Bella

"I don't miss them. Not much, anyway. I can't be that sad–they ''left me behind, after all. They abandoned me. Besides, I have other things to think about. My friends, for a start. They need someone to take charge. I don't have time to mope." '' —Bella

Appearance
Bella is a long-legged gold-and-white thick-furred female Sheltie-Retriever mix with dark golden eyes  and sleek fur.

Family
Mother: Bella's Mother

Father: Bella's Father

Sister: Yip

Brothers: Yowl, Lucky, Snip

The Empty City
She first appears when her mother is going to tell her and the others the story of the Storm of Dogs. She tells her siblings to be silent whenever the interrupt.

Later on, Bella is seen much older. She is fighting foxes with her other fellow Leashed Dog friends to save her brother, Lucky. She tells him she's happy to see him again. She tells him that dear Yap, it was him and hello.

He remembers the name Yap from his Pup Pack, and is happy to see his sister, Squeak again. She tells him that her new name is Bella. He calls her name beautiful, which a pretty white dog makes a snorting yelp. Bella tells her, calling her Sunshine, that it was what her name meant.

Lucky nudges Bella's muzzle with his own, saying he had a new name also and that he was now called Lucky. Bella says that the name fits because he was lucky they came along to save him. He agrees and turns to her friends saying hello.

Bruno starts sniffing the meat on the counter, and Bella gives him a nudge with her muzzle and a playful growl saying he's always hungy, even at the end of the world. Sunshine tells her she wishes Bella wouldn't say that, and that they don't know it's the end of the world. Bella responds with an answering whine and questions her if it's not then where are their longpaws.

Lucky stiffens, and exclaims, horrified, that they're leashed dogs. The Farm Dog with confusion yes. Lucky then thinks of them as: leashed dogs, pampered dogs, and tame, silly, pointless dogs. He also thinks of how they are to survive as Leashed Dogs, but he shakes himself free and says that they should share the meat.

As they share, Lucky murmurs to Bella that her friends are interesting. She gazes at him fondly and says they weren't like them and she used to think all dogs were sheltie-retrievers. He blinks and asks if that was what they were. She responds yes, and then starts to introduce her friends.

She says that Bruno's Mother-Dog was a German Shepherd, and Mickey was what longpaws called a 'Border Collie' and adds that he's smart and liked to herd them. Daisy's sire and Mother-Dog were a 'Westie' and 'Jack Russell'. She calls Sunshine "Little Sunshine" a 'Maltese', very delicate. Lucky nods at the biggest black dog. Bella calls her Martha and that she's a Newfoundland, telling her brother to look at her size compared to Sunshine's.

Lucky then starts to think who was the Alpha of the pack. He thinks that Bella talked a lot, and she was kind but brusque with Sunshine, but she didn't act as Pack leader. He adds that she didn't have the air of unquestioned authority; she didn't expect to be obeyed at her first bark or nip, and even when she seemed decisive, she looked to the others for approval or advice.

He questions himself who the real Alpha is. Lucky's bewildered thoughts are interrupted by a high pitched howl coming from Sunshine. She leaps up, and runs in tight circles, and yelps that she's hurt and she's been bitten by the foxes. Bella looks at her anxious, her eyes wide. Lucky now know that his sister isn't a real Alpha dog. When Lucky tells Sunshine to lick her wound, all the dogs are cheering for him when she says it's better. Bella gazes from him to Sunshine, and back again, with delight.

Lucky is about to leave, but he hesitates too long, and Bella asks him to stay with them just for a while. He says okay, but just for a while.

She gives a loud bark of delight, and suddenly she is down on her forepaws, then leaping up, tumbling into him. Lucky rolls with her, jumping up and spinning in a circle, then letting her chase him back toward the little Pack. Daisy darts forward, colliding with Bella. Lucky watches all the dogs happily as they play, until he feels Bella cannon into him and the littermates wrestle in a squirming heap. She asks him if he's alright, panting breathlessly.

Lucky responds saying of course, and come on, springing for her again. The others continue to play.

At last all the dogs are exhausted and lie down, panting one by one. Sunshine finds a pile of silk cushions; Mickey likes contentedly beside her, and Lucky stretches out on the cold, hard floor, watching them all. Daisy flops down beside him, and he gives her ear an affectionate lick. Bella then tells Lucky to come up beside her.

Her head hangs over the edge of a longpaw seat, her ears pricked. He springs onto it, and curls up beside Bella, who gives him a happy little whine and licks his nose.

He closes his eyes, tilting his head up to wish for a good sleep. Bella asks him for what he was doing. He replies that he was getting ready to sleep, which she responds that he is ready for sleep. Lucky cocks his head curiously at her, and wonders if Bella prepared for sleep properly. She softly tells him to soft fidgeting, and he responds that he couldn't help, it was just to comfy. She yawns that there's no such thing, and he'll get used to it quickly.

He thens tells her that she must have been happy with her longpaws. She says that she was, and he asks her where they were now and what happened. She lies her head down on her forepaws, lifting her ears as if hearing something from her memory. She sighs and says that it was such a rush when the Big Growl came. She adds that it was such a terrible panic, and that they had to leave in a great hurry. They had packed all their possessions in the loudcage, all but her.

Lucky thinks what did she expect and that they were all longpaws. She shouldn't have relied on them, and built all her happiness on Leashed life. But he nuzzles her head and licks her ear. He tells her that he is sorry. She says it was alright, and she didn't need them, not much, anyway, and that she couldn't be that sad, they had abandoned her, and she had other things to worry about, like her friends, and that they needed someone to take charge; she didn't have time to mope.