Japan Dog Rescued: An Update on Belle

I wanted to give you all an update on Belle, the lovely red dachshund who found a new life in Canada after being turned over to Animal Friends Niigata‘s shelter when her previous family fled Japan in fear of radiation.

Belle was lucky enough to find a new forever home with my parents (who are excellent pooch parents—I trained them well!). Already, Belle has found a new lease on life. Last week, she had 22 teeth removed. Although the surgery was very long and tedious and, no doubt, hard on Belle, she bounced back with vigor. No longer plagued by the infection that her rotting and abscessed teeth were causing, Belle has a newfound spring in her step, and in the past week, has started to run and play and has even mastered how to run at the couch and jump at just the right angle so that she can land on it in one giant wiener-dog leap!

Our family veterinarian believes that Belle’s previous owners fed Belle only soft human food and did not give her any fruit or veggies or dry kibble to help scrape the plaque off her teeth. The soft food became impacted and caused Belle’s teeth to decay rapidly. Fortunately, Belle, who has only 13 teeth left, has adjusted well to her new wet-food diet and to having her teeth brushed regularly.

Although Belle is making good progress, her abandonment has taken an obvious toll on Belle. She suffers from severe separation anxiety and expresses neurotic behaviors when left alone. We hope that, with time, Belle will feel secure enough to overcome these feelings and be totally confident in her new home.

Thank you again to those of you who donated to PETA U.S.’ Animal Emergency Fund. Your donations have helped make a new life a reality for Belle. And please, if you haven’t already done so make plans now in case disaster strikes, in honor of Belle.

Posted by Ashley Fruno