An Inside Look At Our Family Dog’s Heartwarming Cross-Country Adventure

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“The day after Christmas, in 2006, we went to pick up our precious new little friend. I remember when he used to fit in the palm of my hand!

He even had a little pink cowboy hat, similar to the sombrero he wore in our pictures at the Alamo. He has loved every person he’s ever met since we brought him home.

small white family dog celebrating his birthday while wearing a sombrero
Courtesy of Lexee Leach

Bentley used to have a brother named Max. Max and Bentley had the same parents, but are from different litters, so they really ARE brothers!

Max passed away in October, at age 14. Bentley and Max were very best friends, so Bentley was pretty sad when he lost his brother. My family took our dogs pretty much everywhere, but we knew we could leave them home together sometimes.

Once Max passed away, my mom did not want Bentley to feel lonely, so she started taking him EVERYWHERE! He goes to the grocery store, my brother’s speech and debate tournaments, and anywhere else their travels may take them!

He has a puppy purse he sits in on short trips and a doggy stroller for long walks. On long road trips, his doggy bed sits in the front seat, while everyone else sits in the back seat so he can see out the front and be comfortable next to my mom while she drives!

two small white family dogs, one in a dog stroller, the other on a leash
Courtesy of Lexee Leach

My family has always taken cute/funny pictures of Bentley over the years, so when my parents sent me these pictures of him at each state line, I giggled and thought, ‘My friends HAVE to see this!’ My friends are as obsessed with Bentley as I am! Everyone adores him, so I posted the pictures so my friends could see what he is up to.

I went to bed and suddenly I woke up with 10,000 retweets! I didn’t see a celebrity retweet anything, so it must have just made its way through friends of friends! The tweet has now been viewed almost 4,000,000 times and has over 100,000 likes!

small white family dog being held up at Mississippi state line sign
Courtesy of Lexee Leach
small white family dog being held up at Louisiana state line sign
Courtesy of Lexee Leach
small white family dog being held up at Florida state line sign
Courtesy of Lexee Leach
small white family dog being held up at Alabama state line sign
Courtesy of Lexee Leach
small white family dog being held up at Texas border sign
Courtesy of Lexee Leach

We obviously ADORE our sweet 12-year-old Bentley, but it is so fun when strangers think he’s just as cute! He’s definitely the favorite in our family, and we all agree he’s the center of our world! We were so overcome with joy when people were showing our sweet old pup some love.

One girl even tweeted us and said she made him the background on her phone because it made her so happy! He brings so much light to us all, and we’re so happy he could bring some light to others. He has no idea how many hearts he has touched besides ours, but he will continue loving every single person he meets!

It’s nice in a world like today where social media has so much negativity, for something as innocent and loving as a puppy on a road trip to get some coverage. We have been laughing at how much coverage it is getting since we posted it, but we are SO happy that Benny is having some fun after losing his brother, Max.”

daughter holds family dog close to her face and smiles
Courtesy of Lexee Leach

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Lexee Leach of Colleyville, Texas. Join the Love What Matters family and subscribe to our newsletter.

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