Belle is asleep on an old lounge chair cushion just outside the front door and within sight of her big brother, Max, sprawled on his bed.
Belle. She climbed right into that name and it seems a perfect fit …the belle of the ball, the puppy princess. Her foster family called her "Thibodeaux" – too long for a name tag, but we did consider just calling her "Tibby".
The Girl suggested naming her something more German-sounding, since Rottweilers are technically from Germany…something like "Wolfgang"…
I just couldn't see calling that petite little face "Wolfgang".
On the drive to pick her up this morning, Tom and I tossed some others around. I liked "Rosie" but it's too close to "Josie", our grandpuppy. Then I thought "Stella" would be a good fit (Tom liked the idea of going out and yelling "Stella!") but it was when we passed the Bell County sign that it hit me…"Belle". Perfect.
She is worn out – it's already been a full day for the poor puppy. Hours and hours of riding in cars…meeting new people, a giant dog, a feisty guinea fowl.
The road trip was uneventful – she and I both dozed off in the backseat. It was only in those last few twists and turns that she got a little fretful and crawled up in my lap. And then as soon as we took her out of the car, she went straight under the van, peeking out just enough to sniff Daniel's hand and Max's face.
At long last she felt comfortable enough to crawl out and we took her down to the porch where there was much supervised "sniffing and circling"…and only one or two minor confrontations – Frankie making it clear he had a zero tolerance policy when it came to his 'personal space'. But no one was hurt…and more importantly, no one was eaten.
Next we gave her a tour of the property. First stop, the pond where Max demonstrated proper wading. Then we crossed the dam and circled around to the little pond, waterfall and creek. She was fascinated with the creek, so Daniel showed her an easy spot to maneuver down to it via the retaining wall. She promptly crawled under the bridge and laid down in the water, just like big brother Max was doing a bit upstream.
Finally we made it back up to the house – where I think she already feels right at home.
Some images of Belle's first day as a Shallue…
My first sight of little Belle…
"Who's got me?" She's already an armful for Tom (see her new pink collar?)…
Playing around at a rest stop on the way home…
Belle meets Daniel…
Frankie reviews the rules…and consequences…with the newbie…
Love at first sight…
The whole crew heading out for a walk…
Belle really likes Daniel…
Long Hollow 
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