Bella’s Story Sweet, shy Bella came to DLRR at the age of seven when her owners had a change in their living situation and couldn’t keep her. She settled nicely into her foster home, easily accepting her new furry siblings. When it came time to meet her new family, even Bella knew she found the perfect forever home. And, that forever home had a box of dog toys and a new dad that gave lots of ear rubs. At first though, Bella didn’t know how to play with humans or other dogs, didn’t swim well and had no interest in playing with a ball (imagine, a retriever that didn’t retrieve!). Her new family has helped her gain confidence and she now enjoys mild roughhousing, playing with her canine pals, retrieving and swimming. She is now a true Lab! During the first few months in her new home, Bella showed some anxiety issues with noises such as the air conditioner, jets, wind, rain, thunder, etc., all possibly due to experiences in her past. Her new owners were patient and let her find the place in the house where she felt safe. As time has progressed, the anxiety symptoms have lessened and the only things that bother her now are wind, rain, thunder and fireworks. After 14 months in her forever home, Bella is living the life of a pampered pet. Each morning she enjoys a minimum three-mile walk, followed by her morning swim, then it’s on to breakfast. Her typical afternoons consist of patrolling the view fence for bunnies, chasing lizards and going for car rides. In the evening, her routine is dinner, begging for people food, enjoying her frozen yogurt cup (better not miss this one), and finishing the night with an Oinkie chew strip. She doesn’t hesitate to let you know when it’s time for each one, and you had better not miss any of them! Her favorite thing to do is a toss-up between her yogurt cup and a car ride (she even has her own truck with drool marks down each side). Bella’s gentle nature and calm demeanor are a natural fit with children and other pets. She does very well with her parents’ young grandchildren and gets along fine with the cats, for the most part just by ignoring them. Bella’s personality continues to develop and when she is very happy, she acts goofy – spinning in circles, sprinting and cutting. As rewarding as these past 14 months have been, Bella’s new family looks forward to seeing what the future with Bella brings.