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Dear Animal Compassion Networkers,
Thank you all for the kindness you've shown to ACN's cats and dogs over the holidays. I'm happy to report that dozens of formerly homeless pets are happy and warm in their outstanding new homes as I write. We were amazed by how many of our "harder to adopt" cats and dogs found a new family recently, but there is one exceptional story that I have to share.
Bella was a young American Bulldog who had spent the first two years of her life in a puppy mill in Pennsylvania, reproducing for profit with no love or attention for her efforts. One day Bella had a horrible accident that tore the muscle almost completely off of her kneecap. Rather than pay for the expensive surgery to repair her injury, Bella's owners dropped her off at the shelter in excruciating pain.
The shelter made an attempt to fix Bella's knee and then placed her in a foster home for recovery. No one was more surprised than her foster mom when three weeks later, Bella dragged herself to a small closet and gave birth to 9 puppies. Bella was a wonderful mother who nurtured those pups despite her persistent pain. As soon as the puppies were weaned, Bella's mom had her spayed and then adopted her.
Together they moved to Asheville to be closer to family. Several years passed, but Bella never seemed to truly heal from the surgery. She rarely touched her bad leg to the ground and instead hobbled around on the other three. Pet Harmony's groomer, Michelle McHugh, moved in next door and soon noticed that Bella's mom was having an increasingly difficult time caring for her. Michelle started making almost daily visits to help out and donating her time to give Bella regular baths and care. By this time, Bella was 8 years old and having a lot of trouble walking. Bella's mom wasn't doing much better and they soon found out why. Bella's mom was diagnosed with rapidly advancing cancer. She resisted Hospice Care for as long as she could, worried about what would happen to Bella. Michelle assured her that she needn't worry; ACN would help Bella.
Bella on the bed that was made specially for her by her mom.
The first thing we did was to have Bella examined by our veterinarians at Animal Hospital of North Asheville. Her X-rays revealed that her knee surgery so many years ago was not done properly, and Bella had no cushion between her knee joint; her bones were grinding together. We were told that the best way to relieve her pain is to amputate the leg. This poor old girl had just lost her home and now she will lose her leg.
Bella had been coming from her foster home to Pet Harmony daily, where we spoiled her rotten and showered her with affection. Bella was everyone's favorite, laying her head in laps and gently loving everyone right back. About three weeks into her foster care, Michelle went into Bella's playroom and sat down with her. Hugging her neck, Michelle told Bella that her mom had lost her battle with cancer earlier that morning. Bella already seemed to know.
The next day started off very quietly for Bella at Pet Harmony. She lay there as everyone around her brainstormed ways to raise the money for her surgery. The other concern was that her foster mom works fulltime and cannot be home to care for Bella the way she'll need after her amputation. Where were we going to find a stay-at-home foster family for an 8-year-old, 75-pound dog with allergies and an amputated leg?
Any further conversation had to be put on hold while our matchmakers greeted a woman who was drawn to Bella's playpen. We explained that we had just found out that she has to have her leg amputated and she wouldn't be available for adoption for quite some time. She asked very in-depth questions about what was going to happen to Bella and then brought her family back to meet her. They asked if we would consider them as a foster family for this deserving girl. Would we! Bella was soon settled in with this wonderful foster family who was ready to care for her while she awaits her surgery. It was almost as if they had been sent by someone watching over her...
To donate to Bella's amputation surgery, please click here or send a check to ACN, 803 Fairview Street, Asheville, NC 28803 and put "Bella" on the memo line. It has been a long time coming, but we will make sure that this special girl can finally live a life free of pain.
Yours in Rescue,
Eileen
Eileen Bouressa, Executive Director
PS: Save the Date for the 8th Annual Dine to Be Kind event to be celebrated on National Spay Day, Tuesday, February 22! | 
