Category Archives: Rescued Dog Bella

Our Dog Has Cancer – Now What?

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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, some of the links in our family’s cancer journey will take you to products you may find of interest.

By: Julie Walton and Blue Belle the Canine Contributor

Our dog thinking about surviving cancer.

Can We Rescue The Rescue Dog Who Rescued Us?

Blue Belle, the rescue dog that rescued us, now needs to be rescued again. Blue Belle has been a special member of our family for over 12 years. We adopted her when she was one year old.  We traveled from Idaho, across the state to Wyoming where we were told a no-kill shelter had the perfect dog for us. She had been found in a dog pound where some uncaring family threw her away where she was to be euthanized. The loving people of Lucky’s Place saved her and put her up for adoption. We were so happy when we found our new furever dog.

Please adopt me.
Bella wants to be our furever dog.
See Blue Belle’s Adoption Story HERE.

Blue Belle has had some health issues, but she has been a loyal companion so the vet visits and expense of caring for our fur baby is definitely worth the cost. 

We Hate Cancer!

We are talking about canine cancer. Can we rescue our precious dog from this awful disease?

In 2024 we discovered a lump on Blue Belle’s back leg. The vet said to keep an eye on it and when it grew quite a bit in a few months we knew to make another appointment with our vet. He performed surgery the next day and we returned to the vet clinic several times for wound care. A sample was sent in to the lab and sadly we learned she had cancer.

Dog lump - MCT cancer.
Blue Belle had a large lump on her back leg. After surgery the vet sent in samples to the lab.

We learned a new term. MCT, Mast Cell Tumor. We had no idea what that was. But knew it was serious. Our vet gave us several options. One option was to make an immediate appointment with an oncologist and he gave us the name of a local oncologist he recommended. I called her office right away and was pleased to get an appointment within a few days. 

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Dog Dental Treat Greenies – Review

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3 year old Shaelee shares a video review of the dog dental treats Greenies. Blue Belle waits while we talk with Shaelee about the dog treats, Greenies. Shaelee is wearing gloves because she is allergic to dogs.

1 year old best buds
1 year old best buds

Blue Belle is the same age as Shaelee and we love the fact that Blue Belle is so gentle with her. We were not too thrilled when we realized that Shaelee is allergic to dogs, but we figured out how she can still enjoy being with Grandma and Grandpa and our dog Blue Belle.

When we adopted Blue Belle we tested her people skills.  She was so very gentle when we played with her and when we gave her a treat.  We wanted to make sure that our new forever dog would be a good fit for our family, including our one year old granddaughter.

Here is Shaelee and Blue Belle’s Review – Greenies

We were really excited to have the opportunity to review greenies, they have been a favorite of our family for years. It doesn’t take long for Blue Belle to gobble up a greenie, but I do think they are in her mouth and teeth long enough to freshen her breath.

We received a 12 pack of grain free Greenies from Chewy.com.  They arrived packaged in a box, the mail man brought them to our door.  Greenies say they are the total oral health solution.

  • Fights tarter buildup & plaque
  • Freshens breath
  • Maintains healthier teeth and gums
  • Naturally helps clean teeth

Blue Belle does likes the taste, and we are glad that they are low in calories and fat. An interesting fact that I wasn’t aware of – they have added vitamins and minerals.  Key to us, they are Made in the USA!

Shaelee, Blue Belle, Murry and Julie all recommend Greenies Dental Treats.

What Happens When Engineers Own Dogs

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We are not engineers here in the Walton household, but we do have a dog who would love this smart design. Belle loves to fetch a tennis ball, that is her favorite game. I was watching this video, laughing with glee, and Blue Belle noticed. She immediately brought me a ball.

Enjoy the funny video
“What Happens When Engineers Own Dogs”

Learning Mandarin Chinese With Our Dog

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Teaching our dog mandarin chineseHave you ever tried to learn a second or third language? If you are not living in a country where you are completely surrounded by the new language, with people speaking to you, seeing signs everywhere, it can be quite a challenge to learn a new language.

My hubby and I are learning to speak mandarin chinese, but we are here in the U.S. We are not surrounded by people speaking chinese. We do have friends from Taiwan who have returned to their part of the world. We will keep in touch with them and look forward to visiting Taiwan in the future. We have a favorite chinese restaurant and enjoy our attempts to use our mandarin when visiting.

We decided to begin our education by using the same books that are utilized by the foreign language class at our local university, so we will learn pinyin and also learn to write chinese characters. In addition to a weekly study group we have with friends and a private tutor, we are also using online resources. I have found many resources on YouTube and some websites with free basic chinese lessons. Today I found the site LearnChineseEZ. They show you words and phrases in english and then in pinyin with a sound link so you can hear the pronunciation.  I listen and repeat, it has come in quite handy.  And of course google translate is very helpful, but you have to make sure of the accuracy.  I think one of my favorite tools is an online learning tool,  Quizlet, which provides study tools and games which can be used for learning anything, but is especially fantastic for learning languages.  Using Quizlet, I made up my own set of words and phrases and use the flashcard feature, the scatter game and the tests.  I have found many useful apps for my iphone, including an app for quizlet so I can practice my sets while on the go.

One advantage for us is that we are doing this as a family. Our dog, Blue Belle, will become a part of the learning process. We can speak to each other in chinese and we can speak to Belle. How long do you think it will take for Blue Belle to comprehend our new speech? She is such a smart dog, I think she will pick up on the new lingo rather quickly.

How about you guys? Have any of you taught your dogs a new language?

The Rescue Dog That Rescued Us

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By: Murry and Julie Walton – Boise, Idaho
December 7, 2012

Why We Needed to Be Rescued

Imagine yourself in our situation. The wife goes through two thyroid surgeries and cancer diagnosis. After being home from the hospital for just one week, your beloved 5 year old dog dies. This was our sad circumstance in the fall of 2012.

Having lost our treasured pet Maggie to sudden sickness and death, we were both devastated. Life was a struggle. Oh how we missed our early morning puppy play before going off to work. There was no longer a loyal companion to greet us when we entered our home. No longer a best friend to play fetch, find the hidden squeaky squirrel, sit up, roll over and to give praise with a treat. Our routine dog walking workout came to an abrupt halt. Our tail wagging puppy had filled our home with smiles and laughter. Our happy feelings were replaced with grief, a strange emptiness and a great big hole in our hearts.

Together we soon decided that we needed to look for another dog as our home was not the same without a canine companion. We wanted a young beautiful really smart dog (preferably one that would never die) We both realized the responsible thing to do was adopt another rescue dog. We started to camp out on the Petfinder.com web site to find a dog that we felt might best fit our family situation. We preferred a female dog of the herding breed, since that was the type of dog we were most familiar with. Murry found a nice female border collie named Misty that was in Thayne, Wyoming at the Animal Humane Association of Star Valley, also known as Lucky’s Place.  Julie really liked the look of Misty so she contacted Mary Ann Ahrens, the President and Director of the animal shelter.  It looked like Misty was already going to be adopted, but Mary Ann thought we should look at a dog named Bella.

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