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| The day we adopted Bella |
It is hard to believe that today our Bella dog turns four. She has been such a blessing to our little family; acting as guardian, nanny, play-mate and loyal companion. When we moved back to Colorado in 2008 we knew we wanted to get another dog for a variety of reasons. First, was for a play companion for Wyatt, who is 100% terrier with a ton of energy. Second, was so we could get a bigger dog for running, hiking and "big dog activities". We also knew we wanted to adopt a dog. We visited Max Fund and couple of other places. It was heartbreaking to see all of those amazing dogs without families. We fell in love with a lot of dogs but were extremely concerned for Wyatt's safety since the majority of them were full grown and Wyatt is only a 25 lbs. So we left with sad hearts thinking we would never find a dog to adopt, that is until we stumbled upon Life-Line Puppy rescue; which is a no-kill rescue that saves puppies from all around the Mountain Region. We were able to take Wyatt with us to meet the puppies. We met a few puppies that took right to us but not to Wyatt; which was a problem we wanted a puppy that would bond to all of us. We were about to leave when Jeremy and Wyatt spotted this little black puppy huddled in the corner with a small little Daschund puppy. "We have to see her." And the rest is kind of history. She snuggled right up to Jeremy and I and most importantly to Wyatt as well.
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These two have been inseparable
since the day they met.
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We aren't sure exactly what happened to Bella in her first 11-12 weeks on this earth, but it left her a terrified puppy. She was scared of everything. The first week she refused to be anywhere but either by Wyatt's side or on my lap. She was terrified of Jeremy, sudden movement, other dogs and other people. We began to take her to a weekly puppy socialization class. Asking people to pet her and feed her treats. Telling them that it was okay if their dogs tried to play with her, even if she acted like her world might end. This training helped her to see what the world wasn't a terrifying place that she was safe and that she was bigger and stronger than she thought she was. As she grew it was almost comical to see her "hide" behind Wyatt; but eventually she learned to take cues from Wyatt and she began to love being outside and going to the dog parks.
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Bella is on look-out
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It took her about 2 weeks to realize that Jeremy was a good guy. They have been best of friends ever since. We jokingly call Bella "Officer Bella". She has taken on a guardian role for me and Wyatt. She is always on alert, always clears the apartment first, warns of suspicious behavior (even when sometimes it isn't that suspicious) and comes to Wyatt's aid when he needs her. When Jeremy is home you can almost see her switch to off-duty. If you could ask her Bella would probably say that she loves "pack" adventures above any other regular adventure; these adventures must include Wyatt, Jeremy and I and usually involve hiking, swimming, ball chasing and more. You can almost feel her enthusiasm on days that we are all together. Can't say I blame her, our pack is pretty special and Bella helps keep it that way.
