice and energetic presence, which initially intimidated her. However, when he approaches her calmly and slowly—especially when she’s near people she trusts—she happily accepts pets. Our 20-year-old daughter, despite having a busy schedule, has also earned Sassi’s trust and is able to feed her, take her outside, and give her affection.
Sassi isn’t the kind of dog who will immediately greet every stranger with a wagging tail. She’s the kind of companion whose trust is earned—and once you’ve earned it, you’ll have a loyal little shadow who simply wants to be close to you. If you’re looking for a quiet, loving companion and are willing to let her move at her own pace, Sassi will reward you with the sweetest cuddles and a bond that’s truly special.”
Please read the letter from the daughter discussing what they have seen with Sassi after the passing of both her mom and her dad.
It’s tragic and we need that very specific adopter willing to take in a little girl like this and try and get her to a place of comfort and love.
Here’s the letter from the family:
“Sassi has most definitely had a tragic life to this point….and it shows, as I’m sure y’all have assessed for yourself by now.
She operates from a place of sheer terror, all day, every day and never actually settles down. She is always on alert. She never gets “comfy” with people. For example, she’d be sitting in my lap, I’d get up for 5 mins and when I’d come back she’d run away from me to her crate and stay gone for hours. After 100 days of living with us.
She most definitely needs a very quiet, calm household to thrive. I tried very hard to be that place for her after my Dad passed on 3/9, but I clearly failed. And I can’t take on all that she will require to unwind the trauma. I’m trying to hold myself and what’s left of my family and our company together. I’m not doing such a great job.
After losing her #1 person (my mom) in October she definitely suffered some behavioral setbacks, hiding more and basically coming out to eat and potty. Even my Dad could barely get her to come out. She was just absolutely heartbroken.
As for Sassi’s personality development while my parents were alive…
Sassi was – as you may recall – extremely shut down when we brought her home in late 2021.
Terrified of even the gentlest of approaches. She had clearly suffered greatly in her short time in the mill she came from, as she was just the saddest little girl we’d ever seen.
She would barely come out of her crate / enclosure area for weeks….pancaked every time someone would walk in the room, just constant panic. My Dad would try to get on the ground and lay with her and help soothe her, but his Parkinson’s made that type of bonding very difficult. After a few months of coaxing and confidence building, Sassi came to be comfortable sitting with my parents in their living room. She would occasionally snuggle up with my dad but – again – my mom was 100% her “person”. She would basically kennel herself anytime my mom would leave the house.
Sassi had such a strong bond with my mom. Even when my mom was at her sickest, Sassi would curl up next to her.. The 3 of them spent a lot of time watching TV together their last year. But anytime I’d come to visit I’d scarcely see Sassi because she would hide even from me or my sister (and she knew me – I toted her all the way to Atlanta from DRR on my back!). My sister was at the house every day. She just doesn’t trust a single soul and it’s so upsetting to watch her cower at any move you make.
Due to this extreme anxiety/ flight risk leash training/ potty training in fenced back yard was very difficult as she would just “statue” when outside…eventually this led to her using potty pads 100% of the time.
Around the time we all realized (about 90 days in) that Sassi was going to require special training/ help to have a “normal” life, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that had spread all over her body. All of our focus became keeping her alive from that point.
Our lives changed that day in March of ’22 in ways we could not foresee. In hindsight, we should have recognized that we were not equipped to be the family that could rehabilitate her broken spirit.
We were all just white-knuckling through those next 3+years. Sassi’s hopes for developing into a well-adjusted dog with us likely ended that day in March.
When my mom died on 10/27 Sassi was as grief-stricken as any of us. When my Dad died suddenly in March, she was 100% shut down again for days. Sassi also had the misfortune to be with my Dad when he died. Tragic doesn’t begin to describe this poor girl’s last year.
She absolutely made improvements while my husband and I kept her. There is a playful, sweet dog deep down inside Sassi. I was able to get her about 90% potty trained, but she does use pee pads as a back up (when we had a dog sitter for example, the dog sitter couldn’t let her outside for fear she’d never come back in.).
She will find her “person” again and she will make the right person very happy.
I have every bit of faith that Dog Ranch is the place to make this happen for her.”
So after reading all of this we are certain a very large percentage of those that have already applied for Sassi would not be interested in adopting. We know that, we get that, we understand that.
I just want to be 100% transparent about any dog we are looking toplace, Sassi requires a very specific home and we hope to find that.
adoption fee:$800