Poor Bella came into RSPCA WA's care at 13 years old with a long list of medical issues. 

At just 4kg, she was underweight, and was covered in large lumps that would require careful surgery to remove. The team all had their fingers crossed these were just cysts and not something more sinister… but only time would tell.

A full check up and X-rays revealed Bella’s medical needs had been neglected for many months. She had arthritis, and the worst case of dental disease vets had seen in some time. Just eating would have been so painful – it’s no wonder this sweet girl was so skinny!

Vets placed Bella on a soft, high-protein diet to help her gain weight, and booked her in for dental extractions as soon as possible. It was a relief when all of Bella’s biopsies came back clear. This meant the team could proceed with multiple surgeries to remove Bella's lumps and many damaged teeth.

We’re so glad she came into care when she did, because advanced dental disease is extremely serious, and if left untreated, can enter the bloodstream causing internal damage. 

Bella was in care for over eight weeks receiving treatment, gaining weight, and recuperating from her surgeries.

She was frightened of just about everything, so she was placed in a calm and quiet foster home with older couple June and Graham (pictured below enjoying a sunny snooze with Bella), who were so sweet helping with her recovery.

Once Bella was healed and was ready for adoption, June and Graham realised they couldn’t bear to let her go. They decided to give Bella the wonderful retirement home she truly deserved. 

June and Graham say:

“We completely fell in love with this senior lady and were lucky enough to adopt her. Bella's favourite things are eating, cuddling with her new Mum and Dad, and going for walks.  Her love of walks has the added benefit of giving us some daily exercise.  She has brought such joy into our lives and certainly makes our house into a home. Although she is 13 years old, her love of food makes it easy to teach her new things. She is deaf but has quickly learned the hand signals for "sit", "come here" and "on your bed". Sadly, she does suffer from separation anxiety, but as Graham and I are retired it is not very often that we have to leave her alone. We are working on this, but it could take some time. The love we receive from Bella makes every day better.”

Do you have a happy adoption tail to share? Email your update and photos to [email protected]