[Dailydrool] Our Little Miss Lady Belle to the Bridge 9/7/2010 (sorry so long & so late)

[Patti Merlo]

We have been procrastinating and putting off this post for too long, partly because in a warped way it makes it seem so final plus it is so hard to talk in the past tense.  On September 7th we assisted Belle in taking her final journal over the rainbow bridge.  Belle was 2 months shy of her 15th birthday; so she had a long and happy life; touched the hearts of everyone she met and truly blessed our lives.  There was not a dry eye at our veterinarian's office that day.  Being our first basset baby it was the hardest choice we ever had to make but ultimately it was the right one.

Belle was a remarkable dog.  She adopted us when she was only 10 wks old between the blizzards of '96.  We were just stopping to take a peek at the pet store (no flames PLEASE!) and one look with those eyes of hers won our hearts & she came home with us that night.  Belle became a certified Therapy dog in 1997 & brought smiles to the nursing home residents she visited for about 8 years.  Belle even spent an afternoon at the Family Center at Liberty Science Center after 9/11, receiving an Animal Hall of Fame Certificate from the New Jersey Veterinary Foundation.  Bob ran agility with her for about 2 years, Belle so loved being at the top of the A-frame surveying her kingdom as only Queen Belle could.  In the fall of 2000, although Belle wasn't too fond of the idea at first she finally warmed up and started to show Heidi the ropes becoming best buddies in no time but still letting her know who was boss if Heidi got out of line.

In 2004 Belle proved everyone wrong when she walked a few hours after major back surgery - if it was Belle's idea it happened.  Because of her surgery she was retired from agility runs & therapy visits, not sure who missed it more - Bob & I or Belle.  Right before her 14th birthday last November she had battled Old Dog Vestibular Disease which irritated her back & neck from walking so funny, but she made a full recovery.  In January she was diagnosed with pancreatitis, this was the one thing that she would never make a full recovery from.  Early on we had months between episodes but as the summer wore on it was a constant battle, it was determined that the cause was A-Typical Cushings and unfortunately we could not get it under control.  Belle was comical to the end, every time we took her in for subQ fluids the minute the needle was put in she would bark constantly until it was pulled out.  When we took her in on Sept 7th she had developed a fever, realizing we were down to having good moments not good days we made the tough decision to help her take her final journey.

We were blessed with almost 15 years, although we wish it would have been longer, we thank God for every precious moment we had.  Belle took her place of honor among all the other shining stars in the night sky.

We have been members of the DD since Belle was a pup, not big posters but whenever we had questions the Drool family was there with helpful real life experiences and we know this will be no different.  Thank you all for always being there for support & willingness to share.

With tears in our eyes we hit send,

Patti & Bob
Heidi - missing her big sister
Belle ATB (11/15/95-9/7/10)
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