Colby American Staffordshire Terrier Born: October 31, 2006 Died: June 24, 2020 Home Again Chip#985112002664543 The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. Proverbs 12:10  PASSED: JUNE 24, 2020 11 February 2016 Since Maggie's death in 2004, I have not had a dog of my own. I honestly never believed any dog could be as sweet as Maggie... until I met the Belladonna. Gypsy was 8 years old when I met her (in February 2015) and she rather quickly warmed up to me. She had been living in the country but she was kept outside most of the time and she had some health issues that were draining the life out of her. She had two cancerous spots (low abdominal mass in one of her mammary glands and a ball of a mass tumor on her right front leg). She had already chewed one cancer mass completely out of her body from a spot on her right abdomen between her ribs and hip. She also had some parasites in her intestinal tract. At first I thought the best I could do for her was to try to give her a better life for whatever little amount of time she had left. But in Spring of 2015 I took her to LeAnne Duffey at Southern Vet in Smyrna. After an examination and x-rays, LeAnne believed her life could be saved, so I had the two remaining cancers cut out. Fortunately those masses had not spread or attached to any bones, so the surgery was successful. With the appropriate medicines, her other problems were eliminated as well. I then put her on a very specific diet, for in her illness she had been reduced to less than 50 pounds. Her ribs were pronounced and her waist was far too thin for her breed. Her diet was a mixture of dry small bites with Pedigree meat and Alpo lamb stew with Extra Virgin Olive Oil as "gravy". This also changed her coat from a rough, course feel to a soft, silky feel. Photo Gallery of the Belladonna (these photos will enlarge when clicked) Constantly attentive and always eager for my hugs and kisses   She likes to hold hands while traveling in truck   She's so precious, aww Me, The Lady of the House and Our Puppy Packnapping   Gypsy with my cousin Matti Lou Smith

I kept her on that diet for a year and she reached 60 pounds and she was strong and very happy. Given the cold weather, she may have actually had a few pounds of fat, but that would be burned off when the weather warmed and we spent more time outside.

It seemed that she somehow knew that I saved her life... at least her loving devotion is extremely pronounced at this time, far more than when she first warmed up to me. A year ago, while just starting to recover, she seemed to want to have her own space on the sofa, but now, she wants to be in constant physical contact with me at all times. I don't know to what else I could attribute such a pronounced change toward constant loving physical contact.

She had many years of happiness and love here at the lake... and I am grateful for her total devotion. She was a wonderful companion and traveled with me constantly, even just around town.

She also had a wonderful playmate: Scalia Antonia. This bundle of energy will provide the Belladonna with years of joyful play, and some much needed exercise for burning off those love handles she has acquired over the last six months!

Videos: First Video | Second Video | Third Video | Fourth Video | Fifth Video

Gypsy immediately took to Scalia and started teaching her not only how to play, but how to fight for a bone or food, how to roughhouse with a toy and dig out the stuffing, how to work a chew stick with her back teeth, how to wrestle, how to fight her way out of a corner, and how to chase after a dog that steals her rawhide or food. It is amazing to watch, and I realized she was teaching this little puppy survival skills, and doing so in an aggressive but loving way. Amazing!

Gypsy also repeatedly checked on Scalia when I put the puppy in the large pen for some nap/quiet time. Gypsy often laid on the floor in front of the pen looking at Scalia and waited there until I let the puppy out. The mothering instinct that was always so strong in the Belladonna is fully present in her behaviors now that Scalia has joined the household.

When Gypsy died, it was a very difficult time. She had been the "lady of the house" and raised Scalia well. Scalia then took Gypsy's place beside my leg on the sofa and has stayed beside me every day since.