My Dog Bella

We watched a movie called MY DOG SKIP this weekend... and as always, Daddy Dale fell asleep and missed it all (thanks for working so hard, daddy - we love you!). It was a great little movie - about a dog's unconditional love and loyalty to a little 9 year old boy who needed a friend. If you don't know me, I cry when I watch movies. What can I say, it's true! As I was watching this movie I looked over at my sweet daughter Daniella and she was totally crying, too! She's six years old and I LOVE that she is sensitive and caring and emotional! She is a true pet lover and adores our dog Bella! Even as a little girl (2 years old) - she completely bonded with Bella like no one else had, other than me!

My Dog Bella is 12 years old (that's 84 in dog years!). When I married Dale - we moved to Italy and it was a BIG transitional stage in my life. I was 25 years old, newly married and living so far away from family & friends - in a country that I couldn't even speak the language! We ended up living off base in a duplex home in a town called - Misterbianco, Sicily (Italy). We had ONE CAR between Dale & I (my little black Acura Integra) and the Naval Base was about 20 minutes away. There were days when I stayed home the whole time because I didn't want to drive Dale to work and pick him up... if you could imagine driving on small small streets where no one paid attention to the road signs - I wasn't prepared to drive in that situation - not yet, anyway! So in the beginning of our 4 years in Italy - I was home A LOT!

Our friend and neighbor Larisa came home one day with this sweet little Mutt of a Dog that she took home and picked out of a box in front of the commissary on base. She decided that she wanted to give it to us as a Housewarming gift. We had lived in Sicily now for almost 2 months and when she brought Bella home - I fell in LOVE instantly! She had that sweet puppy breath and was so tiny and cute! Dale was a bit apprehensive... but I convinced him that I would take care of her and she immediately became part of our family!

My dog Bella distracted me from the loneliness of living so far away. She needed me as much as I needed her! I held her, snuggled with her, sang to her, talked to her... she was my little companion. When she looked at me I really felt like she understood everything that I was saying! She loved running around aimlessly and playing with rocks. Eventually I taught her how to fetch and play ball... the basic tricks of sit, stay, down, play dead... speak... at one point she even "smiled" by showing her teeth! Little did we know she was preparing us to an even bigger task - PARENTING!

My dog Bella is my furry little child! She has watched & still watching all my babies grow! She is patient and tolerant and most of all loyal and loving! Wherever I go... she goes. When we come home she is always there wagging her tail to greet us! As I type this blog she is laying down behind my office chair - still by my side, loyal, faithful & true! I am so thankful that she came into our lives twelve years ago! She continues to bring us so much JOY!