When Bella Whatley gets excited, she wiggles her whole backside. “Most Aussies don’t have a tail so they go crazy wigglin’ their whole back end,” says owner Kea. “We have great videos from when Bella’s human siblings walk in the door on college breaks and she goes CRAZY wiggling.”

 

Bella is the third Australian shepherd Kea and her husband Paul have owned in the past 25 years. They had to put their last one, who was more of a laid-back lapdog, down in May 2020. While Kea and Paul had decided their Cavalier King Charles spaniel was enough dog for their almost empty nest, their children thought differently. Their Aussie breeder had puppies born the same morning they had to say goodbye to their second Australian shepherd, and the children thought a new puppy would keep their parents from getting lonely when they were away at college.

 

All the puppies were spoken for but Kea did tell the breeder to reach out if one became available. Sure enough, one did and the Whatleys brought Bella home. “Bella truly has been a blessing because our Cavalier ended up passing away in my arms a month after we got Bella,” Kea says. The three-and-a-half-year-old Aussie was already named and the Whatley family decided not to change it.

 

Bella is always alert and ready to go. She loves to chase squirrels, take walks around the neighborhood, have playdates, and fish, whether with her toy fishing rod or with her “human brother” on a lake in South Carolina. “She gets so excited when he catches one,” says Kea. “She cries and barks at the fish.”

 

When indoors at the house on Club Drive, Bella likes to watch TV and barks at any commercial with a dog, cat, gecko (as in the Geico commercials), or other animal. “She even knows the jingles,” says Kea. Bella will come running from another room if she hears the familiar tune and wait for the animal to appear on screen so she can scare it off. If the doorbell rings or she is playing catch in the house, Bella will fly over the back of the sofa instead of going around the furniture to get the toy or greet whoever is at the door.

 

If the Whatleys head out for coffee at Starbucks or Dunkin’ or to Chick-fil-A, Bella goes with them for a puppuccino, pup cup, or ice dream cup. And if Paul makes coffee at home, he also makes a homemade pup cup for Bella. “You can tell she is spoiled rotten,” notes Kea. “She brings us so much joy.”