Whitney and Bella

To celebrate the New Year last year, my parents went away, and Whitney and I stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's. Late New Year's Eve, no humans were home, and all of us dogs decided to go outside to see what all the noise was about. Well, there were horns honking and bright lights firing into the sky. Some of these bright lights were followed by loud noises, and one of the noises was extra loud. With no humans to run to, I got scared and jumped over the fence, leaving behind my sister and the rest of the dogs.

It wasn’t until four days later that I saw the face of my mom, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had traveled nearly two miles within our suburban town and had made a home for myself in a field of dried wildflowers.

About halfway through my journey, I got hit by a moving vehicle and injured my back, left leg. This injury made it difficult for me to travel, but I was still faster than the many humans who tried to catch me. I now realize that these people were probably trying to help me, but I was just so freaked out by everything that had happened. I thought I would never make it home.

It was Friday, January 5, 2007 at just about 5:00 pm, and I heard someone calling my name. I sat up and looked over my shoulder behind me – it was my mom! She found me in the field! She came closer, but I moved farther away from her. This continued for a few minutes. Then my mom sat down in some nearby grass, and I was just so excited to see her! I ran over to her and rolled onto my back for her to scratch my belly.

The rest is history. She took me to the hospital to get checked out, and then we headed home. I had to have surgery the following Monday. My back knee ended up having a torn ligament. The knee will never be quite the same as it used to, but it feels a lot better these days. I don’t get to jump as high as I used to when playing Frisbee, but I can still have a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of me with my cast on after surgery. Thank heaven for doggie painkillers!

(The above story is true. Bella was missing for four days, and her family was very worried about her the entire time. Bella would like to thank her parents, grandparents, and her Aunt Katie. Without their intense search efforts, she may have never made it home.)