Dog 4.0 — Ciao, Bella!

(More photos below)

Meet Bella, the latest in our Pantheon of Precious Pooches. Bella moved into our home about ten days ago. Susan and I got her from an elderly family member who had her for about half a year, but recently fell, broke a hip, and was no longer able to care for her.

So far, I’d say our bonding is going fantastically well. She’s okay with being left alone for a while and is tremendously excited when we return. She’s energetic, attentive, and sweet, but not underfoot or too clingy. And when we head for the couch to watch TV, she flies across the room to join us and cuddle. A real snuggle bug. 

Before the last six months or so, Bella’s history is a mystery. Her last vet estimated that she’s 3-5 years old and guessed that she’s a collie-terrier mix. We’ll be doing her DNA to find out more of her genealogy. 

She’s about 40 lbs, our smallest dog to date, compared to her predecessors Sophie Dophie (85 lbs), Montana Banana (50 lbs), and Molly Wolly (aka Molly Wobbles, 60 lbs). Molly passed away last July, and we weren’t sure we were ready to give our hearts to another furry friend until this opportunity presented itself.

Best of all, Bella’a a mature dog with a known personality — sweet and loving, energetic, housebroken (yes!!), and not a chewer or yapper. We’ve been down the puppy road with our precious dogs in previous decades, and we’re delighted not to have to go through that again.

Also, as you can plainly see, she’s cute as a button! I mean, look at those ears! At first she seemed pretty wild, but as she’s settled down in the past week or so, we can see that she’s definitely had some training.

Nevertheless, we’ve enrolled her in the Basic Skills class at Berkeley Humane Society starting next week, to reinforce her responsiveness to sit, stay, come, etc. Most of all, her on-leash skills need some brushing up.

Welcome, Bella!