This is one of our dogs, Bella. As with most people that have dogs, she is considered part of our family.
We already had a Shitzu when my husband, on the way into a pet store, saw Bella. We had previously discussed that we should get another dog so our first dog, Sophie, would have a friend to play with. Sophie, a Shitzu, was a rescue dog. We were told when we adopted her, she had been raised in a puppy mill. She had one bad eye and was missing most of her teeth, but I instantly fell in love with her.
However, it was apparent she suffered some sort of abuse before she came to us. She was so scared and timid when we first brought her home. She shook almost day and night for the first week. Eventually she warmed up to us, but rarely did we see anything out of her that led us to believe she was happy. She didn’t bark, wag her tail, chase balls, or any sort of action you typically see from a dog. We just always felt she did not really know “how” to be a dog. It was this reason my husband suggested we get another dog. Perhaps, a dog could “teach” Sophie how to be a dog.
However, that day my husband was not out searching for a companion for Sophie. Instead he was going to the pet store to get some dog food for her. The pet store often allowed animal rescue shelters to have their animals onsite to interest people in adopting them. My husband said he was walking up to the front door when he felt Bella staring at him. It was like she picked him out. He called me and said “I need you to come down here now. I found Sophie a friend.” We spent some time with Bella to make sure she was a good fit. We found she was full of life and very friendly. She wanted to play, wagged her tail, jumped all over the place, and was kind and loving. We thought she would be a perfect fit for our family, so we adopted her.
Bella is a silky terrier. One of the main benefits of this breed is she does not shed. Sophie also does not shed. This means no dog hair all over the furniture and floors. However, because they do not shed, we do need to have them groomed. Sophie’s hair grows fast. She needs her hair cut about once a month, whereas, Bella only needs her hair cut about once every three months.
Terriers make fantastic farm dogs. She absolutely loves the outdoors. It is almost impossible to keep her indoors every time we walk out the door. She loves hunting from finding critters that are hiding in the barn to chasing rabbits. Unfortunately though, she’s caught a couple of baby bunnies over the years.
And even though she loves to chase critters, she learned quickly we did not want her to chase our chickens. She will stand next to them, but not chase them or scare them. However, she thinks it is alright to chase the new baby calf. Momma cow does not like that though!
Most importantly though, Bella loves Sophie and takes great care of her. It wasn’t long after Bella came home with us that we saw a change in Sophie’s behavior. She started to wag her tail and just seemed happier. No, she doesn’t chase balls and she rarely barks, but she just looks and acts happier than before Bella was with us. And Bella is quite the little caretaker. If Sophie isn’t feeling well, Bella sits right by her side. If Sophie gets up and has to go potty, Bella barks for her to let us know. Bella evens goes so far as to let Sophie eat her share of the food before she eats. We are so very thankful Bella picked us out to be her forever family.
Bella saw me from across the parking lot. I drove back to the store to look at her. I was on my way home and saw her looking at me from probably 150 yards away.