On May 12, 2012, five-month-old Great Pyrenees, Bella was re-homed after being rescued from a situation of neglect. This gentle giant became a beloved and faithful member of the marvellous family who remember her here:
“We always love having two dogs and when we found ourselves a one-dog family after our other dog passed away we started looking on the BC SPCA website and found Bella.
She was a five-month old puppy that had been surrendered to the BC SPCA due to extreme neglect. The neighbours called it in, saying they could hear a puppy crying all day in the house.
We immediately drove to Vancouver with our golden retriever to meet her. She was a gangly, razor-sharp-toothed, untrained Great Pyrenees cross puppy with huge paws. We fell in love immediately and brought her home.
It was a bumpy start as Bella had no training or socialization, food aggression and was very anxious when left alone. But she had a huge heart. She just wanted to be loved and near her family, so with patience, training and more patience she grew to be the greatest dog ever.
Her gentle guardian nature applied to everything. She watched over our family, our golden retriever, our chickens and later cats, when we added some to the mix.
There wasn’t a stranger who met her who could not be won over as she would simply sit next to them and lean in until they pet her. She was a great dog ambassador to children who were nervous of her size but again, her gentle, calm demeanour would quickly earn their trust.
We had never experienced the Great Pyrenees breed before and had no idea that her protection of her family would also extend to her being an emotional support dog. If any family member was crying, sick or upset she would not leave their side until all was well. Bella was not a huge fan of water but if we all went in, she would follow. Bella’s favourite place was wherever her family was.
Some people look at a large, hairy guardian dog as work. Lots of training and lots of vacuuming. All true but the white dog hair was far surpassed by what she brought to our family. She died in 2023 of a heart tumour and still our family feels the loss of her presence in our lives.
Thankfully Bella’s legacy lives on within us: be enthusiastic about everything, love your people hard and never miss a chance to go on a road trip.”
We love hearing stories that complete the picture of a life of one of our shelter animals. We are so gratified to know Bella had such a wonderful life with your family.
Thank you for choosing to adopt Bella those many years ago and for so beautifully describing the intelligence, devotion and loyalty that forms the character of this magnificent breed. May your hearts be comforted by your many great memories.
Have you adopted an animal from the BC SPCA and want to share your joy with others? Submit your adoption story!
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