Hey there Adventurers, this is going to be a personal post, which I haven’t done, but I wanted to share and move on. Part of why I was so far behind on posting this fall was because my old girl Bark Ranger Bella started having walking issues back in August, which is also right when I get back into a work routine. The last couple weeks of August we started cold laser therapy sessions on her back and hips. The therapy sessions were pricey, about 200 bucks a session for 8 sessions, done every other day. I have to say, she definitely improved, so it was money well spent, and I would recommend it. Other than that, she was generally a very healthy dog, right up until she wasn’t. She had finished her last session of laser therapy on Saturday morning, and Sunday evening she was gone, probably from a stroke. Because she had been a healthy girl, it was unexpected. I rescued her in April of 2011 when she was an adult dog, between 1 and 3 at the time. By the time August 2023 rolled around she was between 13.5 and 15.5, but that’s not really any comfort.
Bella was a special dog. She was incredibly loyal and never far away. The first day I brought her home she was a couch and bed dog. I didn’t particularly want a dog in the bed, but shut doors triggered my rotten beagle Sadie. (Sadie passed away in 2020 and was a a super sweet and beautiful beagle…but naughty was her middle name!) Bella would get into my bed if the bedroom door was open, and Sadie would roo, whine, and scratch at the door if it were closed. Mind you Sadie would then proceed to sleep on the couch in the living room…So there we were. Bella was the kind of dog you could take anywhere. She had a great temperament, and for the most part she could even be an off leash dog. She didn’t get into things, she loved car rides and barked her head off out the window! She loved her treats and would not hesitate to tell me when she wanted one. I loved playing hide and seek with her. She might not have been the brightest but whenever she finally found me, she was excited but also gave me the business for hiding from her! She was not an overly affectionate dog, but I could not leave a room or leave her sight without her following closely behind. She is very missed and will always be loved. I am honored to have been her dad. And that’s enough sad stuff.
Bella’s lasting legacy will be the Bark Ranger group that the Sidekick and I started. As of this post, the group is now over five thousand members and growing fast! It was summer 2021, Bella and I were roadtripping, and I was looking for national park spots to add to my passport book. I noticed a cool looking spot called Little River Canyon National Preserve in the northeastern nook of Alabama. This was not altogether far off my path, so I made a plan for a stop there. Looking through the park’s website, I noticed in the pet section a blurb about this Bark Ranger thing! I had never heard of this and though it was a definite must do! In addition, another nearby National Monument, Russell Cave, also had a Bark Ranger program, so she got to double up! You can check out my entry on this trip here.
I wish I had more time to do Bark Ranger activities with Bella but these programs did not even start until 2016. Judging by the growth and responses of new members to our group, many are unaware of this pawesome activity! Hopefully our group will help lead to more awesome memories made with dog parents and their Bark Rangers, exploring the country’s national park sites! Bella’s only big National Park, was Hot Springs, which we did get to hike together. In addition, we made a trip down to Big Cypress National Preserve, near the Everglades, a long road trip up north which included several NPS unit stops in Tennessee and Georgia, and her last trip was a short one to Ft. Caroline, in the Jacksonville area, which unfortunately was when the very first sign of a back problem crept up. While I could never pay tribute enough to my Bella, I do want to post some of her best Bark Ranger pictures.
The Parks Adventurer 