Bella Grace 09-154

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Bella Grace (09-154) arrived at our home on April 9th.  Bella and her sister (Sadie 090-155) were taken in by a wonderful family when their previous owners didn't want them.  The family already had several other pets and while they loved Sadie and Bella, they thought that it would be best for them to have their own "furever" homes, so they surrendered them to RAGOM. 

Bella’s first night with us was very quiet.  She is a patient, gentle girl who just loves to be petted.  Bella met our resident dogs, Cutter and McKenna the first evening and has since found her place in the group.  She has really warmed up to McKenna and they love to roll around and play.  McKenna brought Bella lots of balls the first few days and encouraged her to play with them.  He is now working to get Bella to play tug o’ war with him and a toy rope.  McKenna will tell you that Bella’s favorite toys are balls and stuffed bunnies. 

Bella is really a beautiful golden.  She has very expressive eyes and a very soft coat.  After she arrived we found that she had some rather large mats of fur that this foster mom tried to cut out unsuccessfully.  So a trip to the doggie spa was ordered and Miss Bella came home looking and smelling terrific!  Our groomer told us that she was a model client and she had never seen a dog with such an easy going temperament.
 
Some of you may be wondering if Bella gets along with cats.  We have one resident cat and so far Bella is just fine with him.  She was cautious at first, but now she is sniffing, walking and following him from time to time.

It didn’t take us long to discover that Bella loves attention.  She loves to be touched and talked to.  In fact, if you don’t pet her enough, she will remind you with a gentle nudge.  We also learned that Bella has few commands, so we are working on this.  She has already picked up “sit” and is well on her way with “stay”.  She knows “outside” and literally dances with excitement when we show her the leash so she can go out.  Bella walks okay on a leash.  She does like to lead, so we are going to work on that too.  She really wants to jog, not run, but just jog slowly.

We had a family get-together for Easter and this provided the perfect opportunity for us to see how Bella did with lots of new people.  Well, she made many new friends; including a 93 year old grandma!  There are no small children in our family, so we will be working to find some children and see how Bella does.

Bella’s visit to the vet was today and she was micro-chipped.  She weighed in at 78 pounds, so we will be walking more and dieting (weight control dog food it is!)  All of her test results were good with one exception, Bella has Lyme’s.  We left the vet office with a one month supply of antibiotics and she is expected to be just fine.

Today Bella is learning from McKenna how to watch squirrels from our patio door windows.  She still isn’t sure what all the barking is about, but it sure is fun! 

At a Glance #09-154

Golden Retriever Born: June 2005
Female 65 lbs

Status: Adopted

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Bella Grace (09-154) arrived at our home on April 9th.  Bella and her sister (Sadie 090-155) were taken in by a wonderful family when their previous owners didn't want them.  The family already had several other pets and while they loved Sadie and Bella, they thought that it would be best for them to have their own "furever" homes, so they surrendered them to RAGOM. 

Bella’s first night with us was very quiet.  She is a patient, gentle girl who just loves to be petted.  Bella met our resident dogs, Cutter and McKenna the first evening and has since found her place in the group.  She has really warmed up to McKenna and they love to roll around and play.  McKenna brought Bella lots of balls the first few days and encouraged her to play with them.  He is now working to get Bella to play tug o’ war with him and a toy rope.  McKenna will tell you that Bella’s favorite toys are balls and stuffed bunnies. 

Bella is really a beautiful golden.  She has very expressive eyes and a very soft coat.  After she arrived we found that she had some rather large mats of fur that this foster mom tried to cut out unsuccessfully.  So a trip to the doggie spa was ordered and Miss Bella came home looking and smelling terrific!  Our groomer told us that she was a model client and she had never seen a dog with such an easy going temperament.
 
Some of you may be wondering if Bella gets along with cats.  We have one resident cat and so far Bella is just fine with him.  She was cautious at first, but now she is sniffing, walking and following him from time to time.

It didn’t take us long to discover that Bella loves attention.  She loves to be touched and talked to.  In fact, if you don’t pet her enough, she will remind you with a gentle nudge.  We also learned that Bella has few commands, so we are working on this.  She has already picked up “sit” and is well on her way with “stay”.  She knows “outside” and literally dances with excitement when we show her the leash so she can go out.  Bella walks okay on a leash.  She does like to lead, so we are going to work on that too.  She really wants to jog, not run, but just jog slowly.

We had a family get-together for Easter and this provided the perfect opportunity for us to see how Bella did with lots of new people.  Well, she made many new friends; including a 93 year old grandma!  There are no small children in our family, so we will be working to find some children and see how Bella does.

Bella’s visit to the vet was today and she was micro-chipped.  She weighed in at 78 pounds, so we will be walking more and dieting (weight control dog food it is!)  All of her test results were good with one exception, Bella has Lyme’s.  We left the vet office with a one month supply of antibiotics and she is expected to be just fine.

Today Bella is learning from McKenna how to watch squirrels from our patio door windows.  She still isn’t sure what all the barking is about, but it sure is fun! 

Updates

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Hello! This is Bella taking a turn writing my own update.  I’ve been having loads of fun here.  I have been playing in the yard with my foster brother and just the other day we both got very excited when some geese flew overhead real low.  I don’t know about you, but I am fascinated by birds!  I like to sit on the front patio and watch them fly around.

My foster parents have been working with me to go potty outside and not in the house.  I’ve been very good the last few days and I’ve even heard them say that they think I understand what “outside” means and what “go potty outside” means.  They said they knew I could learn this because I never leave their room all night long and I don’t make any messes at night.  I’m a very good girl!

My foster family has lots of fun toys, and my favorite is the tennis balls.  I just love it when they throw the ball for me to retrieve.  I can always get them to rub my tummy for me when I bring the ball back!  Nothing like a good tummy rub!! 

Sometimes my foster family has to go places and I stay home.  I like my crate and I do well in it, especially if I can have a chew toy…it keeps me busy.  I must be doing some things right here, because the other day my foster family went on a short outing and I didn’t have to be in my crate.  I heard FM and FD say that I had earn a try at “free roam of the house”  I didn’t make any messes or cause any problems cuz when they came back ½ hour later everything was where it was suppose to be.

Last Sunday I had some visitors come and play with me.  Foster Mom says we are going to go visit them next weekend to see if they will be my new “furever” home. 

Well, I’ve got to go.  There are balls to chew on and birds to watch out the patio door.  And, I think my tummy could use another rub…where’s my ball?

 

 

 

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Bella had a wonderful time at Chuck & Don’s last Saturday.  We want to thank all of the people who came to see the dogs and a special “thank you” to the team at Chuck & Don’s for having us!

We have learned more about Bella in the last several days including how she is around kids.  Bella is only interested in older kids, around 12 or older, and adults.  She did live in a family with two small children, however, they did not play with her much.  As Bella grew up the children lost interest in her and subsequently Bella spent most of her time alone and wandering about the area.  Because of this, Bella needs and wants lots of attention.  Since Bella came to live with us, she has been following me and foster Dad wherever we go. 

We continue to work on Bella’s housetraining.  She is learning steadily and making good progress (yes, we do still have a few potty accidents, but she’s getting the idea).  Because Bella was an outdoor dog we expected her to have few indoor manners, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  She has only jumped up onto the couch our resident dogs use when invited (coaxed) and she has not chewed on anything other than the dog toys, which is what they are for!

We continue to work with Bella and commands.  Foster Dad and Bella have “sit” in her vocabulary now and they are working on “down” and “off”.  Bella is a bright dog who catches on quickly.  We doubt that Bella has attended obedience training and we feel strongly that this is something she needs to do with her new furever family.

Bella loves to be outside as you can see in the pictures.  And, she has been having a ball with her foster brother, McKenna.  He has taught her how to watch squirrels in the patio windows, play tug-of-war, and just hang out in the grass.  Bella is learning all about the “golden” life and loving it!