Our Bella Bear

Bella Bear (This was taken when we first started fostering her)

Bella (originally Angel) was found by a Good Samaritan tied to tree, under weight, and missing hair, she had ring worm, and a number of other problems. She was brought to Friends of Bay County Animal Rescue who placed her with us to foster.

At first, she drove me crazy, and I knew that she was going to be a project to turn around. She wasn't really concerned with people all that much. She just wanted to chew her bone, play with the other pups, and eat. When I first started loading her clicker, she took the treats from me very roughly. She was high energy, so she couldn't focus for very long. She was also a MONSTER on-leash. (All of which are very fixable, and probably a product of how she was treated). What really got to me though, was that she NEVER wagged her tail

Two months later, she was walking without pulling my arm out of the socket, she took treats with her tongue instead of her teeth, and she started to ask for more attention. She was going to weekly adoption events... But sadly no one had shown any interest in her. 

Then.... there was Bella's "incident". I had gotten a call that Bella had bitten somebody at an event that I hadn't stayed for. So I drove back out to the beach to pick her up and bring her back to my house. Wondering the whole way what was going to happen to her, and how this would effect her chances of being adopted. After picking her up, we came to the conclusion that Bella was probably just trying to play and had not meant to bite. Feeling a little better about the situation, I drove her back home and sat down with my husband.

Bella is dog that you really have to understand to be able to take care of her. You really have to know her as a dog to know her tendencies and know how to manage her. Bella does not like being approached from behind, as this is a vulnerable spot for dogs. She also does not like men that are strange to her. And she plays rough, even with people (we are still working on teaching her bite inhibition). However, all of those behaviors can be worked with and managed. My husband I and were afraid that if someone adopted her without fully knowing her, that she would be returned. We also knew, that what this dog needed was stability. A schedule. Something that she could depend on. 

This is Bella Bear cuddling with me, Diesel, and Gypsy.

Needless to say, Bella is our "foster failure". (In other words, we adopted her.)

The first thing we did was change her name from Angel to Isabella (AKA Izzy or most commonly, Bella), bought her a collar, name tag, and leash. She slept in bed with us that night, and she has never been the same since. 

Bella is an amazing dog. She is always there to put a smile on our faces with her spunk. Her tail never stops wagging any more, and it seems that there is always a smile on her face. I know that all she needed was a little bit a stability, and as soon as she was able to predict what was going to happen in her daily life, she settled down quickly. She will never again have to worry about tomorrow. 

She drove me crazy in the begging, but now I can't imagine how life would be without her.