You can see a cute dog like this all over the Internet these days, sure. But this picture of Bella has so much more to offer than just inspiring a quick “aww.”
My friend and next-door neighbor, Cindy, purchased Bella from a breeder. She gave it to someone who was going through a divorce and had three young children. The timing wasn’t right for that family, so we ended up with Bella because we already had a houseful of Maltese rescues. What was one more?
Because we are foster flunkies, Bella is a beloved member of the Jucker family now.
Step back a few years, when I received my breast cancer diagnosis. One of the first people I told was my friend Cindy (even before my husband Bobby). She was there to cry with me and provide support, which is so crucial for everyone afflicted by this terrible disease.
Cindy walked each year in the Race for the Cure and celebrated the survivors she knew with a party and a special gift she made. After I finished treatment, I joined her party and group in the walk, and the gift she gave us that year was this pink ribbon yard art. Cindy actually welded it and made one for each of us. She made all of us survivors feel like Race Day was our new birthday.
My dear friend Cindy died the next year, September 2008, of lung cancer. When I went to her hospital room to say my good-byes, she even told me where she had hid her gifts for her survivor friends for the walk that would be happening in a couple of weeks. We all walked in 2008 to honor Cindy.
