In Her Retirement: Elizabeth Bennet the Third

Strutting around campus, Elizabeth Bennet the Third is a 13-year-old dog who has lived a fun and fulfilling life with the Doctors Findley.

Elizabeth, or “Lizzie” for short, was adopted by the Drs. Findley in 2012 when she was around four-months old. They didn’t know her breed until she received a doggy DNA test a little while ago. “People would stop us while we were out walking to ask what her breed was,” said Dr. Brooke Findley. Enough people asked that they became curious themselves and ordered a DNA test for her. Dr. Samuel Findley described her as incredibly international. Her results shockingly revealed that she is a quarter golden retriever, but her other breed ancestries are of low percentage. 

Lizzie’s regal full name of Elizabeth Bennet the Third is in reference to Jane Austen’s heroine in Pride and Prejudice. The novel’s Elizabeth is known for being intelligent, quick-witted, and intuitive. “I do not know where ‘The Third’ came from,” Dr. Brooke Findley says, “Dr. Findley came up with ‘The Third’ as there had to have been at least one other Elizabeth Bennet.”

Lizzie formerly had an issue with wanting to kill the chickens on the farm; she had to learn the hard way to keep her impulses under control. “Dr. Findley may have had something to do with Lizzie’s chicken killings,” Dr. Brooke Findley said, “as he would take her pheasant hunting.” Lizzie can be gentle with other animals, however, and raised her very own kitten because she loves her feline friends. 

Before living in Birmingham, Lizzie had never lived in a town. She formerly resided with the Drs. Findley on their 17-acre horse farm. Her family had chickens and up to three horses at one point on their farm. She enjoyed free run of the farm as there were not many other houses around or any main roads nearby. “She has never really been walked on-leash before coming to Birmingham,” said Dr. Samuel Findley. 

Lizzie adjusted to town life pretty well and she now gets a morning walk, a long afternoon walk, and an evening walk each day. She is also a part of the 3:30pm community service where students can walk staff dogs, including Dr. Boudreau’s Auggie and soon Nurse Billie Jo’s puppy, Boone. Dr. Samuel Findley explained the dog walking initiative, saying, “You just have to send me an email to set it up and we make sure that you get hours for hanging with a cool dog.” 

As many already know, Lizzie understands commands in both Latin and English, though she originally learned her commands in English. I taught her [Latin] last year just for fun,” said Dr. Samuel Findley. She knows necessary commands including “come,” “stay,” “sit down,” and “jump up.” 

Lizzie has had many interesting adventures and continues to live an amazing life. She is a happy dog wherever she is living, whether on a farm or in a town. “I think she’s at the age where she’s quite content to just lie in her bed for most of the day,” said Dr. Samuel Findley. In summation from the words of Lizzie’s namesake, “I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice” (Austen 346).