Some of you may remember the story of Bella from December 2nd, 2014 titled " Dog given a second chance pays it forward". I adopted Bella from the Windsor and Essex County Humane Society on July 10th, 2014, she had been there for two months seemingly unwanted. I went there looking to adopt the 7 year old boxer "Jasmine" that was there, but she had already been adopted earlier that day. I looked at all the other dogs in the building that were up for adoption and none interested me. On the way out, the young lady that worked there named Nicole said "There is one more dog I want to show you, she is in the outside enclosure and she's a really sweet girl". Well I went to take a look because you never know right, and there was this rather large Anatolian Shepherd named Bella. This dog was standing on her hind legs bouncing off the enclosure barking and snarling at me. The first words out of my mouth was "Oh hell no, I am not going in there, it looks likes she's going to eat me for lunch!" Nicole went in along with my three friends Denise, her young daughter Brook and my friend Shawna. Being the brave soul that I am, I waited about 5 minutes to see if they got eaten first. After a lot of coaxing by the ladies, I went in, Bella jumped up, put her paws on my shoulders and started licking my face all over, it was at that moment my heart melted and she adopted her human.
Bella
Windsor, On
On July 10, 2014, Rob Sheardown adopted an Anatolian Shepherd from the Windsor/ Essex Humane Society. Her name was Bella and it quickly became apparent that she was an extremely obedient and well-trained dog. At the time, Rob thought he was simply coming home with a new companion for himself. He never imagined that rescuing Bella would in turn save the life of another person.
On a quiet Sunday afternoon in late November 2014, Rob returned to his Windsor apartment with Bella after their daily walk in the park. As always, Rob walked into his building towards the lobby with Bella by his side, and the duo proceeded to enter the ground floor elevator together. Being the obedient dog that she was, Bella would never stray from this routine or challenge any of Rob's orders. That is, until this day.
For reasons unknown to Rob at the time, Bella refused to get into the elevator. Instead, Bella tugged at her leash, pulling Rob away from the area and back towards the lobby. Confused by her bizarre and out of the ordinary behaviour, Rob tried to redirect Bella, ordering her several times to follow him, but no matter how many times he tried, she just wouldn't listen. Finally, Bella tugged on her leash hard enough that she was able to pull Rob away from the elevator completely and lead him further into the lobby, behind one of the couches.
Completely perplexed, Rob followed Bella and to his surprise, behind the couch on the floor lay an elderly man clearly in need of help. He was pale, sweating profusely, and distraught. Rob immediately helped the man up on the couch and asked him what was wrong. The man complained of severe pain in his chest it soon became quite evident that this man was having a heart attack. As quickly as he could, Rob called an ambulance and as they waited for it to arrive, Bella sat beside the man with her paw on his arm. Bella did not leave his side until paramedics arrived to take him to the closest hospital.
Thanks to Bella's keen intuition, persistence, and determination, the elderly man received the medical attention he needed just in the nick of time. In a situation where every second counts, the paramedics who arrived on the scene said that if the man had remained on his own in the lobby for much longer, he would not have survived. Rob, being hard of hearing in one ear, and knowing how empty his lobby typically is on Sundays, is convinced, no one not even himself would have discovered the man in time had it not been for Bella's keen sense that someone was in need of help and her quick thinking.
To this day, Rob continues to be amazed at Bella and how she was able to come to the aid of a complete stranger. When Rob looks at Bella now, he no longer sees a dog who was rescued, but a dog who is a rescuer.