What's Been Happening: An Update

Hey BYA family! So, I've been doing this blog for 10 years now...wow...a decade. A decade!!!  That's crazy!! Anyway, along the way, I've been fortunate enough to gain long-time followers and those of you have gotten to know about my life along the way and of course, my fur-daughter, Miss Bella. So I figured I'd do an update on life and stuff.

Last August, Bella went in for surgery to have a tumor removed. Like a champ, she pulled through and bounced back a week later. Such a strong girl.

My boyfriend even built Bella a grassy area on our 2nd floor apartment so that she wouldn't have to go up and down the stairs to go potty outside and so she could heal. How sweet is that?!

She never did use it for potty though, just liked to lay on it with her toys. lol So instead, my boyfriend would pick her up and carry her up and down the stairs a few times a day for over a week until she healed up enough to be able to walk comfortably. *swoon*

Not too long after all that, my amazing boyfriend proposed to me and I said "yes, of course!", and a month later, we were off to Vegas to get married .

When we returned, we had our first official dance as husband and wife with Bella in between us. The way we planned it. The way it should've been done. Our little girl had to be a part of our wedding. :)

A few weeks go by and Bella wasn't doing feeling well, so we took her to the vet. They took some samples and a few days later we got the call that every pet parent fears: "Bella has cancer."

I lost it. My world just caved in on me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I was devastated. I asked the doc how long we had with her and she said we didn't have much time left. I was absolutely crushed.

Knowing we didn't have long with her, I didn't want her to pass away in an apartment. I wanted her to have a big backyard to roam around in and be comfortable on one floor with very little stairs. So the husband and I started aggressively house hunting. (We used the hashtag #BackyardForBella on Facebook.) After a month and a half of hard work, we did it. We bought the most perfect one-floor ranch house.

Here's Bella entering the house for the first time.

After moving in, we decided to adopt a puppy from our local humane society. When I saw this face, I just couldn't resist. Those eyes melted my heart. His name is Benny. He's my little peanut. :)

Bella took to him instantly and became a mama to this sweet 2 month old puppy who so desperately wanted one. They were inseparable! Bella had trouble walking but she'd make sure to walk wherever he did and then lay down next to him. She corrected him when he needed it, and loved on him when he wanted it. She was the best mama he could've ever asked for.

A week later, we lost Bella to cancer.

The day she passed, she was very weak. She wouldn't eat. She wouldn't drink. She could barely move. I saw her decline in the morning and I told her "You let me know when you're ready to go, kid." Around midnight that night, she looked at me and with her eyes she told me she didn't have any more fight left in her.

My husband carried her to the car and then carried her into the emergency animal hospital. I laid with her, cuddling her and kissing her repeatedly. Thanking her for everything she's taught me. For all the love she's given me. How much I was going to miss her. How truly special she is.

She passed away in my arms minutes later.

Last week would've been her 10th birthday.

Bella has been with me since BB10 and it's hard to not have her at my feet while I blog this season.

But not only do I have Benny now, but I was blessed by a total coincidence just 12 hours after Bella passed: a woman in Chicago had to rehome her 2 month old female golden retriever due to an unexpected job change. What are the odds of that?! So my husband and I jumped at the chance and drove to Chicago immediately. When I saw her, I cried and she kissed me. It's as if she knew I was going to be her new mama.
Ladies & gents, I'd like y'all to meet Miss Brianna. :)

Brianna and Benny took an instant liking to each other (just like Bella/Benny did). It truly was love at first sight! They are the best of friends, partners in crime, and very much brother and sister.

They are both 9 months old now and they're the best dogs I could ever ask for! Benny is goofy and crazy, yet intelligent and driven. Brianna is sassy, funny, and she's extremely athletic I'm gonna have to enroll that girl in agility. You should see the way she runs..it's really something. They both love to swim, so we take them swimming every weekend on my Sanity Sunday's in case you ever wondered what I do on my days off from the blog. lol

I'm sure Miss Bella is smiling down on them both and is watching them grow up. Part of me likes to think that Bella had a hand (or paw) in making Brianna a part of my life just mere hours after her passing. I miss her like crazy and this post was so hard to do, but I know a lot of y'all have grown fond of her of the past decade and I wanted to share everything with you guys.

Those of you who loved Bella both near and far, thank you for your love. She was the most special little girl and she took my heart with her the day she passed.

Until we meet again, little girl. 

XO,
Jamie (and somewhere out there, Miss Bella too)

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