When my ex-husband and I were looking for a puppy, preferably a Golden Retriever, I happened to see the notice about Bella who was billed as part Golden Retriever. I was looking on Petfinder.

There was something about Bella. The notice said she was deaf. That didn't bother me because I had taught Bob (our springer mix) some hand signs as a "trick" at the end of an obedience class a couple of years earlier.

I emailed her foster mom and asked if she shed very much. She said, "Bella sheds enough to make a new dog every day." That almost turned me off.

She wasn't exaggerating.



This is what I got after a couple of hours of brushing her back half back half with a "Furminator," a mat splitter, some other brushes, thinning shears, and regular scissors. I'm not finished yet.