Bella's Pledge-A-Pup Updates

Bella has had a fantastic July! While she's still the resident "nanny" at the NWBB training headquarters, Bella recently stepped out for some public training. As Shannon Walker, CEO and founder of NWBB, shares, "Bella is at it again! Nanny time is over and she is headed back out into public for training. She has to get presentable for public first, so she enjoys the attention of a good brushing." You'll see her being brushed in the video below, along with an inside look at just how far her training has come during an outing to a grocery store.

"Doing the down command in public as calmly as she does is a skill that is more difficult than it may look," Shannon explains. "No matter what goes on around her, she is solid as they come." Shannon also points to a side-by-side comparison with fellow service dog in training Chloe, sharing that "you can see she is not as settled as Bella."

As Shannon puts it, "Bella is a great example of what all our dogs will look like when they are finished."

Not every service dog is ready to leave on schedule, and that's the case for Bella. However, this isn't bad news — in fact, it's a good thing. Here's what Shannon, Northwest Battle Buddies' founder and CEO, has to say about it:

"Pairing the right service dog to the right Veteran is absolutely crucial for the success of the Veteran team. When it came time to pair Bella in our upcoming group due to some different circumstances, we had a couple of extra dogs that were older. With Bella being younger than all of them, I'm excited for us to announce that she gets to stay with us a little longer."

One of Bella's biggest achievements this month was mastering escalators (video below) — riding both up and down with confidence and ease. This may seem like a small feat, but for a PTSD service dog in training, it's a significant milestone.

A key part of Bella's development is ensuring she remains calm and composed in public settings and situations that might initially feel intimidating. Conquering the escalator is a wonderful reflection of the trust and confidence she continues to build.

After spending seven months with her foster family, Bella graduated to the next phase of her journey and began training at NWBB's headquarters. While bittersweet, her foster family is excited for her next chapter and thinks she'll make a fantastic PTSD service dog thanks to her wonderful personality and calm temperament. Bella's foster family is looking forward to Bella meeting her Veteran next spring and seeing the impact this partnership will have.

In September, Bella's foster worked with her on essential service dog skills. Bella has shown improvement in loose leash walking and new commands like "bed/place" and "down" during cooking time. It's exciting to see her progress so quickly!

Bella's foster has been incorporating training opportunities into their regular activities at the golf course office. During these outings, Bella enjoys golf cart rides and greets golfers while practicing her social skills in various environments.