Bella

The story of how 1 man changed 2 lives in a day!

If you were following our Facbook page in 2019 you may remember little Bella the long term foster dog, she’s a very sweet little collie who was having major struggles at home.

Her previous  owner is disabled and did her best to occupy Bella’s high drive with her ball in the garden but began to realise this wasn’t  enough when she became even more fearful and anxious of the world, she hadn’t been walked in a number of months and was nervous of her harness too.

Bella lived with 2 other dogs and things became tense between them all, one of the dogs was confined to a crate to keep them safe and the poor lady didnt know what to do.  At the time there were extra stresses with a house move and builders in and out which terrified Bella who is very afraid of men. It got to the point where her owner did a selfless and brave thing and reached out for help.

When we arrived for her first assessment we found her cowering and growling in fear of strangers in her home hiding under a bed. We coaxed her out with her beloved ball which she still has today and knew we had work to do, so we began to visit regularly and gain her trust. She came to the kennels for an environmental  assessment and although we saw lots of positive signs she was deemed as too frightened to ever safely go off lead and in need of a lot of help..

Our good friend and colleague Ozzie,  the Captain of Be Right Back Flyball Team knew of Bella and found out that a friend he had met dog walking at the park had lost her beloved collie and was walking her usual route alone. He had an idea, gave us a call and changed 2 lives in 1 day!

Fast forward  almost a year and she is still nervous of strangers at home but is now able to settle. Outside is another matter! She no longer carries her tail under her belly, in fact with the help of her owner and the guidance of Ozzie she is running free in the fields and recalling perfectly to her ball, head up high, a life that nobody would have never imagined for her!

Well done to Bella and her Mum, and a HUGE thank you to Ozzie for doing what he loves and does best and turning another dog’s life around.

Pop back soon for a compilation video of Bella’s Journey into forever foster!