Bella, who is now (in September of 2024) four years old, is very large 120-pound female who is a mix of Malamute (two-thirds), Newfoundland (one-sixth), and Great Pyrenees (one-sixth). She combines in a single dog my three favorite breeds. She also combines in a single dog many of the traits of these three breeds that some families find difficult to manage. She has an extremely strong prey drive (common for both Malamutes and Great Pyrenees), aloofness (common for Malamutes), independence (common for all three breeds), a level of disobedience (especially common for Malamutes, but also common for the other two breeds), and a capacity for critical and independent thinking (essential for the survival of all three breeds). When she does respond to a command, she often likes to make it appear that it is her idea. After having been surrendered by her first two families, she has now found her permanent home, though the transition has not been an easy one for her.

Bella’s experience with her first family appears to have been a happy and even joyous one. She was adopted as a puppy, trained, loved, and cared for. She seems to have especially bonded with her family’s three young boys. (After I adopted her, she ran to the fence whenever a school bus passed by in the hope that her beloved boys would somehow appear.) Unfortunately, she began to exhibit a strong prey drive toward the family’s cats. Given a choice, the family chose their cats and surrendered Bella.

Her experience with her second family was not as good. Judging from a custom harness and high-quality bowls, her adoption seems to have gotten off to a good start, however I suspect that Bella was stored outside for long periods of time, and quite possibly all the time. When her family finally decided that they no longer wanted her, they complained of her prey drive, her digging, her being an escape artist, her aggression toward other dogs, and her unpredictable behavior toward people. Their evaluation depicted a horrible dog about whom there was virtually nothing to like. Who would even consider adopting a dog like this?

Of course, I adopted her. When I read her second family’s assessment, it struck me as an impressive piece of character assassination. There was sure to be some element of truth to it, but at the same time it was almost certainly an exaggeration, with many of the complaints about
Bella’s behavior clearly stemming from her being stashed outdoors and bored out of her mind. It also seemed clear to me that her second family had no idea of what to expect from and was totally unprepared to handle a Malamute/Newfoundland/Great Pyrenees mix. Bella deserved a new home and a third chance.

Bella’s experience – rejected by a loving home – left her little reason for hope. When Bella first arrived, she wouldn’t eat and barely drank any water. Nor was she at all interested in treats. She was defeated and had given up. When I placed her bowl in front of her, she fled. When I replaced her bowl with an ordinary soup bowl, she would eat only a small amount. To encourage her to eat, I fed her by hand, kibble by kibble. I slowly decreased the time spent hand-feeding her before I placed the soup bowl (which continues to be her bowl) in front of her so that she would eat by herself. After about a month, she began to eat without hand feeding. She also proved to be very treat-motivated.

There were (and continue to be) other behavioral problems, but Bella’s behavior immediately improved when my daughter adopted a year-old Black Lab mix. As a dominant female, having a submissive male to bond with helped her to locate herself within her human/canine pack. Her behavior also improved as we got to know one another, develop trust, and as I began to understand and honor Bella’s preferences. Bella wants to be outdoors during her alert time and for some play. But she wants to be indoors for meals, treats, pill time, naps, some play, and bedtime. She also likes to have the option of going to her indoor crate when she feels insecure. She’s an indoor dog who likes to be outdoors a lot. Finally, developing a regular routine, with Bella’s active participation, helped her adapt to her new home. As a dominant female, Bella determines our wakeup time; she likes to get her daily activities underway early. Time outside is followed by breakfast, followed by time outside, followed by pill time, followed by time outside, followed by a Greenie, followed by time outside, followed by a large beef Buffalo Blue bone, followed by nap time. Like most dogs, she thrives on regularity and predictability. Most important of all, though, are understanding breed-specific behaviors and looking beyond the undesirable behaviors of many rescues to who the dog really is as an individual. In her aloof way, Bella is loving, caring, considerate, and passionate. She is a dominating presence who fills the house with joy. And when she wakes me up, she reminds me to greet each morning as an enormous gift of God’s grace. When I met her, I thought that she would be the perfect dog for me; and indeed she is.