Bella Meets Gunner

Bella has finally encountered a dog that will out-play her. Meet Gunner.

After a relaxing weekend in Moorhead, Erin and I rushed to Ramon and Sheri's home in Jordan, MN to help plan our friends, Arika and Gaye's (pronounced GUY), wedding. We were supposed to be there by 6:00 pm, but didn't arrive until 6:45. Sorry everyone.

While Erin went inside and got ready to brainstorm a wedding, I fed Bella and let her lose some weight on the Flores' lawn. It took her a little exploring/sniffing because she smelled remnants of a young black lab named Gunner. Bella was a little hesitant going into the unfamiliar house not knowing who or what would be waiting for her.

As we went inside, Bella noticed a blur of black fur run across the bottom of the stairs. Upon further investigation, she encountered her first cat. (She didn't know what to think of it.) False alarm. No dog.

After visiting for about 15 minutes, Bella was getting restless. And since every dog she has come in contact with, (big and small) she has "out-played" by not leaving the dog alone, we thought it might be fun to see how she reacts to a 4 month old black lab.

Whoa! Bella and Gunner immediately did some hard-core (yet fun and careful) playing. Bella would get on her hind legs with her paws raised and mouth open to take on the big puppy. Gunner on the other hand would lay down and just put her paw on Bella's head forcing her back down. And when it looked like Bella would get the upper hand...err...paw, Gunner would put Bella's entire neck in her mouth.

You would think that would show Bella who's boss. But no. Bella continued to "fight" back. She developed a strategy of hiding under a kitchen chair and when Gunner would pursue her and become hindered by the legs of the chair, Bella would run around and jump on Gunner's back.

This continued for a while until Bella had to throw in the towel. She couldn't keep up the pace with the enormous puppy. She finally retreated into my arms. And Gunner was forced to take a breather in the bedroom. There was a round 2, but with the same end result. Bella had finally met her match.

Bella slept soundly all the way home and through the night. Possibly dreaming of a comeback reminiscent of a "Rocky" movie. We will all just have to wait for the sequel to find out what happens.

—b