Bella Collins

SADLY BELLA WENT TO RAINBOW BRIDGE (JULY 2017)

Sadly, Bella went to Rainbow Bridge leaving behind a heartbroken Jake and distraught Lesley and Gordon who told us “We will never find another dog as lovely as Bella.

Gordon said” We lost our beloved Bella in July 2017. She had lymphoma so after diagnosis she did not have very long to live.

Bella and Jake had been a well established pair for many years and, for sure, they had a very strong bond. They shared everything including food, bones and toys. If Bella became wet after a walk Jake would try to dry her by licking her all over.

A few years back they would accompany me to my shop premises. I can remember a lady customer saying to me that she did not really like dogs but these two gave off a sort of aura and you could not help but like them. At Christmas time, they would get far more presents and cards from my
customers than we ever did”.

Rest in peace, lovely Bella.

HISTORY

JAKE and BELLA’S HISTORY

Jake and Bella were both 8 years old in 2012 when they were surrendered because of a change in family circumstances. Jake and Bella were fostered together in Stockport.

Fosterer’s 1st report (Oct 2012)

Jake & Bella are settling in nicely. Bella is more than a bit overweight so a diet is on the agenda. I will try to get her weighed in the next week or so.

They’ve travelled well though and are now both settling down for bed on some fleeces in the kitchen.

Fosterer’s 2nd report (Nov 2012)

Both dogs are now playing nicely. We had some guests over this weekend of varying adult ages and they both behaved perfectly.

Jake barks if he is on his own. He rarely barks if we are home and there to play with him and occupy and stimulate him.

Both Jake and Bella are house trained and both of them are happy to sleep on dog beds provided at night in the house. Jake loves to play tug. The one thing that still needs some work is that they can be quite pushy for attention. We are trying to teach them to be polite and not coming up on the sofa unless invited, but Bella uses her weight to her advantage and puts on a smiley face as if to say ‘but I’m CUTE! Please let me up!’ We’ve started setting some rules for this because not all guests want a 39kg golden plopping up on their lap.

Bella has pain medication at the moment and this is working well. She had a good 15 minutes of play today which was more exercise than she’s been able to handle all week; so hopefully once we get her pain free we can then look deeper into why she’s put on the weight.

Both of the dogs are very polite at mealtimes. We can eat at the table and they both just lie down at our feet and don’t beg for food. Both dogs enjoy being brushed and pampered. Overall they are a lovely pair.

Update: December 2012

I’m pleased to say that Bella has lost a whole 2kg and her energy levels have increased. She’s bouncing around like a puppy. I will be booking her a follow-up visit with the vet. Her medicine is definitely helping.

Bella and Jake play non-stop now and this has helped Bella’s weight loss.

They love to be groomed and they are still a bit pushy about attention even though we split it all equally but this is getting better every day as we are working with them on self-control.

We’ve worked very hard with them and I’m very impressed and pleasantly surprised at their progress, how quickly they learn and how they’ve adapted.

Update from Jake and Bella: February 2013

We’re really, really happy. We have a lot of fuss made of us along with lovely grooming sessions. The grandchildren come to see us nearly every day and we roll around on the floor as though we’ve all known each other all of our lives.

We also go for long walks and we adore going to the beach. Love Jake and Bella