Not to long ago we had a brand new addition to our family.

About two years ago I developed an allergic reaction to pet dander, and certain types of pet hair. At the time I had a beautiful and wonderful dog named Marley. Marley was a mix between a ridgeback and a rottweiler. She was the best dog I had ever owned. I tried medicine after medicine, but nothing stopped me from having a reaction to Marley. It was hard on my breathing, and my skin, if we touched I got hives where ever we touched. I was sad and heart broken to have to give up Marley, I had raised her since she was a pup, but I had run out of options, and so we had to let her go.

I didn’t think at the time that I would get another dog, I didn’t really want one. I was scared that I would have a reaction, and we would have to take the dog back, plus I really was hurt over losing Marley. Time heals and although no other dog could ever replace Marley, I have found a new companion.

So my family and I all went down to our local humane society. We looked through all the big dogs, but didn’t really see a match. So we ventured over to the puppy area, where second from the last cage I found a sweet little poodle, shes probably mixed, but I can’t tell with what, and the humane society didn’t have an answer. The handler sat down with us and began to explain her past. The dog we were looking at had come from Virgina, she was just put up for adoption after a couple of really hard weeks. They had received her along with 80 other dogs, they had all come from a puppy mill in Virgina. Our humane Society got 80 out of 800 dogs at that puppy mill. 

They asked all kinds of questions, and even asked me about my allergies, after a lot of talking we finally got to meet this brave little puppy. They had her named Be Be and she was kind of shy and a little timid, but who can blame her.  I got down on the floor with her, and slowly but surely she climbed into my lap. I wanted to have her on me, right next to me, all over my arms, because they were bare. I wanted to see if I got any reaction. We were in the room with her for at least 20-30 minutes before the handler came back, and I still had not gotten any kind of reaction. We sat and talked more with the handler, me holding Be Be all the time, and after about an hour of nothing, we decided that she probably wasn’t going to give me a reaction.

After we decided to get her we went through possible names and finally decided on Bella, it was close to Be Be, and in  Italian means beautiful. I thought it was a perfect fit. Bella was shy, and it did take her a couple of days to get used to us. You can read about the fear our handler said she had, and how we dealt with it at That Mutt a dog blog.

Bella’s hair was terribly matted, and the first thing I did with her was to cut all that away. I knew it had to be hurting her the mats were literally pulling her hair together in all directions. After that she kind of looked silly she had really long hair in some parts, and very short in others, but we couldn’t groom her until she got her stitches out from being fixed. A couple weeks later Bella had her stitches removed and we finally got to groom her. Well actually my husband (god love ya,) thought he could do it, so he tried while I was away. It was a surprise for me, however he didn’t have much success and when I got home my poor little puppy looked like she had been thrown through a fan. She had little to no hair in some parts and puffs of long hair in some spots lol, it was just too sad for words. So I sat her down with me on the floor, and began to finish what my husband started. She sat great for me with the exception of a few escape attempts.

It’s been over a month since Bella has been with us, and I haven’t had one allergic reaction. I am so happy that she is in our lives, I truly love animals, and I felt  void in my life after having to give up Marley. Bella isn’t perfect, she thinks trash cans are food treasure boxes, I am convinced she thinks shes a cat, she will jump on my chair, then up the back of it to get around the gate on the stairs. Clever little girl, so I have moved the gate to the top of the stairs.  She and my son don’t always get a long, but in her defense he is still just learning how to handle a dog, and sometimes makes mistakes. However I am keeping a close eye on this, she doesn’t growl at him or anything like that. It’s just puppy and 3 year old boy play, and they both can kind of get a little ruff (lol - ruff).

She is 6 months old, and still learning the in’s and outsides of potty training, and she thinks my sons train track are good wood sticks. For all those small negatives there are big positives, she wasn’t eating well at first, and now she eats just fine. She would shy away at first, but now shes anything but shy. She can sit, and fetch, although shes still learning about bringing the toy back. She is a smart dog, and I can’t wait to see what she will be like a year from now. I wanted to share her story with you, and ours, and how we all became one big happy family. If you are looking for a dog your local humane society is a great place. Don’t ever discount a mutt, they are amazing dogs and often have less problems then pure bred. These dogs need good people to look after them, most of them have had a hard life right from the start. They require extra special care and need lots of love and attention, but they are well worth it. For me at least Bella is completely worth it.

If anyone has any ideas about what Bella might be mixed with or if you think she is all poodle please let me know, I would love to read your thoughts.

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