Bella is our nine month old Estrela (Portugese mountain dog). She lives with us and our other dog, Molly who is also an Estrela, approaching the ripe old age of 14. We can’t be too sure of Molly’s age as she is a rescue dog, a very unlikely one at that being a fine example of a rare, sought after breed finishing up in a tiny animal rescue centre in Workington. Not much chance of that except our grandson happened to be volunteering at the centre at the exact time that Molly arrived. Fat chance of that happening. So Molly joined our family. After losing our other rescue dog, Smudgy, earlier in the year we decided that we would try and get an Estrela puppy as we had grown to love the breed so very much. Just by chance one of the two or three breeders in the UK had a bitch pup for sale and she wasn’t too far off in Blackpool. So we decided to go and have a look, and knowing we were most serious about our intentions we spent a whole afternoon with our daughter Sammy thinking of possible names for our new puppy. Of the scores we came up with, none really clicked. Then, on the journey back home from Sammy’s the name ‘Bella’ suddenly appeared to us – and we just knew that was it. The following day we were off to Blackpool to met our potential new pup. Having arrived, we were shown in and introduced to the bouncing bundle of fluffs that were the remaining litter. “This one’s Womble, but we’re keeping her”. Of the remaining two, one captivated our attention and attracted our gaze. “What’s that one called”, we asked. “That’s Bella” she said. We looked askance at one another. “That’s a coincidence” we said.
Or perhaps its fate…………. (fat chance)
by the fellside 