FFS Friday - Goodbye Bella

Last week we made the heartbreaking decision to get rid of our dog Bella.

It was horrible.

I couldn't say goodbye so Chai and I went out whilst they came to pick her up. 

This has been a decision that's been on the cards for a while. It's not something that we wanted to do but in the end we realised that it was the kindest thing to do.

I'm of the belief that a pet is a part of the family and you have them for life. It was that belief that kept me stuck and made making the decision to let Bella go really difficult.

Things haven't been going well with Bella for a while now. I'm allergic to her. I have been since we got her but it's gotten increasingly worse to the point where I now have an allergic reaction every time I touch her. My eyes water and get itchy, I start sneezing, I get a rash and I get asthma. 

This meant we couldn't have her in the house. Leaving her outside in the cold is cruel but I had no choice.

She keeps on getting a skin condition where she gets sores and her hair falls out. We've seen three different vets who all give us different advice and none of them have been able to fix her for more than a few months. 

The vet thinks that my increasing allergic reaction may be due to her skin condition.

The skin condition meant that we couldn't walk Bella because she had no hair on her neck so her collar would rub and make her skin bleed. This meant the poor girl spent her whole life in our backyard. 

Being a medium sized dog she needs a lot more exercise than she can getting living in a backyard.

I spent a lot of time thinking about Bella and wondering how I could get over my allergy and fix her skin condition. My Dr told me there wasn't much I could do about my allergy and the vets have been unable to fix her.

After a while I realised that all my reasons for keeping her were about me and that I wasn't truly considering her needs.  

I realisated that keeping her was cruel and selfish. I was keeping her because I wanted her not because it was best for her. So we let her go. We explained to the boys that she deservs to be with a family who can love her and treat her properly. They were sad but accepting.

Bella was a rescue dog. When you get a rescue dog one of the conditions is that if you need to rehome the dog they will do it, so we called them and arranged for Bella to be rehomed. It only took four days for them to find a foster carer for her. 

The foster family came to pick her up and she was so excited to go with them. We've contacted them since and they've said that she's doing really well, she loves their other dog and sleeps inside by the fire. 

Whilst I'm really sad that she's gone and I miss her, I'm so glad she's not out in the freezing cold anymore and I'm confident they'll find a loving home for her. 

Goodbye my beautiful Bella.