Bella with the blue eyes

Bella coming through the lobby at the
airport in Orange, Virginia.

Bella had a big day. She started at a shelter in South Carolina where a volunteer took her to a small airport to meet a pilot from Pilots and Paws. She was tucked into a soft crate in back end of a small plane that brought her to the airport in Orange, Virginia, where I picked her up.

Her first, very hesitant, look at Virginia.

She's understandably scared, of everything. She drops to the ground and flattens herself out with new people.  Walking into our house full of dogs was too much for her.  She snarled a bit to get our dogs to back off, and they could tell she was scared, not aggressive, and they did pretty much back off. She did much better meeting new dogs one at a time, mostly Maya and Trooper so far. She likes Trooper, warming up to him very fast, as most dogs do.

No hunger strike, she went right after the bowl of food I gave her when she arrived. I'm keeping her in a crate in the kitchen mostly for now, so she can observe the household characters and routines from a position of safety. She's a young girl, very thin, bi-colored shepherd with striking blue eyes.

Bella has come a long way today, both in terms of distance and adjustment. She's become more confident by the evening and is fairly trusting of me already.

When she puts on some weight and grows a new coat,
she's going to be a very pretty girl.

My first kiss.

You can see how thin she is here.