The Bella Story

It is really amazing the impact best friends make, and sometimes it is not till they are gone till you really understand what you are missing out on. I know to some people dogs are dogs, pets are pets, but those people you have really missed out on some of the best friends anyone could have.

The Bella Story
I remember Kendra coming home one day, saying I just saw this beautiful dog down at the shops, I really like her and you have to come and see. Oh yeah OK (thinking here we go, soon we will have 2 dogs, it must be cute). So we walked Elsa down to and had a look, Bella was the only female (Kendra seem to only like female pets she want to outnumber me), and was the only one to go to the window to get excited to see Elsa. Then she was straight to me, back to Elsa, then me all excited. Bella was sold as soon as the she was taken out of the enclosure to run to Elsa. We walked home with Bella in Kendra’s jumper pocket. We were pretty worried about her falling down a drain.
Bella was a funny little character with some big assets. Those that knew her, knows it was not just her ears, she had a big heart and a load of love to give. You show her kindness and you were rewarded 100 times over. She was a Staffy X Jack Russell she was the boutique dog, before I’d even heard of one, I guess you could call her a Jaffy, Stack, or a Ruffy. We always got in trouble for her being too fat, but with her Staffy body, Jack head and a huge love for food it was always a challenge, but her energy always kept her in good form. With daily walks, it was not long till Kendra was recognised by many around our area and was very well known.
The beach was great for the dogs. With Elsa I always ran down into the wet sand and wait for the wave to come, run back as Elsa got dumped by the water, it was a little game, as she always got to jump on me with her wet sandy paws. The first beach visit with Bella, and Elsa was running in with Bella following. It was pretty funny to watch her show Bella the game. Bella looking like she nearly drowned but came out all smiles. She leant early and was always quick to run back.
The Brisbane years were hard on our dogs, but Bella did really show how amazing she was during this time she proved she was special (more on that later). Being small(ish) she never really felt comfortable around large or aggressive dogs, but with numerous visits to dog parks she was getting her confidence. Till one day Kendra was walking them and 2 dogs decided to have a go, one dog was between Elsa and Bella, the other attacked Bella. With Kendra on the ground after the leads were tangled and pulled her legs out, we were very grateful to the guys who stopped to help. With stiches and drips Bella was always very cautious around any other dog until they showed their friendship.
She is just amazing, and proving she was not just the dog that followed in Elsa’s footsteps she had her unique abilities. One day I got a call at work, saying that my dogs had been let out (previous occupants had signed a letter saying the fire ant sprayers were allowing in our backyard, so they went in but let our dogs out). Bella came back but Elsa kept running away from anyone she did not know, and was chased far from home. I came home and searched everywhere hearing different reports of where she was I searched from about 2pm till 9pm mostly driving around walking across ovals (I should have been a bike rider back then). Our last effort for the night was to let Bella go and follow we thought it was a long shot. Bella started running, and running, it had been a while since I had run that far and really did not know what she was up to. We were about 3k’s from home till she stopped, she stood there looking around and barked. Elsa popped her head out of a shady bush obviously hiding away in the summer sun. I was stunned (Elsa was too), I still am amazed and scratch my head over that one and would not believe it unless I was there. She proved she had smarts, and obviously knew more than we did.
We moved back to Canberra, and really when my MTB riding resumed after many years of other things. The dogs got a Cat to play with again, and loved racing into the water pools near our house. Our friends brought a farm and it was time for a few visits. Bella loved it from the time we got there, and she jumped out of the car and she chased this black fox (which was twice the size of her) she got pretty close but I was happy when she could not catch it and came running back very proud. They had a few big weekends there, and they always finished the day absolutely buggered. They lived for weekends away where we just could not wipe the grins off their faces.
The girls have slowed down since those trips, but they could never knock back the good times, Bella grew a grey goatee around her mouth, but her mind was always like it was when she was a puppy. She finally found a love for squeaky toys and instead of Elsa ripping them apart; she allowed Bella to have a few months of joy from each one, before Elsa had enough and ripped them to pieces.
Bella never stopped being a friend; she was always with us in the yard, never in the way, just there. She always sat on the pavers in 40 degree days while Kendra hung the clothes on the line. She was there helping me wash my bikes, and always happy for a pat, even if it was a cold wet hand in the middle of winter.
Our final weekend away was such a good weekend, Bella went into the surf and this time she was riding the waves, she was no longer running from them (unlike her dad), she was the big girl. She snuck some cuddles in, sneaking up onto the bed through the night. We went to a friend’s wedding one afternoon while the old dogs rested. But deep down we knew this maybe the last special trip away. We knew both our dogs were getting on and they have lived through many of their dog friends passing. We look back only a few weeks ago and cherish that time when Bella was last herself.
Since that time Elsa has been whining some nights and, the Bella we knew slowly faded. She fought till the end as she gave us one last walk as a family. The following morning her will was gone, and no longer could she keep fighting against her disease. We walked from the vets with a squeaky toy which she spent her last night with (we could not have had her there sleeping alone).
Bella has left a huge hole, which will never be fully filled. She gave us so much love it was like a bucket overfilling. Elsa and Millie have been looking very lost without her and Kendra and I, between us just can’t match what Bella use to give. She will always be a beautiful character that will always be missed.
RIP Bella, most of all we will always miss the look of excitement and happiness every time we saw you.
Thank you to all that were apart of Bella’s life, I know that through every part of it she had made some special friends.