It is with great sadness that we inform you all that therapy dog Bella has crossed the rainbow bridge. Bella, a gorgeous Newfoundland, became very well known in our community for her therapy work. It often felt like being in the presence of a celebrity as people clamored to say hello to the big fluffy black dog that looked like a bear.
She and her handler, Margaret Drew, were one of our most active and longest-serving teams and an invaluable source of joy for those we serve. A gentle soul, Bella was able to bring comfort and delight to anyone she visited, and she touched the lives of so many. She was among the first R.E.A.D. teams with Paws & Think and loved visiting IPS 34, where she had such an impact that she was included in a mural within the school. In addition to the Paws to Read program, she was a wonderful part of the Hamilton County Youth-Canine program and the Paws to Heal program with Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital to name a few.
Bella will be greatly missed but will live on in the hearts of so many in our community and in the hearts of all of us at Paws & Think. We send a sincere thank you to Margaret and her husband Craig for sharing Bella. She was born to be a therapy dog and truly made a difference to so many.
If you would like to make a gift in memory of Bella, you can do so on this post or at pawsandthink.org/donate. If you donate on the website, please let us know it’s in her memory.
