Please send your love to the family of Queen Bella. She’s now their guardian angel until she can meet up with them again.
From her momma: It’s taken me one month to prepare this email and as I finally sit to write it, I’m in tears all over again.
Sadly, on October 10, 2023, my daughter and I said goodbye to our sweet Bella the Bulldog (aka Queen Bella) after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer.
Sadly, 11 days later on October 21, 2023, we also had to say goodbye to our sweet cat, also named Bella (16), after a sudden, unexpected, yet brief and aggressive fight with lymphoma. Needless to say, cancer can suck it!
Our hearts are absolutely shattered. Our home is not the same! Our hearts are not the same! There isn’t a day or a moment where we don’t think of them or the memories they left behind. The Bellas were incredibly loved and incredibly loving (just not toward each other LOL – they hated each other).
Bella the Bulldog was small, compact, yet full of love. She rescued us at the age of 10. She was my side kick, my little shadow, my cuddle buddy, my blanket, my entertainment, my therapist, my nap champ, my joy… all day, every day! Bella the Bulldog enjoyed “walks” in her stroller at the lake, local parks and playgrounds and around the neighborhood. Bella the Bulldog soaked up all the attention she received from strangers who asked to take photos of her and with her in her stroller.
I will forever miss hearing her little footsteps following me as soon as I left any room, staring at me with her crooked little teeth, head tilted sideways with that look of pure, unconditional love. We will miss her and everything about her! For anyone hesitant to rescue a senior Bulldog, DO IT! You won’t regret it!
As for Bella the Cat, she was feisty! (yes, I know this is a bulldog group but considering Bulldogs are the only dogs she’d ever had as siblings, I feel she deserves a shout out).
Bella was my first cat. I found her 16 years ago when she was only a few days old. I took her to the vet who encouraged me to take her home and love on her as she wasn’t expected to live more than a few days due to the condition she was found in. Sixteen years later, here we are!
Bella the Cat was scared of everyone and everything except me and her brother, Ozlo Bartholomew, also a Bulldog, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 15. But boy did she love him. In her eyes, no dog would ever live up to her brother, Ozlo.
As tough as it has been to lose her so abruptly, I find comfort in knowing she is once again taking naps on Ozlo’s belly, licking his face clean and playing with him.
We will cherish the time we had and the memories we created with the Bellas forever.
After 14 months in rescue, Queen Bella was adopted yesterday and was met with her very own welcome home party! We’ve volunteered in rescue for nearly six years, and we’ve never seen anything quite like this. It was so wonderful! The Queen will be the only dog in the house, and she will be spoiled by her mom and sister.
My name is Bella, but you can call me Queen Bella. I really like that better because my owner always treated me like a queen. He would give me special treats and the softest beds. He really did treat me like royalty.
But then he died. His granddaughter and her family took me in for a while. They have Great Danes, and for some reason, they kept looking at me like I was a treat. I was afraid they were going to play a game of football and I would be the football.
So, I packed my bags and my 39 pound, 9 year old body into the car and the granddaughter took me to rescue where I would be safe from the giants and I could be around dogs more my size.
I have a perfect underbite, as you can see from my photoshoot. I have one eye that doesn’t see very well, but it has been that way for a long time and I am used to it. I have always loved everybody and everything—unless they want to make me play football.
I am at the vet clinic for my hugs, checkup and spa treatment and then will be off to my foster family. I can’t wait to have a new home. I know there is a wonderful family out there that would be the perfect match for a cute, older gal like me.
2/9/20 Update: Queen Bella is in the palace and royalty has arrived at the vet clinic. I am 9 years old and all LADY! My dad, the gentleman with whom I lived my entire life, passed away recently and I had to go live with relatives. Their fur babies didn’t like me, so I had to spend more time in the backyard.
Then one day, they told me a lady from rescue was looking for a lady JUST LIKE ME! I said I’m ready to go and away I went to this wonderful place. I miss my dad, but I know he’s looking down and glad I’m now here being cared for and loved.
My dad taught me all my manners: to potty outside, be nice and like other dogs, don’t be noisy, eat all my food and always act like a LADY!
I’m quiet and love my bed, but I venture out when people come to call on me (that’s the way ladies talk). I was always the center of my dad’s attention, so I hope my new family will do the same.
That’s why I loved picture day so much. They dressed me up like the queen I truly am. I got to sit on the throne and look beautiful. I did everything just right, and I did not pee pee on the throne like those younger Bulldogs did. If you ask me, I could teach those young ones some MANNERS!
I had a glorious day being my wonderful, sweet self. I also got to lay in my bed and watch all the other Bulldogs get their pictures taken. I do believe I was the best of all of them!
My dad took good care of me, so I’m a healthy girl. It wasn’t his choice to go and it wasn’t my choice to lose him. I know he will always be with me, but I need a new family to love and to love me. Dad would like that. He would want me to be happy.
I’m ready for my foster family ~ to be back in a cozy home with people to talk to me and tuck me in at night. I’ll be waiting for the family who’s just right for me. I’m a lucky lady. My dad chose me to be his girl and now another family will chose me to be their girl. I must be very special for two families to want to love me in my lifetime! That just makes me feel like a real QUEEN!
2/26/20 Update: Don’t try to adjust your screens. This is really my beautiful self! I thanked everyone at the vet clinic for taking such good care of me and then I packed up and headed to meet my foster family. I guess I am super funny because every time I walk up to them, they look at me and laugh. It’s OK though because they give me back scratches and belly rubs! My foster parents learned pretty quickly that I get along with everyone, even the cats. They don’t really appreciate me chasing them though. That’s all for now. I will check in again in a few days.
3/3/20 Update: Queen Bella has us constantly laughing! You never know what random place she will be laying. Notice the paw under the door? That was Bella letting us know she can still be in a room even if the door is shut!
3/8/20 Update: Just thought I’d check in to let you know how my week has gone. Full disclosure: I did a thing! One of the resident cats walked by me with an arrogance that only a cat can have and I might or might not have cornered and pounced on him.
Apparently, holding a cat down and repeatedly poking him with your snout until your foster dad can grab you is frowned upon? Cats…what are you going to do?
Other than the misunderstanding with the cat, I am really starting to settle in and learn the daily routines.
I had a spa day today and loved it. My foster dad was cracking up because I moaned the entire time he massaged in the shampoo. The best part was the towel dry!
I get along great with my foster sister Leah and both of the resident dogs, including my new tall, dark, and handsome b/f Diesel. Although I think my foster sister Leah may be trying to move in on him? We’ll have to chat about that. Until next time! Queen Bella
4/4/20 Update: Quarantine tip from foster girl Queen Bella: if you get bored with your view, choose a new seat.
5/8/20 Update: Well… I did a thing. The resident Labrador and alumna LuLu (Leah) were running around the backyard, playing chase and I decided to show them what a 9-year-old Bulldog can do. I took off after them and stayed with them step for step… and then, the tire blew. ☹️
I wasn’t putting any weight on my back leg, so I got put on restricted activity for a week or two to see if that would help. It isn’t the most fun thing in the world, but the small human in the house took such good care of me. She would make sure I wasn’t cold. I even hung out with her and helped her with her school work. I am happy to report I am back to my spunky self again! I get along well with most dogs. I might or might not try to bully alumna Matilda, but it’s not my fault. She refuses to bow down to the queen.
While I love my foster family, I still have a lot to give and I still want a furever family to call my own. Can I live out my golden years with you?
5/25/20 Update: What have I been doing, you ask? Well, I’ve been doing what I do best… lounging poolside with my girl, soaking up the sun, and waiting for my forever family to see how magnificent I truly am!
7/3/20 Update: Hello, my royal subjects. It is I, Queen Bella, checking in with holiday greetings.
I have been doing well in foster care. I love the two-legged people. They take good care of me! I have some deep folds in my face and they apply medicine daily to keep them from getting infected. It only takes a minute and makes me feel so much better.
I also have some allergies, so I get medicated baths from time-to-time. My allergies have been getting worse, so they started me on some allergy meds and dressed me in this awesome Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue shirt. I don’t look happy to be dressed up, but I assure you, I am.
A few things you should know about me:
1) I love cats! I love to chase them and might try to eat them, if you let me … although we’re trying not to test that theory.
2) I love other submissive dogs! But I don’t care for the bossy lady Tilly. She tends to want to fight when I pick on her. I fight back and it becomes a “thing,” so the foster ‘rents keep us seperated.
3) I am SWEET AS PIE and I LOVE kids! Guess I should have started with that.
I am on the older side, but when I get going, I still have a ton of spunk in short bursts! I love to be loved on and I am perfectly content as long as I have a bed. I LOVE dog beds, maybe more than my humans. In fact, I will make anything that is remotely soft into a bed.
So, long story short, I would love to find my forever home to live out my golden years. Do you need a perfect, laid back, sweet lady like me to complete your family? I sure hope so!
7/20/20 Update: I’m checking in from my new B&B. That’s right- I have moved to a new foster home, so please notate the change, in case there is someone wanting to meet me.
8/25/20 Update: Be kind like Queen Bella and wear your mask! 
Queen Bella is out visiting some of her Bulldog friends today. This lady gets around. That’s because she is so sweet and gets along with everyone. Don’t let her age fool you. She is 9 years old, but she has plenty of get-up-and-go. She has the freedom of the house because, she doesn’t eat shoes, tear up stuff or do anything wrong. This senior is the best!
