Bella Bug

Bella Bug
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

We call it the 'Bella Bugging', she just loves to dive into nice grass and roll and bug. Silly weime.

Bella flowers

Bella flowers
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Sometimes, all it takes is a look to get what you want. Just remember, practice, partoce, practice and the silly humans will crumble to your will.

Bella asleep

Bella asleep
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

And you thought you knew what pitiful was...

Bella back home

Bella back home
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella is feeling better after her big day at the vet for her allergies. The meds are already helping her ears and the redness around her eyes and mouth. By midnight and 1 am she was acting her like crazy little Bella again.
Still the silly humans will pay later for the vet trip. The Bella will have her revenge.

Bella in her car

Bella in her car
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Yay, Bella went to the vet today to get so meds for her allergies. She did a little better last night but the vet said that they could perscribe something to help her feel better during yucky pollen season.
She loves to go for rides in her car and as you can see we only get the two front seats, she has the whole backend.

Kaopectate and Charcoal

I was asked by another dog owner what was the naughtiest thing your Bella has done? Here is what i wrote.

Well, after 12 years, it's more like what hasn't my naughty Bella done. The short list: stole everything (Bella motto: What is mine is mine, what is your is mine.), eaten every and anything (many trips to the vet), chased cats (and sorry to say, killed one, yes my girl is a killer), destroyed books, belts, rugs, quilts, chairs and anything else you can think of, jump through one of our windows to get to a squirrel and even started a fight between two other dogs so that she could steal their toy (sometimes she just a little too smart).
Though, the naughtiest (or funniest, cause when you have a weime Bella you just have to laugh) was when we came home one day and she greeted us at the door with a chewed up container of Mink-oil (she had gotten into the cabinent, found and ate it). After calling the maker, poison control, our vet, friends, family and anyone else we could think of, we rushed her to Dr Hyatt (her vet).

Now you have to understand that by this time, Bella had challenged Dr. Hyatt's genius many, many times over (her file she the size of War & Peace, no joke, but that's another story) and that to have a silly weime show up with her chewed up victim (she had worked hard for that container damnit and was not giving it up). Anyway, after he had got through laughing his head off (by this time we all knew there was nothing piosonous in it) he brought out the largest syringe of Kaopectate and charcoal that i have ever seen. We then had to try and squirt this nasty blacker than black concoction into her month and get her to shallow it (not an easy task with a crazy weime) Scott was volunteered to help hold the monster with an assistant while Dr. Hyatt tried to get the concoction into a very not so pleased weime's month. In the end, Bella, Scott, the assistant, Dr. Hyatt and pertty much every surface in the office was covered completely with this wonderful black nasty mess (and no it didn't wash out). I think she only shallowed maybe a teaspoon or two. Now just picture three grown men and a smiling weimaraner sitting the middle of a room with this stuff everywhere covered with this super black gooey yuckiness.

Non the less, no runs or upset tummy, just nice hard blacker than night poops. i think she still to this day looks for that container and i know she thought the whole mess was funny, she is a little freaking comedian.

Bella's Allergies

Bella's Allergies
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Poor Bella's Allergies just went crazy yesterday, her ears got all red & warm and she flapped out all night. We cleaned them and gave her something for her allergies but it just came on super fast and she was just miserable, we finally seem like they were a little under control around 6am, but non of us got any sleep. Poor thing, hate it when it's like this for her.
Stupid Spring, yeah it's pretty and all, but the pollen here is the worst, hate it. It really affects bella no matter what we do or how we prepare.

Stewie

Stewie
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Our friend Wayne's new little one, Stewie. Super cute and oh so cute!

Bella and her tulips

Bella and her tulips
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella with her backyard tulips.

Bella & Scott

Bella & Scott
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

And here is the other assistant. Silly humans, back behind the camera and let the model work.

Bella & Gwen

Bella & Gwen
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

The Star herself with one of her assistents, we tried to do a threesome photo but the princess was not willing to share her limelight with both assistants at the same time.

Bella the Lady

Bella the Lady
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Always the Lady - one of her favorite ways to sit. You'll notice that even thoughlittle Miss. Bella has 4 really nice beds (and i do mean NICE) of her own she is laying on our bed.

Bella Blue

Bella Blue
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

I love it when she does this, been trying to get this shot for forever.

Bella Food16

Bella Food16
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

And the final product - BELLA'S FOOD! Ok i know most of you out there could probably care less what we go throught to keep our girl so healthy, shiney and happy, but i thought it wood be fun just to see if i could explain it all. The crazy thing is this is just what we do for her food, the silly pampered girl's life is sometimes beyond belief.

As our friends say, it's good to be Bella.

Bella Food14

bella chicken14
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Once the chickens are out and on the cutting board, the carrots go back in for another 15 mins. or so. The chickens are then completely peeled. We disgard the skin (even though it is very yummy, Bella can't eat it) By this time Bella is right beside waiting for any bit of chicken she can con you out of. The meat is place into a container (Bella can eat on this for the whole week), the bones are thrown away and the necks we freeze to make stock from later.

Bella Food13

Bella Food13
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Another photo of the pretty chickens straight from the oven. From here they are lifted off the rack onto a large cutting board to be peeled....

Bella Food11

Bella Food11
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

This is after the one hour mark, if it says 176º to 180º then it's done, yay, well not yet...

Bella Food8

Bella Food8
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Again you can see bella has moved closer and has a friend, strenght in numbers, you know.

Bella Food7

Bella Food7
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

From here we place the chickens back on top of the carrots then place back into the oven. If you look close you can see that bella has moved closer even though there is still an hour or more to go. She definitely watches over her food...

Bella Food6

Bella Food6
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

So to continue...here are the chickens at the 30 min. mark. We lift out the chickens, pour in the carrots being sure to stir them so that they get go and coated with the drippings from the chickens...

Bella with squirral waiting

Bella with squirral waiting
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

She always knows that there is food bing perpared and always wait patiently.

Bella's Dinner5

Bella's Dinner5
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

When timer chimes, carrots are dropped into the roasting pan and tossed then the chickens are put back in on top. The timer set for an hour....

Bella's Food4

Bella's Food4
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Then cut....

Bella's Food3

Bella's Food3
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Carrots are washed and peeled...

Bella's Food2

Bella's Food2
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

The 5lb chickens are rinsed and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper on the outside with additional salt & pepper and a pierced lemon in the cavity. Wings are folded back and the legs are tied. The oven is at 400º with timer set for 30min....

Bella's Food

Bella's Food
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

I know, most everyone out there will think we are totally crazy (and yes we are), but these following pictures are the steps to preparing Bella's meals. We usually prepare this for her twice a week, doing two chickens with carrots and garret yams...
more to come

Bella Bella Bella

Here she is waiting for her dinner....thing get kind of complicated when the vet says she has to take her pills on a full stomach and she thinks its just great. In fact she is always reminding us when "it's time" —that girl has a clock built in to her!

Heads up for next week...we're going to show exactly what she eats. It's just for fun. We've actually done a lot of research about diet and it's amazing how much diet effects the wellness of these animals. (Strange side note: we started "preparing" her meals at home and her ears are never dirty. I used to clean them at bath time. Now I just check them to be sure they are clean and healthy. Yay no more yeasty ears!) I personally think diet is the key to her health. There are somethings you can fix and somethings you can't, so you pick your battles and do the best you can.

I hope you get a chance to check out the links at Squidoo. I think it's going to be a great way to get information out there and find answers to questions of day to day life.

New Links

I really want to be good about this electronic journaling. I am trying to be better so in a last ditch effort to see if it can be done, I listened to the author Seth Godin, I finally decided to start a lens for Bella on Squidoo. There should be a link at the bottom but being one of those people who feigns embracing new technology, we'll see what happens. There has been a lot that has happened in the last 12 years and continues to happen daily. I can't decide if it's Bella or us but I promise to be honest, no matter how humiliating....g

The Bella Nose

The Bella Nose
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Love that nose, tomorrow we'll start a series to show you what Bella is waiting for. Til tomorrow, toodles.

Bella upclose and personal

Bella upclose and personal
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

waiting for dinner.

Bella Princess4

Bella Princess4
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

I know this one iss a little burry, but it just makes me laugh. Bella always has an opinion.

Bella Princess2

Bella Princess2
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Sometimes Bella thinks her one job (looking cute) is just too much work.

Bella Princess

Bella Princess
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

These are all from one photo session, i love the Bella Princess ears here.

Casey

Casey
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella's new friend Casey, looking so handsome in his new studio583art horn muff.

Casey's mom, Carrie has a great blog you should check out:
knit-whit.blogspot.com/
All about the amazing stuff she knits and more wonderful photos of Casey. Go check them out.

Bella with cheese

Bella with cheese
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Ok, Bella doesn't usually let us do the 'food on head trick' (Princess Bella likes to be waited on, not perform cheap tricks for the lower beings' amusment). And yes we will pay dearly later, the princess will get her revenge, but hey it's worth it, she's cute as crap here.

Bella the Art Critic

Bella the Art Critic
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

When you are in the studio, always expect an opinion from the art expert and guru herself, whether you want it or not.

Bella monster

Bella monster
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

From the shadow she emgeres...
her mission: WORLD DOMINATION!! WAAHHAHAHAHAHHH!!
Ok, maybe just house domination, queen bee over those pesky humans that control the food... WAAHHAHAHAHAHHH!!

Bella hide-n-seek

Bella hide-n-seek
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

some mornings you just want to stay in your soft, comfy bed, maybe if i cover my nose they won't see me.

Bella eyes

Bella eyes
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Beautiful Bella eyes, waiting patiently for her homecooked chicken and veggie dinner. As the time for the chicken to be done, she gets closer & closer to the kitchen.

Bella with scarf

Bella with scarf
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

it's not easy being this cute.

Bella with painting

Bella with painting
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

nothing like a bored Bella.

Bella room

Bella room
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella blue

Bella blue
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella chew

Bella chew
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Busy night.
1. Open persent (rip the crap out of the paper into small bits, grabbing paper back or pulling it back out of the trash if some silly human trys to throw it away.)

2. Play with toy deer (rip a hole in gut, pull out every bit of stuffing and squeeker, destroy squeeker, get stuffing everywhere and then carry around skin as trophy)

Oh the joys of a new toy.

Bella with tie

Bella with tie
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

And why am I wearing this dumbass ugly tie?

Nightvision Bella

Nightvision Bella
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella in nightvision.

Bella blurr

Bella blurr
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella Bella Bella

All these pictures and I guess it's time to learn a little bit about this girl. She is 12 year old purebred Weimaraner living in Atlanta. Bella is this amazing dog, not just because she is mine but because she will never accept defeat. 5 years ago her back legs went down. There was no warning, no signs. It was a Saturday fall morning when we got up to let her out and realized that she had no strength in her hind legs. She was completely lame. Scott and I made her comfortable after practically carrying her outside to use the bathroom. She was so afraid and confused. We gently carried her back in to the house and made her comfortable, while we cleared our morning and called the vet, Dr. Forehand to tell him we needed to bring her in immediately.

When we arrived, the waiting room was full as it always was but they were able to get us in quickly as Dr. Forehand began examing her legs. There was nothing he could see that was physically wrong with her so he ordered x-rays and some other tests and said that we would need to leave her there for observation.

We had no idea what would happen and Bella was so afraid. She always likes to be close and for all the trips to vet she is really a very good natured patient.

We left her there not knowing where this was going to lead us. We were more afraid of leaving her there than I think she was of staying. She has always loved the attention of nurses and vet techs. There were several times that I remember leaving her at the vet's office, only to return and find she smelled of someone else's perfume. She was and still is very irresitable.

That afternoon did not bring any answers. Dr. Forehand suggest trying steroids to see if it would help. I don't remember all the details. It was so long ago and though I don't remember every detail I remember how excited she was to see me and Scott. She came to us as quickly as she could. Still very weak. Her hind legs could not support her weight and she walked with her back curved and legs bent under her weight. I remember Dr. Forehand telling us it might be better if we didn't come visit for the next few days since it got her so excited and that made it a very long week. We call to check in but could not wait until we were able to pick her up and bring her home.

We drove to the vets office one week later and Bella was about eighty percent back up. She still had a curve in her back and her legs were still very weak but her appetite was good and she was very glad to see us.

Jumping ahead, about a six weeks later we were back to where we started and at a lost. Dr. Forehand had never seen anything like this. The dramatic debilitating nature of her legs and she had no stamina but there was nothing showing up on the test. We were at a cross roads to either drive her to UGA and see what there analysis would be or we could try a holistic approach. We were very unfamilar with holistic medicine but the thought of leaving her in Athens and having possible surgery that would be expensive but not definite, we decided to take our chances with the holistic approach.

Without going in to too many details the acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments worked! We eventually did a little aqua rehab but Bella is doing great. She is able to walk and run a little. She even does a little dance before rides in the car. She doesn't have the stamina she used to but you can really tell there are a lot of days that she just feels great. Scott and I have started cooking for her too and I can't begin to tell you the difference a home cooked meal has made for her. It's hard to believe that it's been over five years since this started but we are so greatful to have her in our lives. I know I should be posting more, there is so much that we have learned from this experience and so much that we are still learning about caring for her, our little geriatric girl. Somehow you figure it out and you make it work because she is a part of our little family.

2007 BELLA VALENTINE

2007 B VALENTINE
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Bella's valentine, a little late but hey she is a Diva.

Bella Sunbaby

Bella sunbaby
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

the girl is a sunbaby. just love seeing her smile.

Bella valentine

Bella valentine
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

Happy Valentines from Bella!

Bella valentine

Bella valentine
Originally uploaded by studio583art.

unwrapping her valentine cookie.