My Dog

August 25, 2014 –  I am at the Tuesday farmer’s market, minding my own business, when I notice  a little dog who is wearing a harness that says, “Adopt Me.” On the other end of her leash is an employee from Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter, and she and some colleagues are walking half a dozen dogs in hopes of finding homes for them. I take an interest in this little red dog and when she is not focused on the food scents on the ground, I realize she has one of the sweetest dispositions of any dog I’ve met. I’m surprised she has not been adopted, as sweet, small dogs are usually the first to find homes. I call the shelter to find out more, and they tell me she was a stray, mixed breed, rescued from Wolf Point, a town on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana. I also learn that she was indeed adopted once but was returned because she is “an escape artist.” I suspect someone simply didn’t give her enough time to adjust to a new home, and she just wanted to get back to her old one.

So I adopt her, unaware of the wondrous chain of events she would set in motion. I name her Isabelita , but she now goes by Bella. She immediately endears herself to me and everyone she meets, greeting everyone naturally by walking up to them, sitting politely, and wagging her tail.

Unlike previous dogs I have had, though, she has to be on a leash all the time; if she sees almost any animal, from a mouse to a deer, the chase is on and she becomes a little red missile, oblivious to obstacles, traffic, or my shouts to come back. Eventually, over many weeks, she learns that she belongs with me and I can keep her off leash at times. She likes to lie in the sun in front of my shop and becomes a favorite of the people in the adjacent businesses. You could hardly ask for a more adorable companion.

Then I discover our local dog park, a beautiful 36-acre, fenced, off-leash park in the foothills of the mountains and only minutes from my house. There we make many friends, human and canine, and I learn that many people here have “res dogs” that came from Wolf Point. All the dogs, of course, have outstanding personalities. And Bella loves meeting them. She often sits at the top of a hill, scanning the park, then suddenly bolts, running full speed to the opposite side to meet a dog, then runs full speed back and takes up her scouting position, only to do it again a moment later. I love watching her run with abandon, greet with abandon, and return happy. Such is our life for the first 9 months.