First We Get Dubya Then We Receive Bella = 2 Dogs!

Passing Dog Class

February playing in the snow for
the first time. 

When we adopted Dubya from Last Chance Animal Rescue I was hardly ready to have a new puppy, a new dog after losing Cool Dog Myles, but we all jumped in with enthusiasm and love.   He was this little 7 pound puppy full of love and oh so smart.  We had him for a little over a year and through trial and error we were making progress with him.  We could let him sleep in his kennel without the door shut, but we were still hoping every day he'd make 'smart choices' when we weren't home.  We had tried letting him be out of the kennel while gone but, again, smart choices weren't always what our very smart dog made.

Tired after a victorious Super Bowl

Dubya is smart though and he shows it every single day and he loves us and feels a strong desire to protect his turf and his family.  He has a slew of friends at A Dogs Day Out and a few good dog friends like Mazie (his first friend) and Sheamus and Finnegan, two brother dogs that  have a swimming pool.   He is so social, whereas Myles was never that way with other dogs, he loved people more.  But again, I was beginning to wonder if he'd every make 'smart choices' like don't chew Brad's shoe laces when we walk out the door, or McB's flip flop.   Small but annoying things that get him in enough trouble to keep him in his kennel while we are gone.

Bella

Now, about this time Brad's older son and our daughter in law were in the last weeks of pregnancy.  They were having a baby boy, preparing to move to Florida and had three dogs.  The biggest of their dogs was Bella a black lab.  Three dogs is a lot and add a new baby, being without a permanent place to live for two months and something had to give.  I had been wanting a black lab, much as I love Dubya he wasn't a lab and rarely felt remorse for bad decisions.  He just shook them off and went on to the next fun thing.  Bella ended up coming to us the first of June and it's been love all around since then.  She does feel badly if she does something wrong and then tries to make it up to you for the rest of the day.  She also has a loud and throaty bark that always surprises us coming from such a sweet little girl dog.


Bella has turned out to be a huge and wonderful addition to our Buzz Shack.  She and Dubya figured out how to walk with the double leash and have developed a pretty good routine.   They love each other and play nonstop with each other at home, at Mazies and at Doggie Day Care too.  The best part is Bella keeps Dubya out of trouble and Dubya reminds Bella to be a dog, relax and just have fun.  From the first day she was with us we stopped putting Dubya in his kennel and they have stayed out of trouble.

Here are just a few of the pictures of them together.  They are inseparable these days.  Laying on the floor resting, just hanging out waiting to go for a walk or our favorite times watching them together, playing at the neighbors swimming pool.  Below is a great example of them interacting.  Bella will spend all her time swimming and playing catch, meanwhile Dubya has zero desire to swim and will run around the edge simultaneously trying to get the ball from her and warning her 'danger danger, you're in water it can't be safe!' Ha ha ha, the joke is on him, everyone swims in our family.  He's even had to get in, he didn't like it but he did it.  

I think the pictures speak for themselves over the love she has brought to our family and how she has made Dubya a better dog.  In turn Dubya has made her feel welcome from the first moment she walked in the door and he jumped on her and wanted to wrestle. 

Bella diving in to get her tennis ball

Just another front dive to get her ball

Bella loves her time in the pool.  She loves her walks, playing at doggie day care, going for rides in the car (always in the backseat, Dubya calls shotgun a lot!) and cuddling on the bed with us.  She also loves to bark and jump up to say hi to everyone that walks in our door, don't worry though, we are working on those two small issues.  

Bella was able to get Dubya to at least get his feet wet.  Here they are sending McB off on her first day of 6th grade.  Occasionally they take her to school and get to see all the cool teachers.










At St. Bernadette's Catholic Church being blessed in October at the Blessing of the animals.  They were so good and loved seeing all the other pets. Plus I'd like to think it made them a little holier and better behaved??

A few parting shots of Dubya, happily laying on the patio enjoying a nice September evening.  Happy, relaxed, content and taking a break from a day of play.  He is a lucky dog, rescued at 10 weeks and then given a partner in crime in Bella.

Bella in one of the last pictures of her from the neighbors pool this October. Good swimming, good dog friends and a good life with us and Dubya.

We love them and I would never have thought to be dog parents to two but it's a blessing and all we have to do is love them and they take care of us.

You can follow their adventures on Instagram @DubyaandBella