Dog & I: Bella & Tom

Our monthly series explores the modern relationship between owner & dog — the challenges people face and the incredible benefits of owning a dog in this stressful, fast-paced world.

This week’s duo is Tom and Bella. Tom lives in London with Bella his 3 year old Labrador.

We sat down with Tom to discuss how Bella became part of their family, what activity she can’t get enough of and what makes their relationship so special.

How did you and Bella find each other? Tell me the story of how she came to you?

Me and girlfriend of 3 years started living together. We had discussed the idea of getting a dog, but weren’t entirely sure if the timing was right or how we’d actually go about doing it. My mum mentioned to me that one of her friends had just had a litter of labrador puppies, so we went over to pay them a visit. We hadn’t planned to get one that day, but the minute we laid eyes on Bella, we knew we had to have her. She was the first one in the litter to come up to me. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and I instantly fell in love.

I run my own company and work from a small office close by where we live, so Bella spends most of the day with me. She has her own little corner in the office and has been coming in with me since she was a puppy. My girlfriend works in events so will also occasionally work from home and look after her if work’s a bit quieter. She was worried that Bella would become too attached to me because I spent the most time with her.

What was she like as a puppy? How did you go about training and socialising her?

Thankfully, she was a very well behaved puppy. I quickly discovered that I had made the right decision owning a lab — she’s proven to be very easy to train. If you want her to do anything, all you have to do is wave some food and you’ve got her attention. We took her to several puppy classes, but coming into work with me meant that she was around people from day one, which has definitely helped social skills.

What’s the best thing about Bella?

Bella’s the best! She’s a great dog with a big heart. Always happy to see you and she has the ability to lift the spirits of anyone, no matter how bad of a mood they’re in. She’s such a gorgeous dog, inside and out.

What is her favourite thing to do?

There are 3 things that seem to make Bella happiest. Firstly, she loves to eat — I’m pretty sure 80% of her daily thoughts revolve around food. She also loves to cuddle. She’s very demanding of your affection when it comes to cuddling; if she’s sitting near you, it’s very important to her that you are stroking her and If you don’t, she will quite simply nudge you until you do. And finally, she LOVES to play with her ball. I think she would do this on repeat all day if she could. Throw, retrieve, repeat — she can’t get enough of it. It’s a dangerous move to pick up a ball in our house.

Whats her personality like?

Lovely — she’s incredibly loving and friendly. Very playful. A little high maintenance at times and a tad sensitive, but everything else about her makes those traits easily forgivable.

Does she have any mischievous habits?

Not necessarily any bad habits, but as mentioned she is very sensitive. She will basically have a strop with you if you tell her off. She went through a small phase (a couple of weeks) of completely ignoring my girlfriend when she came home from work because Gurneet had told her off for going into the cupboard and eating an entire cake.

What makes your relationship with Bella so special?

She’s part of our family and I can’t imagine life without her. Owning a dog, especially for a young couple, is almost like an introduction to having a child. There’s just this unconditional feeling of love that you have for them. She’s very special to us.