Goodbye Bella

Today I said goodbye to Bella our golden retriever. She was only with us for 9 months, and she was a challenge, but she was loved by us all. She was a champion ball chaser and delighted in carrying around slobbery tennis balls, dryer balls and James' baseball. If you were lucky she would let you pry it out of her mouth (funny how noone else wanted to), or she would in some cases drop it with a thud at your feet. She would race out to the deck and watch avidly as you threw it, and frantically chased it down with her tail wagging furiously. I loved the way she leaned her head against me for pets and the way she didn't know how to sit on command but if I sat down on the floor she'd plonk her 70lb body into my lap. She was gentle and sweet and she will be missed.