Belle

Yesterday was a long, rough day. It wasn't even classes or drama that made it rough, even though they certainly did not help. What made it rough was a phone call that came around 7:00 in the evening. I was in open lab working on a draping assignment and my mom calls. She asked me a bunch of weird questions that told me something was wrong. Finally, she told me that Belle, the family dog, died earlier that afternoon.

We got Belle as a puppy from a breeder near our home in Chalmers. She was a mixed breed of border collie (mom) and collie (dad). As she lived with us longer, we learned that she was terrified of thunderstorms, loved to play ball, hearded squirrels and kids in the neighborhood, and was very protective of my family, especailly Katie and me. Later that year, in late fall, early winter, we left for a family vacation to Florida to see my grandparents. When we left, the weather was still dry, and a few degrees above freezing. As is typical in Indiana, when we came back there was snow and ice everywhere. That was the first time Belle experienced ice. I remember laughing with my brother and sister as we watched her bolt out of the garage and slipped and slid down the icy driveway. I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure that being the loving affectionate family we were, we went down and got her from the end of the driveway and led her inside to warm her up and make sure there were no serious injuries.

The house in Chalmers was also where she became very afraid of any floors without carpet. A fear she never grew out of.

A few years later we moved from Chalmers to Anderson. We didn't have a fence at our new house yet, so we took Belle to my grandparents house, who lived nearby. She lived in a horse trailor for about a week, and got a taste of what life outside a fence was like.

After officially moving into our new home on Hartman Rd in Anderson, Belle had a whole new enviornment to explore and bark at. In fact, that's all she seemed to do for the first month or so. She still continued to bark at the cars speeding down Hartman and the neighbor kids playing badmitton.

A few more years past and my sister decided she wanted a dog of her own. After talking to my parents and convincing them that it was a good idea, they finally agreed and found an adorable little terrier puppy, soon to be named Tucker, and brought him home. Gone were Belle's days of being the only dog and the center of attention all the time. She adjusted well though, after nipping at Tucker a few times to make sure he knew that she was the alpha in that pack.

There was a big difference between how Belle felt towards Tucker, and how Tucker felt towards Belle. This was evidant when one of them would be gone for whatever reason, such as a vet appointment, or a meeting with the groomer. When Tucker was gone, Belle would sprawl out in the backyard and just enjoy the peace and quiet of having the backyard to herself again. Tucker on the other hand, when Belle was gone, would run to my parents room, where he could see the front driveway and lie there and with in anxious anticipation until Belle returned. We concluded that Belle thought of Tucker mostly as an annoyance she had to put up with, while Tucker thought of Belle as a big sister who would look out for him!

Fast forward another couple years and you'll find us in the midst of another move, this time, to another part of Anderson, but a much more rural part. Our new house had 7 whole acres for Belle and Tucker to explore. It also didn't have all the territorial bounderies that Belle and Tucker had disputes over with subtle growles and occasional nips at each other when they thought we weren't looking. They were able to start fresh, and because of that, they were able to tolerate each other more, er... Belle was able to tolerate Tucker more!

Just when she thought she was set in her ways, my brother decides he wants a dog of his own too! At first he was set on having a beagle, and only a beagle. But then we found a hound dog that needed a family or would be sent to the pound. Mike couldn't resist and he took the Tennessee hound dog instead. Belle was sitting on the hill looking at Tucker and the new roommate/yardmate romp together. You could see in her eyes "he's not staying... please tell me he's not staying..." But he was. Soon, Mike decided to name him Duke. She had to learn all over again to share what was once just hers and Tucker's, but this time it was easier, and before long, it didn't make much of a difference.

I don't really know what spurred this decision, but one day, we decided that Belle didn't need to live inside the fence with the boys, so she was allowed out, and permitted to roam free around the yard. At first the boys did not like it one bit, and she knew it! She would taunt them by walking near the fence so they could see her outside and they were stuck inside the fence!

Being out in the country, we soon had a pretty servere mouse problem. Since Duke and Tucker were both afraid of the tiny rodants, and Belle wasn't really close enough to the house enough to care, our solution was to get some cats to take care of the problem. At first the cats were afraid and skiddish around Belle, but then they realized that she just wanted to play with them, and they let her. She was, after all, a puppy at heart in a 15(ish) year-old dog's body.

She spent the last few years of her life roaming free around our property, playing with the cats, trying to heard them, and playing ball and frisbee with us whenever she could. Even though she had a hard time walking, let alone running, she still LOVED to play! Her body became older, and less agile, but her mentality remained that of a young puppy.

Belle was around 17 years old when she died. We don't know for sure, but we're pretty sure she was losing her hearing as we had to call her several times before she would respond, even when she was right in front of us. She had pretty severe artheritus in all her limbs which slowed her down considerably as she grew older. She was, however, still the happy puppy at heart we knew in Chalmers. The occasional glimpeses we were allowed of the puppy in her were rare, but valueable. She was a fighter and lived each day just as she would have if she were a puppy. She died peacefully in our front yard in one of her favorite spots to sunbathe when it was colder, and lie in the shade in the summer.

I miss you Belle!