Bella of the Ball
This month’s ugly dog, Bella, is proof that good things come in small (and so-ugly-they're-cute) packages.
Bella. That’s the name of the 12-pound Pug owned by Laurel Wilson-Butts and her daughter, Sarah. While the name Bella is simple and loving, getting them to describe her personality is an experience. Sayings like “12 pounds of dynamite,” “what the pug?” and “Pugly” go hand-in-hand with “top dog,” “extreme tough” and “fearless.”
That’s why this month’s ugly dog, the second of the three winners of 417 Magazine’s Ugly Dog Contest, is so interesting.
It all started just a couple of years ago when they received the dog on Valentine’s Day, which happens to be Sarah’s birthday. Within weeks, Laurel had the puppy in training classes trying to calm a dog that “had to be a pit bull in another life.”
By August, Bella was soon to be spayed, and the family decided to get rid of a little fleshy bump because it was really unattractive. Well, unknown to them at the time, the bump was taken in for testing. Within days, the results of the biopsy came back and the bump turned out to be stage two cancer. While this is somewhat common in older dogs, it is practically unheard of in dogs this young. Doctors had to cut Bella from ear to ear and removed a growth that ran the width of her head with extensions running down to her spine.
When she recovered, the stubborn puppy had taken control of the situation and decided cancer wasn’t going to hold her down. Even with the cone head she got after the surgery, she was still ready to chew on her bones and even play catch by herself.
Best of all, after another mini-scare in April, Bella is officially cancer-free. Although Bella will continue to receive check-ups for the rest of her life, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Laurel ultimately wants Bella to help small children with cancer by using her for pet therapy. “If the kids know that Bella fought through the same thing they have and that she still has to go to the doctor too, it may do wonders for those kids,” Laurel says.
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