Bella
Available!
Bella is a wonderful 6-7 year old Border Collie mix of moderate energy level. She’s spayed, up to date on vaccines, and in overall great health. She’s a love and has been in foster for about 2.5 months. During that time, she has come light years since first arriving at her fosters.
This poor girl has had quite a rough year, first being dumped at a loud, very full shelter. Then, during transport from South Carolina to her foster in Virginia, Bella escaped and was lost, hiding out in the woods, for three weeks. We moved heaven and Earth to get her back with gracious and amazing help from a lot of volunteers. We also hired trackers and trappers to help bring her back. After 3 long weeks of staking out her location, we managed to capture her safely and get her to her fosters.
When she first came to us, she was, understandably, terrified. She slept for several days and ate like there was a food shortage.Within a few days, she began to feel safe and her true personality started to emerge. Now, she is completely comfortable with our pack, and she has come out of her shell. She loves to nap with her people and will happily join you on the bed for a snooze. Bella is very sweet and playful, and prefers to be around her pack, both human and canine.
Bella is SUPER, SUPER smart and is a very quicker learner. She loves to play, and her favorite game is fetch and collect where she gathers and plays with “all the toys”. She does have her favorites and will greet you with a toy gift. We think the toys act as a safety blanket, and she will often take one or two stuffies with her to the crate at night.
While she doesn’t appear to have any formal training, she picks up things very quickly and has learned the rules of the house primarily by watching us and the other dogs. She is on our schedule and does well when she know what to expect. We are also teaching her the basics like "Crate up", "Sit", "Wait", and general impulse control. She’s doing great!
While Bella loves going for walks, she can be hyper vigilant and city life, with all the loud sounds, is not her favorite. She is a little timid, but she is very curious and does very well on walks. Her fosters are going to see if she likes swimming over the next few weeks. They also say she would be a great running partner, on trails or quiet country roads, but no off leash!
Things to know about Bella, she is super sweet but she will need patience, TLC, and some basic training. She is not aggressive, but she has a little bit of separation anxiety, and can be very timid. But once she trusts you, she wants to be with you as much as possible. She does well with other dogs, but she generally just likes to be around them without much playing.
Bella’s ideal home is a quiet adult household, with no children, and a fenced in yard. She would do great with another medium to large dog and picks up queues from them very easily. She does have a strong prey drive, so no small dogs or cats.
Bella needs an experienced handler who will take the time to gain her trust, give her some TLC and help her feel safe. Any issues she does have are completely surmountable with love, patience, and a knowledgeable teacher. While Bella is wonderful, she is not suitable for first time dog owners.
