Bella Blue

Here is Bella

Bella also responds to many other names such as: Bella Girl, Belle, Belle Belle, Tinkle belle, Bella Bella Blue Dog, Old Beller, Bella from Hella, Blue Bell, Blue, Sisters (which pairs nicely with Budders) Discount Dog & bad dog...just to name a few

I mentioned in the previous post that we got Bennett first. Robby drove from Lubbock to Rowlett, a good 6 hours to pick out a dog for us. He picked up Bennett, went to his parents house & sent me a picture of our sweet little puppy...it seemed to be all said & done. Within an hour, the breeder called Robby back and asked if we would be interested in the female puppy. Robby said probably not but that he would call me. I BEGGED for her...I said that I couldn't imagine just having one, it would be so fun with two, they could be pals, I would take care of them....sounds like a small child doesn't it? Robby's response: Really? You do know that they will run from you and pee in separate corners of the room right? We can't afford it. We DO NOT NEED TWO dogs! So, he gave me an ultimatum....he said for me to call her back and if we could get her only if we could get her for a certain price....a price which he believed to be unattainable. Within minutes, I was calling him back to let him know he could pick her up first thing in the morning & that we were getting her for even less than what our limit was! He was dumbfounded : ) So he arrived home to Lubbock the next afternoon with our two little bundles of joy ; ) 8 pounds each...Just like Charlotte.

Bella has given us a ridiculous run for our money over the past five & a half years. She spends time like this at least once a year if not more often.

Her injuries/illnesses have included:

• multiple cuts on her legs requiring stitches from tearing around the yard like a maniac
• a large gash on her head from the time she escaped from our tent in the middle of the night while we were camping. She proceeded to run through the woods in pitch black chasing after a raccoon
• UTI's out the wazoo when she was a puppy
• awful mites & skin irritations which required extra special (and expensive) shampoo & baths at the vet plus a food change to hypoallergenic
• a growth on her lip (if dogs have lips) that had to be removed
• a tear in her cruciate ligament, the equivalent of an ACL, this will cost us a mere $2,500 if we choose to have a full knee replacement. Hahaha.....says Robby, his response was to have them amputate it & he would whittle her a new one

One of my favorite stories about Bella is when she first wore the collar pictured above. I was at work & called Robby on the way home. He said that he put the collar on her and she had been standing completely still for 2 hours. Once I was home, she got a little braver and started walking down the hallway as we cheered her on. Unfortunately she misjudged how wide she was and hit the door frame making a loud noise. From then on, she walked backwards throughout the house to prevent that awful situation from ever occurring again : )

Here she is doing what she loves most, playing outside

Bella Blue is a special dog in so many ways. She loves to run more than any other dog I know and she can run super fast. She loves to play fetch with a tennis ball & will play for as long as you will throw it even in the Florida heat. She really likes to be alone, especially away from Bennett. Sometimes we joke saying that Bella probably frequently wonders why she ended up with him out of all the dogs in the litter : ) She loves water, playing in the hose, getting a bath, standing next to the tub when someone else is bathing etc. This dog loves to watch Planet Earth videos, anything on Animal Planet & the US Open. We have a few claw marks on the top of the stand below the TV from her trying to get closer. She will seriously sit still for a full hour watching with us. Bella hates change. She barks like crazy when something is out of place such as a vase moved from the counter onto the table or the stroller in the entryway. She is a little unsure of newcomers but warms up quickly. She hyperventilates anytime she has to ride in the truck. She bites her nails. She licks her front legs until they are, squeaky clean....really, they squeak. She cleans Bennett like monkeys clean each other. She has a distinct three howl pattern when it is time to go potty.

Out of the two of them, we thought for sure Bennett would be better dog with kids but Bella has proven us wrong. She is so gentle & playful but never too rough. She lets Charlotte push her over & lay on top of her : )

Very random picture I know but I really like it.

Her eyes used to be blue but changed to this pretty color after puppy hood

We have agreed that this will be the picture featured at Bella's funeral someday. We call her left
ear that always sticks up her blinker : ) Doesn't she look happy?

Speaking for us & Bennett....life would not be the same without Old Beller!