A street crew working in Cape Girardeau was surprised when the little dog they thought was dead turned out to be alive after all.
“They went to scoop him up and saw he was breathing,” Sandra Bell of Hillsboro said of the pup she believes to be a miniature pinscher and rat terrier mix. “The road crew took him to a vet there in Cape, and he said he didn’t hold out much hope.”
The next morning, though, the resilient little fellow was up and alert and the vet called Bell's friend, who fosters dogs with medical problems.
“My friend, Charlotte Craig, took him home and gave him meds, got him wormed. He needed a lot.”
Shortly after, Bell was in Cape Girardeau for a meeting at the building where her friend works. Craig happened to be taking her most recent foster pup, now called Bentley, out for a walk at the same time Bell stepped outside to make a phone call.
It was love at first sight.
“He came right to me and stayed right by my side. I fell in love with him,” Bell said. “He was the ugliest dog! But, yet, so cute.”
Bell said she told her friend, “If you can’t find anybody else to take him, call me.”
She told her husband, Brian, about the little dog, and he scowled and said, “Don’t you bring that dog home!”
Here it is a few years later, and Bentley basically rules the roost at the Bell home.
“Bentley sleeps on my husband’s lap every night,” Bell said with a laugh. “He is glued to him constantly.”
Bentley and Eliza, the Bells’ 1-year-old granddaughter, are fast friends. The little dog also enjoys visiting with Sandra’s father, who suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
“My dad is basically lost in his mind,” she said. “But when I bring Bentley along, it brings my dad back a little. Bentley must have some kind of second sense; he can connect with my dad, even on days when I can’t.”
PET SPOT invites readers to tell a story about their pets and submit it, plus an attached photo, to nvrweakly@aol.com. Please include a phone number and city of residence. A new PET SPOT is posted weekly. Brian and Sandra Bell of Hillsboro shared their pet story for this week’s feature.
