In my last post, I talked a little about Bella. She was the most beautiful puppy I’d ever seen, funny, beyond smart and protective too. Mom and Daddy really loved her and she was Daddy’s buddy. She was always ready to jump in his truck as soon as he put his cap on and opened the door. She loved riding with him to the little café where he’d get coffee and a biscuit. She knew the way there as she sat beside him and braced herself at all the right times for curves and turns! She really was the most intelligent dog I’d ever had. I had a couple dogs growing up but Bella was the only one who won Mom’s heart too! She was not just a pet; she was family and Mom even ‘labeled’ her in a scrapbook as my first child.
She was just over a year old when she and I moved to Florida. And if you read the last post, you know that she wasn’t quick to accept someone else into our life together. Keeshonds were actually bred to be guard dogs on Norwegian ships and she only showed her teeth when I was actually threatened twice by strangers. When Bobby and I got married, Bella stayed with Mom and Daddy while we were on our honeymoon. When we got back and went home to FL, Bella knew Bobby belonged with us and she was a happy girl! She loved him and loved their playtimes!
She was REALLY amazing when Talia was born. She guarded Talia like her life depended on it! Talia loved Bella and they shared 10 ½ years together. Bella went along with playing dress-up, having tea parties, going for horsey and Barbie Jeep rides/runs and so much more. Bella was about a week away from turning 15 when she passed away. I know that’s a long life for a dog but we were heartbroken. It was one of the most difficult times for our family as Bobby’s father passed away at the same time. That was Christmas of 2007. I was especially difficult for me because Bella stayed home in NC while we had to be in FL with Bobby’s family. I couldn’t accept that I wasn’t there for Bella when she needed me, I didn’t get to say goodbye and Daddy had to do that alone.
Months went by and one day Talia asked me if I thought getting a puppy would help us. Life wasn’t right without Bella and no one could replace her but, having a puppy to love, teach and play with seemed like a good idea. Talia started researching breeds; I mean really delving into it and she chose Shiba Inu. So the search was on! She found a breeder, our new pup was flown in from Kansas and her name was Miya. Talia chose her name meaning ‘temple’ in Japanese. Miya was adorable and life was better with her in it. She was so cute, funny and quite mischievous! Talia dressed her up, took her to the playground, sat Miya on the desk to look out the window while she did homework and had slumber parties where Miya was a big part of the entertainment! Miya even went to the beach with us, played Frisbee and loved running in the sand.
When we bought our house in 2018, one of the best things was the big, fenced in backyard. Miya loved it – that and the huge front porch. She was really happy here but her health started to decline. She had a condition that was managed with prescription medicine twice daily but she started getting worse a year later. It was inevitable but I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. I couldn’t stand to see her suffer either. I kept praying that she would get better and if she couldn’t, I asked God to please take her instead. The last few weeks were especially hard. I would hold her, cry and pray. Sunday morning, July 14th Miya passed away at home. It wasn’t long and Bobby and I were with her. Talia came to the hospital where we took her and we had to say goodbye. I can’t hold back tears at this point but I’m trying to think of all the good days and years we had together.
Bella and Miya were true blessings that spanned 26 years of my life. It doesn’t seem possible – that’s half of my life!! And what’s crazy is I just realized that as I’m writing this! Part of that is my mindset about my age until I’m reminded by a mirror. Anyway, now you know who’s behind the name BellaMiya and the meaning, beautiful temple.
Our new “baby” is Anna. She’s the black and white Lab/Shepherd in the collage. We rescued her October 22nd through Saving Grace in Wake Forest. Actually, all dogs there are already rescued. Saving Grace is a beautiful haven with dogs playing, running around happy and meeting people interested in giving them forever homes. What they do there is phenomenal and we are so thankful our neighbors told us about them! We’re especially happy we found Anna there! We named her Anna because her name means grace. She is precious and she’ll be 7 months old March 3rd. She’s so loving, cuddly, playful, smart, funny and quite spoiled!! She’s going to be a big girl when she’s full grown. She’s already about 40 pounds and still growing! She can run and tumble with the big dogs with no problem. She loves playtime with Levi who lives next door and her ‘nephew’ Jax, the Pit/Boxer Talia & Donnie rescued. Jax is in the collage playing tug of war with Anna when she was much smaller! Time really does fly so take a little of it to recall precious moments and know how much they count. Last thought: Life really is better with a dog!!! Please share and consider rescuing one to become a special addition to your family.
Nice story, thanks for sharing. Everyone needs a animal companion in their family. They become a member of the family and a protector of the family. And all they want is to be loved.