More: Bella joined our family after the devastating loss of my mother due to lung cancer. My daughter, Melanie, and her Grandmom were inseparable. Melanie desperately wanted to fill the void left behind and at the age of 9, saved her money for a year and asked if she could have a dog. Bella entered our lives at the perfect moment. She has filled all of the voids we felt after my mother’s passing. She is a gentle kind of beautiful and has given us so much love. She became our ray of sunshine during a bleak period in our family.