| We adopted Bella (formerly Tinkerbell) in September 2003. She is an absolute
love. Bella will be two years old in January. She is a well-packed 29 pounds. She is
described as a beagle mix, but the more we get to know her the less beagle we see. We
think she has some JRT and maybe some sort of herding breed in her. We just finished
a beginner-level training class with her and when the other dogs were not doing what
they were supposed to do, she'd try to "herd" them into it! We will be continuing training
for her throughout the fall and winter. Maybe do some agility in the spring. The
training really helps her confidence. She is such a character - she dances around
at the door when it is time to go out and learned the sound of the "treat jar" in about
one hour. She can also jump straight up about 4 feet when she is really excited. She
always comes when called. She is the most snuggly dog we've ever known. All she wants
is to be with her people. She is happy to just sit or lie next to us, or just be in
the same room. When I am working for a long time in the kitchen, she drags her bed in
from the living room and "keeps watch." If we are sitting on the couch, she loves to
approach us and lay her face on our shoulder. We call this her "hug." Bella does have
some separation anxiety and had a rough time at first with being left in her crate.
She is making tremendous progress - she's getting better every day. She loves her sister
Gracie (formerly Cher) -- our resident dog, and the two get into mischief all of the
time. They're quite a pair. Bella bonded with me very quickly and I think was threatened
by Gracie at first. Now that she has learned that there is enough of everything
(including love) for both of them, they get along great. Thank you for helping us
bring Bella into our lives!
(Photos: Bella happy in the yard. Bella and Gracie on "Squirrel Patrol"!
Lisa A. Bilozur
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