Bella...Ella...Ella...Eh...

I have never had a dog.  Or any pet, really, besides the multiple fish I had that died within three days - excluding the freakishly large goldfish named Fishstick, which I swear lived for nine years or something.  When I was little, I wanted a cat or dog so badly that I even poured my heart out to my first grade teacher in a heartfelt journal entry:  "I want a pet SO BAD!  All I've ever had is fish, and they all died.  I think they died because my brother touched them with his finger.  I just want a cat or a dog.  Dad hates them, and Mom won't get one.  I will do anything.  JUST GET ME A PET!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

How could they have turned me down?!  That was one persuasive essay.

So I distracted myself by playing with my aunt's dog Molly as often as I could and, um, later on, I may or may not have hung out at certain boys' houses specifically so I could be around their cats.  Then, not too long after Jared and I were married, we went into a PetSmart where they had kittens for adoption.  I fell in LOVE with an extremely mischievous kitten named...Janet.  (It had four brothers and sisters, and they were all named after Jacksons.  I know.)  She was brown and black spotted, and she got her tiny paw caught in my earring.  Oh my gosh.  I wanted to take her home.  And then I looked over at Jared.  And he looked...weird.

"We need to leave," he said, wiping his eyes.  Okay, my husband is crying in the kitten adoption enclosure?  Hmm.  A little more sensitive than I expected, but...all right, I'll roll with it.

I reluctantly handed Janet (shudder) back to the nice lady, and we left the area.  Jared gasped for air and a big wheeze left his chest.  "Holy crap.  My allergies and asthma were so friggin' bad back there.  I thought I might die."

Thaaaaat's right.  Jared is allergic to cats.  Goodbye, Janet. :(  Here's hoping your new owner treats you right and changes that name!

So cats were out of the picture.  BUT THEN we found the best little kennel in Iowa, and one of the puppies snuggled right up under my chin and wouldn't move.  I did not need to hold any more puppies, not even the tiny adorable Yorkies shivering in their cages (don't worry, they were sold already!)...she was the one we ended up taking home.  We named her Bella, and she was tiny and cute and so afraid when we got her home that she hid behind a picture I had leaning up against the wall for a full two minutes :)

(PS:  Here comes a lot of dog pictures, so feel free to skip the rest if you hate dogs or, y'know, have no soul.)

Look at the little sweetheart!  (Bella, of course, not Jare.)  She is a Maltese-Shitzu mix, and was extremely good and quiet for her first two days with us....



And then she kind of turned into a little shit, as puppies tend to do.  She never barked or had accidents, but my goodness, she liked to bite!  Her inner dialogue sounded, I imagine, something like this, "Play! Play! Play! Play!  Treat?!?!  PLAY!!!!"  After a week or so, it got a little bit exhausting, but it all became worth it when the three of us settled down for the night to watch an episode of Modern Family - Bella actually really likes her cage that she sleeps in and rarely whined.  We were a little family!

 





 And then it started.  Jared would come home from work, be fine for about a half an hour, and then start sneezing, itching, rubbing at his eyes, and doing this awful sniff/snort combo.  Uh oh.  After a few afternoons/evenings of this, I heard an ominous wheezing coming from his chest.

"You're allergic to Bella."

"No!  I'm not!  I've had plenty of dogs, and I've never been allergic to a dog before!"

"Maybe not...but I think you're allergic to our dog."

We washed her and shampooed her, just to make sure it wasn't something the kennel had used on her that was bothering his allergies.  But nope.  Jared was allergic to our Bella.  And his asthma makes it so that his allergies are pretty serious...he already takes daily meds for it.  We were very upset and weren't sure what to do with our new puppy.  I cried...A LOT.  I didn't want to get rid of her!  And, of course, neither did Jared.

But in the end, Jared's parents took her in; they live about forty minutes away and have a shitzu of their own that Bella just loves to torment.  The situation worked out very well!  Yes, I still cry basically every time I leave their house because I have to leave her behind, but they are taking great care of her and making a good home for her.  And she is still just as naughty as ever.  She has taken to giving kisses while simultaneously biting ears, eating ladybugs (living or dead, she isn't picky), and wrestling Oscar - their other dog - to the ground even though he has about ten pounds on her. 

She also gets fixed tomorrow afternoon, the poor thing, and to tell you the truth, I'm a little bit terrified :(  Sorry for the novel-length post today :)

 

xoxochelsea