Bella has a rather sad story. She was owned by a homeless couple who didn’t treat her very well and used her for breeding. After having many litters of puppies, a rescuer approached them to surrender her. They agreed and her new life began.
Bella has been spayed, so no more litters for her! She is also up to date on all vet care and is healthy. We estimate that she is about 3 to 4 years old.
Bella is scared of people she doesn’t know, so we recommend a home without small children. Teenagers who would respect her space would be best.
Bella is slow to warm up, but once she trusts you, you’re golden!
Bella is dog-selective, so a meet and greet with any other dog in the home is essential. We believe she was forced to breed by her prior owners, so that is why she can be wary of other dogs.
Bella is a diamond in the rough. She is doing great in her foster home because they have taken time and patience to work with her to make her feel safe and comfortable. That’s the kind of loving home she needs. CPAA is offering FREE, lifetime training support for Bella’s adopter.
Won’t you give Bella a chance to shine in your home?
3/17/2023 Belly Bella, as her handler affectionately calls her, is working on new tricks with her, which she is perfecting her “come pet me eyes”.
Bella socializes daily with almost the entire block now! She likes to bark at strangers for attention. She needs to give them a good sniffing before she will let them pet her. If she knows you have food, she will warm up to you right away!
She believes that her days should be divided into cuddle time, play time, and food time. I try to keep her learning something new all the time so she doesn’t get bored. This week we worked on jumping over crates and going around them in different directions! When she’s first learning something, I like to use food or a toy that I can use as a lure to teach her what to do.
Bella will tell you when it’s cuddle time, as she will nudge my arm, as if to ask, “can I hop up next to you?” Sometimes she’ll grab the blankets and toss them at me like, “hey cover me up please”. And of course I can’t say no to those puppy eyes! But watch out! If you move your feet, you lose your seat, and she will take up the entire bed!
Bella isn’t too keen on the new dogs yet, but we’ve been working on walking along the fence kind, sometimes running next to another dog in the next yard over. We do this for a little bit, then we walk away and relax, then go back. Sometimes we will just sit or lay down and watch the other dogs play too.
Bella can be dog selective. She seemed to like playful Finnegan, but that took a lot of work in her foster home before joining HOPE. Her future home mind be best being a single dog household.
3/10/2023 Bella is so smart and a very fast learner. She knows so many commands–sit, stay, down, side, paw (either side), heel, sit pretty, high five, crate, over, touch, target, leave it, bring it, nice, release (when playing). Did I mention she was smart?
Some of Bella’s endearing characteristics: She loves to sleep through the night. She will alert you when an intruder is within her boundaries. She holds no grudges. If it’s raining outside, she’ll try to avoid going to the bathroom. If you put a leash on her she will go outside, but will immediately bee-line back to the door to get inside when she’s done.
If you play off leash with Bella, she’ll be your best friend. Fetch is no problem, and you can use a rope, ball, or toy as a tool to get all commands out of her. She’ll wait, or stay, even from far away, just to keep playing.
When I leave Bella for several hours, she’ll greet me with many tail wags and kisses, just to show how much she missed me. Bella always looks forward to a good belly rub, hence my nickname for her, “Belly Bella.”
3/3/2023 Bella and her handler spent this week continuing to build a great bond together:
When I have to leave Bella, whether its for 5 minutes or an hour, she always has a warm welcome waiting for me! She wraps her paws around me with her tail swaying from side to side, and she lets out these little puppy sounds of happiness. I’ve learned that she loves to be showered with lots of hugs and being rubbed on her belly. I called her “Belly Bella” and she knows what her belly is for…belly rubs all day every day! She also has no problem letting you know she’d like to play by simply picking up the toy of her choice and bringing it to you so that you can join in on the fun. Covers at bedtime keep her sound asleep throughout the night, except for loud noises. She’ll wake up, look to me as if to say, “everything okay?” And then she’ll go back to bed. She really likes to play a lot of fetch and tug-of-war for fun, but she will stop at any time you say “release” or “give it”.
She struggles with watching you eat and staying at your feet, she gives you this look like she’s been starved her whole life. She’s also improving with her barking at other dogs, and lately you can tell she’s getting used to some of them, and that she’s just selective about her canine friends. She LOVES Finnegan!
2/24/2023 Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with Bella. She is so irresistible–you’ll find yourself always wanting her around. With her puppy dog eyes, she’ll have you at her beck and call.
Meeting new people is something she enjoys very much. Bella loves to play and have fun, but most of all, she enjoys a good night’s deep sleep. She asks permission through her body language to sleep next to me but has no problem going to her own bed. She loves to cuddle closely.
When I’m away from my cell for a few hours, she does fine. She will bark and whine for about five minutes, then she comes to the realization that it does no good, so she goes about her own business.
Bella is distracted by her new environment, and with dogs and food at an abundance, it is a challenge that she and I will conquer.
Bella’s personality is 100 percent awesome. She is smart, a quick learner, and positively a great dog!
2/17/2023 With all the excitement of meet-n-greets and adoptions over the past week, we didn’t get to announce the new arrival of Bella! She joined the HOPE Dogs last week and we are looking forward to learning more about this girl! She was fostered in the same foster home as Finnegan, and he’s helping Bella settle in and learn the ropes.
She’s going to spend a few weeks with us, but if you think you might be interested in Bella, you can apply here: https://www.hopedogs.org/adoption-application/?animal_name=Bella
