Bella is finally back home after her adventure that started on July 4th. Bella jumped out of a window with a fan in it when fireworks were being set off on the 4th. Yes, she did have a muzzle on when she went through the window (please no comments about the muzzle….the lesson has been learned). I was contacted by the owner that requested my help to get her Bella back.

We went to work immediately sharing her post, knocking on doors, searching the area, handing out business cards, flyers…etc. But, no one had seen Bella anywhere until Monday when she was seen a few miles from the owner’s house. A wonderful lady, Michelle, stopped and tried to help Bella, but she was scared and ran as lost dogs often do. Others saw her and were afraid to approach her with her muzzle on because they thought she was vicious (really….she has a muzzle on….what is she going to do to you???). Monday evening my friends Cary, Stacie and I went to search, found tons of her prints….but, no Bella. I met some very nice people that night like Diane that helped searched and was just as worried about Bella as we all were.

I then got another sighting, a call you never want to receive, from a wonderful lady named Kim that spotted Bella running on the PA Turnpike. Some sightings were kept confidential because of how many people were looking for this dog and we didn’t want people to chase her or push her into traffic especially on the Turnpike. Later that evening we went out searching again (Stacie, Diane, Jan and I) and we found Bella right next to the Turnpike trapped between a fence and the Turnpike. I setup food and a trap on that side of the fence thanks to my hubby running to get my trap. Two wonderful gentlemen that I didn’t catch their names allowed me full 24 x 7 access to their property to look for and trap Bella. Awesome people, thank you for being so kind to a stranger!!!!

Checking the trap throughout the night and no Bella, she was spooked when she saw us and headed back down the mountain. We received another call today that Bella was seen near the tunnel which was a good distance away from where we saw her the night before. Suzanne said the muzzle was hanging around her neck. I was shocked because when we saw her less than 12 hours before the muzzle was still fully attached to Bella’s muzzle area. She managed to get it off somehow since late last night, I think she got it caught on branches or something in the woods because she has scratches by her eye.

I went back to check the trap (despite being sicker than a dog today) and my friend Stacie came up to look. We got a call from Bella’s owner Ann that she just saw Bella. I think she was so excited when she called me that she didn’t know where she was…lol. Stacie and I were driving through the tunnel while I was talking with Ann on the phone and here comes Bella straight at us. Ann tried to lure her over before we got there which literally was a matter of a minute or two, but she went the opposite way from Ann. It was perfect timing, I saw an opportunity and I took it. I got out of the car and pushed Bella right back to Ann. Bella got close to the car and I think she smelt her fur brother Eddie because I saw her nose go up in the air. I directed Ann to get down and sweetly call her over like we discussed. It took Bella a few minutes, but she did it and went over to Ann and was incredibly excited to see her and her brother Eddie and she got in the car after a few minutes. Eddie is a complete sweetheart by the way and gave me kisses.smile emoticon Fantastic timing, an owner that trusted me to get her baby back, all the shares and concerned volunteers brought this girl back home. Thank you!!!!

Bella is at the vet right now and is covered in ticks as expected. She looks very well and was in good spirits when we got her, I even got some Bella loving. smile emoticon I’m sure she is exhausted and dehydrated, but she is safe!!!!

Thank you to my hubby and my friends that helped out, you all ROCK!!!! Thank you to everyone that called in a sighting, shared a post, searched, drove around and cared about getting Bella home!!! Welcome home sweet Bella!!!!