Last weekend we lost our beautiful Bella girl. She was the most amazing, kind, courageous, and patient girl I have ever known. She was found as a stray in someone's yard, thin, mangy, and frightened - I can't imagine what she had been through. When we first tried to help her, she tried to run away - she didn't trust people. After months of spending time with her and working on her myriad of health issues, she blossomed into the most beautiful girl - she walked with a spring in her step, ears up and tail held high with her reddish fur and her "foxy" look. She loved people, and loved her belly rubs too! She was proud, independent, and spunky. We'd planned to get her healthy and adopt her out, but she had our hearts and so with us she stayed. We never really knew her age, as her teeth were destroyed when we found her, but they guessed about 5 or 6. She was diagnosed with CKD in 2009, but through diet and holistic supplements, we managed to keep it from progressing for all these years. Unfortunately, other health issues prevailed, and she began a severe decline over these last 8 months or so. Though not officially diagnosed, it is my belief she had Canine Cognitive Disorder. She wasn't her old self, but somehow I thought she was invincible. She wasn't, and she lost her battle at the age of 15. She'd lost most of the use of her back legs, she was disoriented, and the light had gone out of her eyes. We miss her so much it is hard to imagine life without her presence - though her quality of life had diminished over these last months, her spirit still lived on, and without it, the house is much too quiet - it's empty, somehow. I feel so honored to have earned her trust, that she chose to share her life with us, this independent street dog that had never known the love of a human as we had never known the love of a dog. She taught us, and life will never be the same.