This bella Bella has been on the go ever since joining Laura and Rob’s family last summer.  She has quickly become an accomplished camper, hiker, swimmer, critter chaser, and everyone’s favorite road dog. At just one year old, Bella’s property portfolio already includes her very own island! Well, actually she gets to share it with her new extended family and friend group, which is the very best part.  Thanks to the love, patience, and active lifestyle of her new parents, young Bella is soaking up the fun as she settles in and discovers all the joys of family life. Laura and Rob sent us an update on their girl:Bella is a young and athletic girl who needs lots of exercise before she can finally calm down, so we usually get far more than the daily 10,000 steps we were used to. She LOVES to swim, run, fetch, play with other dogs, and search out bunnies and chipmunks. The rodent chasing is a problem of course, as she can’t yet be trusted to return, but we will be working on her off-leash recall and hope to get there with her eventually.Bella is super smart and a fantastic traveler, exceptionally well-behaved on long road trips and camping trips, which is something we do a lot of, so thank goodness!  Her first road trip was a week-long camping trip to Yosemite in California, followed by an even longer road trip to the Adirondacks in upstate New York. There we spent three weeks on my family’s island in a lake, where Bella had free roam (!), endless swimming, non-stop romping and playing with other dogs, and an infinite number of sticks to chew up! The island is truly a doggie paradise, and Bella was sure she’d died and gone to heaven! She even learned to ride on my Stand-Up-Paddleboard (SUP), quite an accomplishment for an exuberant pup such as Bella.Now back home in the mountains, it’s not nearly as much fun as “Doggie Paradise,” but with winter approaching she will be challenged in new ways, like learning how to go cross-country skiing with us.Bella is very much her own dog and it has taken a while for her to bond with us (she was in a number of different foster homes and a boarding kennel, and we don’t know anything about her previous owners). We think she may now realize that she won the dog adoption lottery and has a forever home, as she is more comfortable now accepting our affection and showing hers in return.Thank you Safe Harbor for all the wonderful work you do for dogs in need!Tail wags and happy woofs,Laura, Rob and BellaMany thanks to Jamie and Joshua for fostering Bella, and to Holly S. for providing respite fostering.