I'd heard pieces of Bella's story before we ever met. Kiki had filled me in, and I thought I understood what I was walking into. I didn't. Nothing in a message thread prepares you for the actual dog, the one who pulls herself toward you with her whole body wagging, who looks up at you like she's just glad you showed up.
We spent the afternoon together at Lions Park in Golden, Colorado, and I want to tell you who Bella is, because a few photos alone won't do it.
Bella came into a shelter in Butler, Pennsylvania in April of 2025, paralyzed, dragging her back legs, fighting untreated Lyme disease. Nobody had been taking care of her. It's the kind of beginning that could have ended quietly, with no one ever knowing her name.
Instead, her story found Kiki. Kiki already knew what it meant to love a dog who moves differently, she'd spent years beside Watson the Super Puggle, an ambassador for the wheels community, until his passing last year. When she heard about a paralyzed girl in Pennsylvania who needed a home, she didn't wait.
Getting Bella to Colorado took a small army. The shelter raised over $5,300 in three days. Three volunteer pilots flew her across the country, just to get one dog home to the person who was already waiting. She arrived in her custom stroller and wheelchair, and she hasn't slowed down since.
Kiki wanted this session to show Bella's wheels, not hide them. Special needs dogs have nothing to hide. They deserve to be celebrated exactly as they are.
These photos show her in that chair and harness, out in the park, moving through the world on her own terms.
Bella is in training to be a therapy dog, and her wonderful trainer, Kate, joined us on location. I don't think we could've gotten so many great photos without her gentle guidance. And Bella takes her training seriously, she swims eighteen laps in water therapy every week. She's part of a big family of rescues and fosters.
Bella reads to children in schools. She greets people at church, where she has built herself a senior fan club, and she dresses up for them. That fan club, along with everyone else who loves her, raised over $2,000 to put her on the cover of the 2027 Colorado Pet Pantry Calendar. She earned it.
These photos are exactly what you'd expect from a dog who takes her wardrobe seriously. She showed up to our session ready, and gave me everything I needed to work with. I just had to keep up with her.
If you've got a dog who's been through something, or a dog who just plain deserves to be seen... let's talk.
The calendar's on sale through the end of September 2026, right here if you want to grab one.
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