Bella – a big rescue for a big dog

Eva and Frank lived down the street from Bella, a sweet but very sad Great Dane. For seven years they saw her chained in mounds of feces, stinking of urine, a magnet for swarms of flies. She chewed her wooden dog house because she had nothing else to do, all day, every day, for seven years. Eva and Frank reported her to the BC SPCA for all those years and their misery and Bella's suffering were always dismissed because Bella had 'food, water, and shelter'.

Eva had asked if she could have or buy Bella and was turned down because she was her "owners" cheap barking burglar alarm.

Seeing her big sad face looking out hopefully from her prison every day made Eva and Frank feel a profound sadness for not being able to help her, because they believed, after being dismissed by the SPCA so many times, that they were powerless to help her. Animal Advocates of BC has been told countless times of the soul-destroying misery helpless witnesses feel.

Many people can't sleep when they hear a chained dog crying, especially in a storm. Many people have told us that they have to take anti-anxiety pills. Some people have sold their homes and moved. And the dog has died on its chain. All because the BC SPCA would do nothing.

The SPCA did not do one single thing for Bella. Even worse, when they bothered to go look at her at all, the SPCA told the owner to just ignore the complaining neighbour, that the neighbour was just a trouble-maker. Many people told AAS that they had heard the SPCA say this, and twice, I heard it myself as I stood hidden within ear-shot. One of the times that I overheard the SPCA telling an owner to ignore the complainer, the dog was being kept on a porch in a tiny cage. (It was rescued.)

One hot summer day, Eva saw a "Dog for Sale" sign on a telephone pole. It was Bella. Her owners were moving and were trying to sell Bella. The owners hated Eva for coming almost everyday with a cookie and had recently told her to stay off their property or they would call the police. It broke Eva's heart, knowing that she couldn't save Bella, and that Bella might be sold to another abuser.

And then, as has happened over and over, someone told Eva about AAS.

Bella was rescued and found the most wonderful home where she was part of everything her family did, including minding the baby. Animal Advocates holds out for those homes because every dog deserves the best.

Bella had another four years of life - this time a real life, not the life of an innocent prisoner doing hard time.