Hi friends, Bella here! When I arrived in Iowa, my name was Nugget. Since I didn’t really respond to it, my foster family decided to call me Bella.  I hail all the way from Houston, but I’m happy to be here because my life wasn’t so great down there. I knew the love of a family, but they dumped me in the shelter. My right back femur broke at some point, but since no one sought care for me, it healed on its own. It doesn’t stop me from chasing my foster sister Lucy all over the yard, though! I even jumped a four-foot baby gate because I wanted to be with my foster mama so badly.   You’ll see that my profile says that I’m heartworm-positive. I have undergone treatment for this awful disease and am now awaiting a test to determine if this mess is behind me or if I need to give it a little more time. I promise that I will eventually be heartworm-free and as long as my family gives me heartworm prevention monthly for the rest of my life, it will just be a thing of my past and won’t affect me at all.  I need a family who keeps a quiet home. My foster mama provides childcare and while I tolerate their noise, I like to retreat behind the recliner or to Mama’s bedroom. Older children are okay as long as they are quiet and respect my need for space sometimes. My home needs to have a physically-fenced yard because I’m not a fan of doing my business on a leash.  I’ve never been around a cat, so I couldn’t tell you what I think of them. I do like to chase squirrels with Lucy, so if a cat ran quickly, I bet I would chase it. As for dogs….well, I live with crazy Lucy, and while I love to snuggle with her (we love to give each other baths!), I don’t like to play as hard as she does. Rolling around on the floor and mouthing each other is more my style. I’ve been to daycare and the staff there say I prefer to mingle with dogs close to my size or smaller and who aren’t too crazy. I REALLY need another dog to help me feel calm when I’m home alone. I tell Mom I miss her by peeing on the floor. But if Lucy or Rico (my beagle buddy) are within sight (like if they’re behind a baby gate), I’m a good girl and just sleep when my family is away.

My biggest challenge is men. When I came here, I was really reluctant to warm to anyone. But within 24 hours, my foster mama became my person. For a while, I growled (more like sassed) at my foster dad, and now I occasionally bark at him if it’s dark in the room. If Lucy is getting attention from him, I like to get petted by him too. I bark at every man who comes in our house (and there are a lot of people coming and going during the week!), but I go back to my couch when Mom tells me to. I haven’t felt threatened enough to bite anyone, but if everyone gives me a little time to warm up, I’ll sneak over for a few scratches.  Mom here: Bella seems to be the type of dog who picks her person and that person is it. She will hang out and let other people pet her, but she goes right back to me quickly. She gets quite anxious when I’m not at home and will sometimes pace and whine a bit. She’s been with us since the 4th of July and has made tremendous progress in learning to trust that people (especially men) won’t hurt her or worse, abandon her. I think it will take several months for her to earn the love and trust of another family, but I know if the right family comes along, she can do it. She is SO WORTH the wait!

Nugget’s adoption fee is $250 which includes spay surgery, being up to date on vaccinations and preventives, a microchip with lifetime registration, and a free obedience class.

If you’d like to give Nugget a great forever home, please complete an adoption application HERE.