Our Joyful "Failure"

Many have heard one story or another about our dog Bella.   We got Bella when I was 6 months pregnant.  MANY people told us that it probably wasn't smart to get a puppy right before having a baby, and moving into a new house.  But, I was working half days at the time so I would have the time to take care of her, and we new this was going to be a special puppy.  We had waited over a year for her mom and dad to get together, if you know what I mean, and Bella was born on Sept. 17th.  We knew we wanted a black female and we were so excited when she was born!  Brent's dad was going to get a female also, but he ended up getting one of the yellow females.  He named his Mayo (after the clinic, not the condiment).  The main reason we got Bella was so that Brent could have an amazing hunting dog.  Bauer, Bella's dad is a great dog owned by good friends of ours, and we had a great hunting dog trainer lined up to take Bella for 2 months and whip her into shape!  Here are a few pictures of our "first born"  : )

As you can see, Brent took Bella hunting the first day we got her.  We had HIGH hopes for this dog.   Well, being pregnant and home with Bella in the afternoons, we did lots of cuddling.  We loved Bella, but noticed she wasn't too good at playing fetch.  And once in awhile she didn't come when you called.  But man, this dog was a good cuddler.  Even when I was 8 months pregnant and on crutches for a knee injury and not able to do a lot with her, she was great.  There were days when she was a little nuts, but what puppy isn't from time to time.  So, one day at the end of January, Kira came and we had 2 "kids"!  Here's one of our first family photos.



It came time for Bella and her sister Mayo to go to training!!  Brent and I were a little sad, but also relieved because finally Bella would be taught how to retrieve, sit, stay, come, and all of those things you want a dog to do.  Here's Brent moments before leaving Bella!

About a week later we heard the dogs were doing okay, but that Bella was a little "soft."  The trainer sounded a little annoyed with her.  He also said she was okay at manners stuff, but just didn't love to retrieve.

2 weeks later the trainer said, "Come get your dog.  You're wasting your money".   So our retriever who won't retrieve came home.  Meanwhile, her sister Mayo was excelling at dog training.  I think Brent was a little sad at first, but he's determined that someday she will be a duck hunting dog.

We have a duck who laid 6 eggs and is sitting on them about 6 feet from our front door in a hosta plant.  Once in awhile the mama duck comes up and taps on the long window next to our door.  Bella walks by the duck and eggs everyday and doesn't do a thing.  You wouldn't know she was supposed to have an internal drive to "get" them.  If you throw a ball to her, she will run to it, sniff it, and then run in another direction.  She literally eats socks.  She sits on top of the pillows that make up the backrest of our couch, totally wrecking the shape of the couch, not to mention the hair that is everywhere.  The other day I had gotten Brent a muffin from Emily's bakery and had set it on the counter.  Bella grabbed the muffin in her mouth and just looked at Brent.  She didn't chew or try to eat it, she just held it in her mouth.  If anyone broke into the house she'd wag her tail and lick them.   In some respects our dog is a total failure.

But, this dog is better than we could have dreamed.  She cuddles on the couch with you, she sits on Brent's feet when he works at the table, and she lets our almost 5 month old baby pull really hard on her ears and doesn't even care.  She cleans the floor when I cook, and follows me around when I water the garden.  She loves people.  Who cares if she is a Labrador RETRIEVER who has no desire to retrieve?  Not us. 

But Brent's still working on it  : )