{"id":1372,"date":"2017-03-31T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T13:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/?p=1372"},"modified":"2017-03-30T19:33:27","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T02:33:27","slug":"bella-belle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/2017\/03\/31\/bella-belle\/","title":{"rendered":"Bella Belle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear J.A. Jance fans,<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Bella<\/p><\/div>\n

This is Jeanne T., J.A and Bill’s daughter, pinch-hitting \u00a0today as my Mom\u2019s guest blogger. \u00a0It is with heavy heart that we share the sad family news that our parents lost their beloved little Bella Belle on Monday of this week. \u00a0They are heart broken, and that is why I am writing this week\u2019s blog. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of you know the story of how Bella literally ran her way into our hearts on a cold rainy October day six and a half years ago. For those of you who don\u2019t, here\u2019s a short recap. \u00a0My son, Colt, I, along with J.A. (aka Mom or G., as the grandkids call her) were on our way back to their house from a shopping trip, when we came across a little brown dog, all alone and running for her life along the side of busy road. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We slowed traffic down, and Mom jumped out of the car to go after her. \u00a0When that didn\u2019t work the first time, she got back in the car and we tried again. \u00a0Eventually another car joined the chase. That guy was quick enough on his feet that he was able to grab the petrified dog. \u00a0He immediately handed her over to us and drove away. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the car, Colt removed his sweatshirt to wrap\u00a0up the shivering, soaking wet dog. \u00a0She was terrified. \u00a0Even though she was stuck in a car with people she didn’t know, she seemed to understand that she was safe. \u00a0We believe that someone simply threw her out of a car. When we came upon her, she was chasing after whoever had dumped her. \u00a0She had a collar but no tag. We took her to my vet to see if she was microchipped. She was not. \u00a0We spent a couple of hours canvassing the neighborhood to see if anyone recognized her. \u00a0Nobody did. \u00a0Finally we had no choice but to take her to my parents\u2019 home to regroup. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I met Dad, my mom\u2019s second husband, when I was 11. \u00a0From the very beginning, he had always referred to little dogs as W.O.F.s \u00a0Wastes of Fur. \u00a0That day, though, when we showed up with that tiny dog, still shivering with terror, Dad took one look at her and said, \u201cWell, you’re not going to the pound!\u201d \u00a0It was a definite case of love at first sight. \u00a0Dad took the leash from Colt, and the dog was his. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Colt was busy telling his grandpa how we had found the \u201cpoor little fella\u201d in the street. \u00a0Dad patiently explained to him that Fella was a boy\u2019s name and this was a girl dog. \u00a0\u201cOkay,\u201d Colt responded, \u201cWe\u2019ll call her Bella.\u201d And Bella she became. The photo at the top of this blog was taken a little over two months after she came to live with my parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bella was a long-haired miniature dachshund, and I can tell you with authority that she landed on her feet. \u00a0Within two months of being captured on that cold October day, she was tucked into a posh rolling dog crate and booked into the first class cabin on an Alaska Airlines plane, bound from Seattle to Tucson. On her last trip to Tucson, at the beginning of January, she actually flew in a private jet. If that isn\u2019t a rags to riches story, I don\u2019t know what is!<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few things we learned about Bella between then and now: \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bella was never a morning dog, not ever! \u00a0Regardless of where she was, she did not do mornings. \u00a0She would get up only when she was damned good and ready, and she ate the same way. \u00a0No amount of begging or cajoling or specialty food was going to get her to eat ON YOUR SCHEDULE. \u00a0Her favorite food was cut up rotisserie chicken, but even with that she was a dainty, ladylike eater who would take one tiny bite and chew it thoroughly, all the while looking around to make sure her humans were properly present and accounted for. \u00a0If you gave her something she didn\u2019t like or tried to slip some medicine into her food? \u00a0She would respond with a firm, “No doggie,\u201d the words Colt used to use for \u201cNo, thank you,\u201d back when he was little.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Bella the Book Tour Dog<\/p><\/div>\n

On the road as “Bella, the Book Tour Dog,” she was regal about making her presence known in airports, planes, hotels, and book signings. \u00a0My mom can tell you that when Bella was in the room, there were far more people taking pictures than when the author was doing a solo appearance. While traveling with my parents, Bella turned out to be the star of the show, while my dad and mom morphed into driver and chopped liver, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Bella first came to us as an already middle-aged dog ,she had obviously spent most of her life living in an apartment. Although she was clearly accustomed to riding in elevators, she had never met a doggie door and didn\u2019t know how to use one. \u00a0She also had no idea about going outside on her own in order to \u201cget busy.\u201d Instead, even though both of my parents\u2019 yards are totally fenced, when Bella first arrived on the scene and it was time to do what needed to be done, Bella had to have a human holding onto the other end of a dog leash. That first winter my mom was not happy about being stuck outside in the wind and rain, walking a dog for NO GOOD REASON! \u00a0Eventually things reached a point where as long as someone was carrying the leash, it didn\u2019t necessarily have to be attached to the dog. \u00a0I\u2019m happy to say, however, that it turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks and Bella was finally able to master the art of doggie-door usage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bella was a huntress par excellence and a killer as well\u2014a mole killer, that is. \u00a0Want to know the fastest way to shut down a dinner party? \u00a0Have Bella bring a still slightly moving, almost dead mole into the kitchen and drop the bloody mess in the middle of the room. \u00a0Dinner party over! \u00a0With Bella around, no mole in my parents\u2019 back yard was safe. \u00a0Last year, between Bella and her little sister, a piebald, long haired miniature dachshund named Jojo, the dead mole total was nine. \u00a0Bella was incredibly proud of her hunting skills and always wanted to show off the spoils of her on-going rodent war. \u00a0It was as though she was saying, “You saved me, so I brought you this dead mole to say thank you.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Several years ago when my parents were in Tucson, Bella escaped from their yard and went missing. That was the first time she broke their hearts. \u00a0Many of you may remember the twenty-three hour long drama while Bella was MIA. A driveway gate was inadvertently left open. She used that to let herself out of the yard. A block and a half away, she found a small dachshund-sized hole in the sound-barrier wall surrounding El Con Mall and took herself on a walkabout in the parking lot where she was immediately collected by a bike-riding security guard. He delivered her to the mall\u2019s leasing office where the staff used a banker\u2019s box to create a makeshift dog crate. \u00a0After that. they proceeded to spoil the dog rotten. (Yesterday, when I first heard the bad news, I couldn\u2019t help remembering and being grateful for that caring security guard as well as the Bella\u2019s loving guardians in the leasing office!)<\/span><\/p>\n

With Bella missing, my parents were in Tucson and worried sick while we kids were here in Washington and doing everything we could to help. One of my brothers suggested putting an ad on Craig\u2019s List. At ten o\u2019clock the next morning, twenty-three hours after Bella first disappeared, someone from the leasing office called my parents to see if they were missing a little brown dog. Were they ever! The people in the leasing office were worried that someone other than Bella\u2019s real owners might show up and try to claim her. \u00a0When my parents appeared on the scene, however, Bella made it perfectly clear to all concerned that they were hers and she was theirs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bella found her way to my parents\u2019 homes and hearts twice, and she was meant to be theirs. They loved her unconditionally, and now they are heartbroken. \u00a0We all are. \u00a0The X-rays the vet took of her deteriorating back also revealed details of damage to her ribcage that indicated how cruelly she must have been treated before she became part of our family. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My parents are on tour. \u00a0Book tours do not stop because sweet little dogs cross over the Rainbow Bridge. \u00a0As their daughter and as a fellow animal lover, I\u2019m asking fans be kind to my parents when you see them out on the road. \u00a0The show must go on, of course, and they are doing the events the schedule says must happen. On Wednesday of this week they learned that Man Overboard will debut at #10 on the New York Times list. \u00a0Bella, the book tour dog, would have been delighted since the mystery books my mom writes are what allowed Bella to live \u201cthe lifestyle of the rich and famous\u201d for the last seven years of her life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dogs leave Paw Prints on our Hearts that last forever. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to do something for my parents, you can donate to your local animal shelter or rescue in Bella’s honor. \u00a0There are others dogs out there and kitties, too, who are waiting to find their forever families. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are so lucky Bella found her forever family with us\u2014not just once, but twice over. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We love you, Bella Belle. Please wait for us on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.<\/span><\/p>\n

This time we’ll find you. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Love you always, Bella.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear J.A. Jance fans, This is Jeanne T., J.A and Bill’s daughter, pinch-hitting \u00a0today as my Mom\u2019s guest blogger. \u00a0It is with heavy heart that we share the sad family news that our parents lost their beloved little Bella Belle on Monday of this week. \u00a0They are heart broken, and that is why I am […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[149,5,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bella","category-family","category-pets"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3nsBA-m8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1376,"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372\/revisions\/1376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jajance.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}