What the Belle?

[Today's post courtesy of Jim (of the Wild Ride Variety)]

Today James, Belle and I did some shopping at the local hardware stores for supplies for our home improvement projects. There is no shortage of improvements, as we need to make every square foot count, and we've just added eight roughly oval feet to our house.

Our last stop for the day was Home Depot. James was getting wire shelves cut for the utility room, so I went to look for some lumber. I was concentrating on the different options when a voice called out, "Belle!" This was startling. A man with a young girl in a shopping cart was looking very happy and calling to MY dog, by name. He is the man who took Belle to the shelter weeks ago. He was very happy to see Belle had a home, happy to see her again. The young girl was thrilled to see Belle and was reaching out to her from the cart. Belle was also happy to see them. Obviously there was a lot of history and affection here.

When Belle was very young her owner (not this man) took after her with a hatchet. This guy rescued her and had a vet fix her back up. I don't have any details on just how bad the damage was. Belle is 10 years old, not eight, which is what the shelter told us. She retired recently from being a sled dog because she would overheat. She has never been an indoor dog, which makes us marvel at how well she does in the house.

Belle has escaped death at least twice. Once at the hands of an abusive first owner, and again while waiting at the shelter. We consider ourselves lucky to have her.