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Local Dog Ambassador Finds Forever Home
Once neglected and on death row, Bella supports BAM’s mission and gains a family
As a pet welfare organization Because Animals Matter regularly takes dogs into foster care before placing them in their forever homes. Bella, a female Keeshond-blend, spent nearly seven months in her foster home. During her stay with BAM she became a bit of a dog celebrity, gaining many fans with her eye contact and pawing requests for attention, even earning money for the organization with custom paw print artwork. In October 2012 Bella was named Spokesdog of BAM. It is hard to believe once you meet Bella, that she was ever neglected, but her story is like many BAM works so hard to prevent. The great news is that Bella has finally found her forever family.
July 15th last year was a milestone for Because Animals Matter. While BAM occasionally assists in transferring and relocating pets from high-kill shelters throughout the Southwest, this trip assisted 17 dogs and puppies into safety. That day turned out to be a milestone for Bella too. You see, Bella was not offered the job of a loving pet in her early years, but rather spent the first six years of her life on a chain. Many dogs become aggressive when chained, but Bella remains all love. From her life on a chain, neglected, Bella went to a shelter and eventually wound up on their death row. September Smith, President of BAM says, “Bella had been relinquished to a kill-shelter and was just one day away from being euthanized when a call for rescue reached Utah and a BAM foster home was offered as her sanctuary.”
Unfortunately, BAM was unaware of how bad Bella’s health was until her arrival. Bella had two broken and abscessed teeth and was covered in hundreds of ticks and fleas. Professional help from Dog Works Mobile Pet Grooming was sought at the awareness of her condition. After the initial treatment, Bella underwent four more treatments under foster care and had constant attention over three days to fully remove the ticks. So many bugs had plagued Bella she was found to be anemic.
Clearly Bella had undergone years of neglect. The most obvious sign of her history was and remains her crooked back leg. At some point in her life Bella suffered a significant leg fracture that went untreated. The crooked leg, however, does not slow her down or bother her in any facet of her life and would cause unnecessary pain if treated at this time.
Since July 15th Bella has been well cared for by a dedicated foster parent. Three weeks ago Bella was offered a bit of a respite or doggy vacation, but the placement was such a successful match between humans and dog that Bella has become an official member of the Kaiser-Greer family. They recently adopted another BAM dog, Molly.
It turns out that Molly and Bella shared their foster home and were previously inseparable. You may be able to tell for the photographs that this is once again the case in their home.
BAM board member Beth Lock said, “BAM is so excited for Bella to find the perfect family. Like so many pets from shelters around the country, Bella is a fantastic pet that simply needed the right home to come along. While we can’t help them all, our volunteers and foster families make a difference to as many in-need pets as they can; Bella was just one of many who happened to find a special place in our hearts.”
Many hands came together from multiple groups in order to save this wonderful dog and this is only one recent example of animal welfare organizations working together for the benefit of animals in need. If you would like to learn more about how you can help dogs (and cats) like Bella, contact Because Animals Matter at 435.773.5209 or visit BAM’s Facebook page and take a look around the website.