Day 9 of Gratefulness: Bella

Growing up there was no way I was ever going to have a dog.   I was scared of them.   The dog hair all over the furniture or in someone’s car literally grossed me out.  Now I cannot imagine my life without my dog, Bella.  What changed?  About 8 months after moving to Denver I moved in with my friend Penny and she not only had her dog Lincoln but her roommate Todd had a dog and her boyfriend had a dog.  There I was confronted with three dogs, which was bearable.  I never allowed the dogs in my room and actually had a baby gate in front of my door to keep them out.  Thought Lincoln once jumped the gate and a stole a bar of chocolate off my dresser- not to worry nothing happened to him.  Over time I grew to really like the dogs and often walked them to the park.

I was still no fan of their slobber on my face or their hair on the furniture but I managed.  After that experience I was not 100% cured from my fear of dogs but I knew that I would eventually have one of my own.  Well in April of 2009 an email fell into my inbox requesting a home for three adorable puppies.  Something inside of me told me that I had to do it- it was now or never. Here I went down the rabbit hole of being a dog owner and not having a clue as to what I was getting myself into.

I knew I was going to name her Bella due to my infatuation with Twilight.  The day I picked her up I was so nervous and when I held her for the first time I was not really sure what to do- would she pee on me and how the heck do I take care of this delicate creature?  Those first few hours were like delightful, here was this adorable little creature that was all mine and yet I had no idea what I was doing.   Well our journey began together and it has been life changing ever since.

There were times over the last two years that I got frustrated with her and thought I was not being a good doggie mom and that she was being a bad doggie.  I have learned a lot of patience, a lot about practice as well as about love.  Bella has taught me so much about myself and that play needs to be a part of everyday including my own.  It is so incredible everyday how much love she has for me- you can see it in her eyes when I walk out the door, or in her smile when I come home or how close she needs to be near my at times.  She brings me so much joy and love, which I am grateful for.

This is the picture that was emailed to me- you would adopt her too?

This is from Christmas this year where she was like really mom this is embarrassing