Her name is BELLA!

Thank you to Emily (who turns 10 tomorrow), Jack (age 8), and their mom Deb for suggesting our doggie's new name, Bella!

Deb, Jack and Emily have no way of knowing that the term "Bella" is special to John and me, and a great fit for our St. Bernard mix. It is the Latin (and thus Italian) term for "beautiful".

After learning in Fall 2006 that we were pregnant with Katie, we took a "babymoon" to Europe -- a train through the Swiss Alps, where we got to hug on a St. Bernard in front of the Matterhorn. This is the trip that confirmed to us that we wanted a St. Bernard or Bernese Mountain Dog someday.

During the last leg of that trip, we visited special friends in northern Italy. The granny in the Italian family had been friends with John's grandfather since World War II until he died a few years ago, and we promised Granny and her family that we would stay in touch with them. The granny doesn't speak much English, and we don't speak much Italian, but one word is used often in conversation with Granny: "Bellissimo!" or "Very beautiful!" Here's a photo of us with Granny and our Italian "cousins". We miss them very much!

Back in the U.S., Bella is turning out to be a wonderful dog for our family. We had prayed for the right dog and we could not be happier. She is social and fun-loving -- a perfect fit for our family! She is very gentle and has learned very quickly the few things we needed her to learn.