Our dog Bella was put to sleep on November 6, 2020. We knew her time was coming, but that didn’t make parting with her any easier. 

Bella was impulsively added to our family in 2007. My dad and I went out to buy groceries and came home with a dog. It was the best impulse decision we’ve ever made.

She was a bit chaotic in her younger years, digging holes in the backyard and tracking mud back into the house, but with time, she mellowed out into one of the most mature dogs I’ve ever known.

She loved to give kisses, not just to her humans but to the couch, and the floor, and the air, and her incessant licking of anything that could be licked is something I’m going to miss. She caught her fair share of birds in the backyard back when she had good running legs.

She was a Houdini when it came to chocolate — one year she stole my whole Halloween stash without getting even a little sick. She was so mature and yet so silly. 

Bella was with me from kindergarten to the day I left for college. She was the eye of the storm in the chaos of my adolescence, always there for me even when it seemed like nothing else was. She meant so much to our whole family. 

She was incredibly close with our mastiff Tank, and was never quite the same after his passing. As hard as it is to say goodbye to her, I can smile knowing that she’s finally with him again. Her urn will be placed next to his once we get her back. 

Bella was a trooper. She made it longer than I think any of us were expecting. She was such a good dog, the best we could have asked for, and now she can rest. She’s earned it.