Introducing Bella, whose Mad. Friend owner gave us the lowdown on this beautiful Mad. Sq. Dog.

Introduce us to Bella.
Bella is a purebred English Mastiff from a line of champions. In July 2016 we drove to Beowulf Mastiffs Global in Mexico, NY to see the dogs. The owner/breeder showed us almost every age, from recently born to those ready to retire. We spent about two hours with the breeder; then we “met the parents”, confirmed our intent, and waited until the next litter was born. Bella was sent to us when she was three months old by plane, and we picked her up at LaGuardia Airport.

How often does Bella come to the Park, and what does she like to do there?
Bella comes to the Park a lot, and mostly loves to walk around the Oval. Sometimes we go down different paths, depending on the scents she picks up.

One of her favorite spots is the entrance at 23rd and Broadway. She loves to “take-in-the-action”, and because she’s so cute, people love to come by to pet her. She’s been featured on “thedogist.com” on Instagram when she was four months old; so she’s recognized a lot.

Does Bella have any particular dog buddies or favorite areas to play in the Dog Run?
From time to time Bella will venture into the Dog Run. She’s always hesitant because she was attacked at the Union Square Dog Run at a young age. So she sits outside the Dog Run, usually for 10 – 15 minutes, watching the dogs go in and come out.  If she’s comfortable, she first ventures into the “vestibule”, and scans the Run, checking if there are any aggressive dogs. If all clear, she’ll slowly walk in, and then find a buddy with which to run around. Water from the hose couldn’t get any better.

Anything else you want us to know about Bella?
Bella’s quite large: at eights months old she is 130 pounds, on her way up to 180 pounds. She loves to run around with small dogs; any dog that will run and play with her.  But she’s always leery of dogs which may attack her…she doesn’t realize how big she is.

Madison Square Park has been a great training ground for Bella. She’s learned to not chase the pigeons and squirrels in the Park, and is now working on not chasing leaves which fly in the wind. Madison Square Park is one of Bella’s favorite spots in NYC.