In September of 2008 opportunity knocked – or rather tail wagged – for Bella. SDF handler Al Duncan of San Francisco’s Presidio Fire Department had responded to a call from the Stockton Animal Shelter about a possible Search Dog candidate. Unfortunately, the first dog he tested did not have the attributes needed in a Search Dog, but as he was putting this first dog back in his kennel, he heard a thump, thump, thump!
There was Bella, a small Black Labrador jumping up and down, her eyes fixed upon the toy in Al’s pocket. He asked permission to test her and throughout the evaluation Bella stayed completely focused on the toy, passing each test with ease.
Bella had been picked up as a stray in Stockton, CA. Eventually her owner’s family identified her, but asked the city to keep her. As it turned out, the dog was a papered AKC Lab whose owner was suffering from dementia and could not manage Bella’s exuberant personality and high energy. The family thought it would be safer not to bring Bella back into the home.
Upon Al’s recommendation, SDF made arrangements with the shelter to have Bella’s medical 
clearances done to make sure she was physically sound for this line of work, and within a few days Bella was whisked off to Search Dog “boot camp.”
After eight months of formal training at Sundowners Kennels in Gilroy, CA, Bella was partnered with Richard Smith of the Lakeside Fire Protection District in March of 2009. Bella moved in with Richard and his family in San Diego and the pair began training daily in preparation for their FEMA Certification Evaluation, which would allow them to deploy to disasters as members of California Task Force 8.
In November of 2010, Bella and Richard traveled to New York for their FEMA Certification Evaluation and successfully passed! Teams must test again every three years in order to retain their deployment-ready status and so Bella and Richard achieved Re-Certification in Dayton, OH in October of 2013, and again in Castaic, CA in September of 2016.
When her third certification expired on September 30, 2019, Bella was officially retired from the department and task force, having served the people of San Diego loyally for a full decade. She enjoyed several months with her family as a pet in their loving home.
Sadly, Bella’s health began to decline in the New Year and Richard, his family and teammates had to say goodbye to Bella as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge on February 24, 2020. Bella will be honored forever on SDF’s Canine Memorial Wall in Santa Paula, CA. We are incredibly grateful for her service to the nation and she will not be forgotten.