I had intended to write a lighthearted post about places to visit and stay while traveling around Ireland with a dog, but I’m afraid that isn’t something I will be able to write about for some time. Last weekend, Bella and I were visiting Connemara with some fellow sighthound enthusiast friends, staying in a lovely pet friendly hotel and looking forward to a weekend spent on various beaches and in the hotel’s dog-inclusive pub. On saturday morning, we went to a gorgeous secluded beach and all of the dogs were excited to go for a run in the sunshine. I only let Bella off leash on very remote beaches as a precaution against her getting loose around cars, livestock or unknown dogs, but it was the perfect spot, free from cars or other dogs and she was looking forward to a nice run. Off she went, racing into the sand dunes with a couple of the other sighthounds, but then she didn’t come back. When I found her, she was lying in the beach grass and at first, it wasn’t obvious what was wrong, however very soon we realized that she had suffered a very serious injury, most likely a broken neck from falling in the sand. We were going to rush her to the vet, but within a few minutes she was gone, just like that.

Bella would have been four years old at the end of July this year and I had expected to have so much more time, and many more adventures with her, but it wasn’t to be. She will be terribly missed and she touched a lot of lives in her short time, helping to change opinions about greyhounds as pets with her gentle, calm demeanor and graceful laziness. We were signed up for an assessment this coming week with Irish Therapy Dogs where we would have visited local hospitals and care homes, something Bella would have excelled at and brought comfort to many people. She changed my life in so many ways and I can only be grateful for the short time we had together. Run free, my beautiful, beautiful Bella.

This is a short video I put together a few weeks ago of Bella and Sweet Pea, they had a very special and unique bond.