First lounge OP - seeking attention for my new puppy.

[lukasahero]

Ok, I admit it, my post in the pets forum isn't generating enough attention so I'm here whoring my new pup. I'm not proud and she's really cute. :blush:

So please, allow me to introduce Bella, the wonderpup!



Bella is a (~) 6 month old Sato (pronounced saw-toe, meaning=street dog) from Puerto Rico that we met at the local Humane Society. If the staff is to be believed, she was unapproachable in her cage however, when I first saw her, I called her name and she came running up to me kissing my fingers through the fencing and trying to climb through the cage to get as close as possible.

Bella cowered in her cage at the shelter, would not walk on the leash and had to be carried from her kennel out to the greeting area so we could meet her. We took her outside and she just continued to shake - albeit while clinging to me and trying to get even closer than in my lap. When the staff tried to play with her back inside, she didn't seem to know what to do with the toys provided.

We brought her home last Tuesday night and within 15 minutes, knew we had been "played". Didn't know how to play? Cowering scared little thing? HA! Her tail hasn't stopped wagging since she walked in the door, she has discovered each and every one of my dearly departed dog's old toys (as well as my socks, teddy bears, anything that resides below the level of her mouth...) and has my husband wrapped around her little finger! She plays like a maniac running full speed and then "pouncing" on whatever happened to catch her interest (most often mom or, more precisely, mom's hair.) She recently discovered the comforts of the human bed, has "conquered" the giant stairwell monster and fell asleep in the vet's office. She's just so stressed out.



She is such a treat to watch as she continues to explore and gain confidence in her new surroundings. It's simply amazing how resilient dogs are in their trust. We surely don't deserve it. For one enlightening article on the existence of these Sato dogs, read this: http://www.projo.com/pets/content/lb-puerto_dogs_05-18-... Warning to the kind-of-heart: be careful if you choose to visit the website mentioned in this article - graphic pictures abound. See also: http://www.saveasato.org This is the group that rescued Bella. I can't thank them enough.

Some of you might remember I lost my beautiful old Labrador Beau back in May and I have really been struggling with the loss. Bella has helped to fill that doggie-sized hole but the Beau-sized one will always remain. The nun who rescued Bella in Puerto Rico named her, however, in honor of Beau, we'll keep her name as is. Bella is the Spanish feminine of beautiful as Beau is the French masculine. Both words share the same Latin etymology of Bellus meaning "pretty/handsome". It fits.

[Pool Hall Ace]

1. Bella is absolutely gorgeous.

This part made me sad --> "When the staff tried to play with her back inside, she didn't seem to know what to do with the toys provided."

Thank you so much for rescuing her. I am sure Bella is grateful, too! :)

[lukasahero]

4. Thank you

Yeah, that part made us sad too - it's part of why we ultimately brought her home thinking that her life had been such that as a 6 month old pup she didn't know how to play. As you can see from the picture, she has since figured it out. ;)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. she is a cutie-pie! what a face!

She looks happy. :) :loveya:

[lukasahero]

5. That face "owns" daddy

I'm in trouble because he's retired and "supposed" to be training the dog but he lets her get away with anything when she bats her eyelashes at him.

[livetohike]

3. Congratulations lukasahero!

Bella is gorgeous! She has such a wise look on her face in the first pic. You're going to have so much fun with her :-). I remember Beau....I'm sure he's smiling right now to see that you opened your heart to Bella. A :hug: for you and Bella and a big "Arf!" from my Cindy and Murphy.

[lukasahero]

9. Thanks livetohike

I remember your kind words when Beau passed. All our friends and vet folks are happy to see we've adopted again. (I think they were afraid we wouldn't be able to put ourselves through it...)

We're going to have a lot of fun with her once we catch up on our sleep again! It's been 14 years since I experienced puppy-hood firsthand. I'm too old for this. :scared:

Bella's got a big dog bark for such a little girl and she's arfing right back at your Cindy and Murphy! :hi:

[I Have A Dream]

6. What a beautiful girl!

:loveya:

Thank you for taking her into your family. :)

[lukasahero]

14. So far she's had that :heart: affect on everybody :)

Thanks.

[Shell Beau]

7. Ok, but Bella is the name of my unborn baby girl. She will be

coming any day now. This is now the 4th dog named Bella that I have come across. And what is even crazier is that my last name is Beau-something! We are using Bella for the Italian meaning of beautiful and her middle name will be Rose. My last name means beautiful sun. So beautiful rose-beautiful sun is the meaning of her name!


But I am so glad that you took that beautiful little dog in. May y'all bring each other lots of happiness.

[lukasahero]

15. That's too funny!

I think the cosmos are trying to tell you Bella is a good name. (I suppose that only works if you love dogs because if you don't like them, you might find that offensive. :( )

What a lovely meaning for the name of your daughter. Good luck to you - I hope you have a healthy new little one in your home soon.

[cwydro]

8. Awwww. What a cutie!

She looks intelligent too; I can see it in her eyes.

Good for you for adopting from a shelter. Both of my big girls are throw-aways; one is now 13 and the other is 8. They are the best.

And yeah, they do get spoiled fast.

[lukasahero]

16. yup, she's scary smart

Certain things it has only taken one try for her to understand... I didn't want a dog that was smarter than I am but I think we're stuck with her now. ;)

[cwydro]

19. I got one like that.

I can set out a coconut, a ball, a stick, and a toy.

I'll tell her to bring me one of them and she will bring the one I specified every time. She knows their names.

My other dog will just go pick up whichever one strikes her fancy and take it somewhere to destroy, lol.

[flvegan]

10. Fantastic choice.

Thanks for the saveasato.org push as well.

Beautiful dog you have there.

[lukasahero]

17. Of course I'm kicking saveasato.org

They saved my little girl! My husband's not a huge animal person like I am but even he has cried reading some of the stories. I think it's finally "personal" for him. I wouldn't be surprised to see him volunteering in that arena soon.

[MountainLaurel]

11. Molly and Tristan say hello

And want Bella to know that the fleece jack-shaped toy makes for really good noms.

[lukasahero]

18. LOL - yeah I think the jack is a little much for her right now

Not sure if you can see in the picture but my old boy Beau liked it well enough to tear it apart. Bella hasn't shown too much interest in it. She likes "Frosty" and there's a floppy little moose she's particularly fond of. (Too bad she ripped mr. moose's arms and legs off the other night when she didn't want to be in her crate - now she's sans moose until daddy sows him back together!)

:hi: Molly and Tristan!

[LibertyLover]

12. Oh, what an adorable pup

you and Bella are both very lucky. May you both have many long years of friendship, playing and cuddling together!

[lukasahero]

25. Thanks - I'm hoping for lots and lots of years because she's so small!

I got 14 years out of my 110 lb Lab. I'm aiming for 20 with my 32 lb Sato! :)

[LibertyLover]

39. I hear you

So far my Siberian Husky and senior whippet are 9, my senior grey is fast approaching 11, my junior grey is 8 and our junior whippet is 5. We expect the greys to go at about 13 or 14, but whippets can live longer. I'll take as much as I can get with them.

[hedgehog]

13. Dogs know when they are home!

[lukasahero]

26. Exactly. :) eom

[lost-in-nj]

20. What a beautiful girl!!!

Thanks for introducing her!!!
and keep us posted on her progress!!


:hi:

Good Luck


lost

[lukasahero]

27. I'd be writing all the time re: her progress!

She learns something new 2x a day! Of course, that's easy since it's all new for her but still, dang she's sharp. And so darn pleased with herself when she "gets" it. She stands in front of us bopping around like look at me, I did it, yay for me! :) This one's gonna keep us laughing. I miss laughing.

[ThomCat]

21. Hi lukasahero!

:hi:

She is an adorable puppy. :loveya:

I am so glad you got her out of that place. and that she was rescued to begin with. It sounds like she's having a total ball being part of your family. :)

[lukasahero]

28. Hey ThomCat! Miss you!

I've gotta run shortly but wanted to say hi! (When/where are you coming to NH? I'm right next door. Worked in NH until a month ago!)

We couldn't let her stay there another night - my husband got all choked up thinking about putting her back in the kennel so we took her right home. And this place is one of the better shelters around! It's just so loud and cold and scary for a little girl. You guys don't know me and my husband but trust me (I've got yard pics around here somewhere...), this little one hit the lottery. :)

Ok gotta run. Let me know when you're coming to north!

[XemaSab]

22. Awww!

SO CUTE! :D

[lukasahero]

34. Yeah, I just wish she didn't actually KNOW that yet. ;) eom

[marzipanni]

23. Bella is very cute, and smart to pick you as her new people!

We got our Sally a couple of months after our dear old Billie-girl's heart failed while we were camping.
Congratulations on your happy new puppy!

[lukasahero]

35. I'm so sorry for your loss

It's so hard. I knew it would be hard but nothing could have prepared me for losing my Beau.

I'm surprised we took Bella in so soon but we were just out "scoping" the doggie scene and she picked us from moment 1. We simply could not resist her charms. :loveya:

I'm glad you found someone to help fill the hole of your "Billie-girl". :hug:

[applegrove]

24. What a great rescue story.

[Eurobabe]

29. Adorable. Reminds me of the Potcakes in Turks & Caicos

Same types of dogs, basically local strays, there is a foundation there that rescues them and places them up for adoption.

[BrotherBuzz]

30. Interesting background of Potcakes

http://www.nhscare.com/faq/index.php#q4

[marzipanni]

40. It gets confusing sometimes when my DUer DH and I alternate logging in !

When I was in the middle of googling "Potcakes", my brother called to discuss our 93-yr-old mom who's having trouble living at home, so I started looking up info. for her.
Then, not remembering that DH was logged in, I quickly posted what I thought was this website, about Potcakes:
http://www.snip-spayneuter.com/snipwpotmore.html (Me... :crazy:)

[lukasahero]

42. Ok that makes sense now :)

I kind of thought you were alt univers'ing on us. ;)

If I understand correctly Potcakes face the same neglect that Satos do but not necessarily the same level of abuse. (It's getting really bad in Puerto Rico because of all the publicity since the 11/07 massacre). They're very cute.

Bella definitely has some "issues" but we're doing very gentle "Uncle Matty" for shy dogs and only positive reinforcement with her. I can't believe how much she has come out of her shell in a little over a week.

[LostinVA]

31. What a cute pup

I read an article about the Sato dogs in "People," and it made me cry.

[lukasahero]

33. Yeah, that's the same guy referenced in the ProJo article I linked to

It made my husband cry, too. He likes dogs but has never been the bleeding heart animal welfare person I am. I think realizing that could have been Bella's fate really struck a nerve in him. And to see how trusting and eager to please she is even after the abandonment and abuse is really inspirational. We could learn a thing or two from dogs.

:hug:

[VenusRising]

32. What a sweetie!

I would have taken her home, too. :loveya:

You're so lucky to have found each other. :hug:

[lukasahero]

43. Yeah, we fill each other's gaps. :)

Actually some other people were asking me about her when she first was kissing me and stuff at the shelter and I got protective like "get away from her, she's mine." That's when my husband said it's all over the but the signing, isn't it? :rofl:

[driver8]

36. Congratulations -- she is beautiful!!

Don't think this is your only "puppy" post -- we expect LOTS of pictures!!

She looks like a sweetheart...

[lukasahero]

44. Cool - thanks!

I made a promise that I would take not only more pictures but lots more videos of my "next" dog after Beau died. Now I have a place to share her "truimphs" and adventures.

Thanks. I will do that.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

37. Awww...

She just needed the right humans. You were the chosen ones. :hug:

[lukasahero]

45. She absolutely chose me/us

The staff may be good at playing people but even those that didn't know how she responded to me kept telling me how she never comes to anybody. The fact that she came bounding over to me that first time means she has an extraordinary intuition. :) Not to blow our own horn or anything but this dog now has a beautiful yard, woods and a stream to romp in, a "daddy" who's retired and home to dote on her all day long and 14 years worth of dog toys I hadn't yet been able to part with after Beau died. She, as my neighbors have said, won the lottery. Smart doggie. ;)

(Lots of toys did go to a local shelter but I hadn't yet been able to part with Beau's plush squeeky toys - he loved them so much. That said, I can't believe there isn't a tennis ball anywhere to be found in this house after 14 years with a Lab!)

[DeepBlueC]

38. she is a darling girl

doesn't the house just light up with a new pet? Especially a Latin lover like her... Adorable. Thanks for the story and the pics.

[lukasahero]

46. Oh absolutely

The house is a different place - it's like the family is whole again and there's always something fun happening. She's just a delite to watch. :)

[skygazer]

41. She's beautiful

Sounds like she couldn't have asked for a better home. And I love the name Bella. :loveya:

[lukasahero]

47. The name sealed the deal

She's so delicate and frail, you can only imagine rescuing her.

On the other hand, for such a delicate, graceful looking thing, she's almost as much of a klutz as I am - she's always walking in to things or tripping on the steps. She's even "missed" jumping up on the bed, not to mention fallen off it a few times. You feel bad laughing but it's really hard not to. :evilgrin: