Ace, formerly known as Bella, a former shelter dog, has found a forever home as a conservation working dog in Montana.
GREENFIELD — She started out as a shelter dog looking for a forever home and ended up a conservation working dog in Montana. It’s been quite the journey for the pup thanks to Greenfield Hancock Animal Management, which believes every dog should have it’s day and proper home.
It was just about a year ago, March 2022, when officials from GHAM had a pit-bull dog named Bella surrendered because her owner had to move. When officials took Bella outside in the play yard for the first time, they were shocked at her actions and knew they’d have to work hard to find Bella the perfect, forever home due to her driven nature.
Her first time outside at GHAM, Bella grabbed a tennis ball in the yard, ran over to one of the kennel techs and dropped the tennis ball right into his lap and stared at him.
“All she wanted to do was play fetch,” GHAM Kennel Manager Megan Manship said. “She had an extreme ball drive that was unlike anything I had ever seen before in a shelter dog.”
Bella was so intense about playing she would even potty in her cage in the mornings before going out because she didn’t want to waste any time outside playing anything but ball with the staff. Manship noted they knew Bella needed to go to a home where her drive could be utilized for dock diving, agility training, Frisbee or something special.
“I knew that if she was adopted into just a regular home that she would not be happy and would likely be brought back to the shelter,” Manship said.
After reaching out to many organizations, including law enforcement to see if they needed a good dog for work, the word they received wasn’t positive. Agencies didn’t want to use a pit bull for their programs despite Bella’s sweet manner.
“Bella was an amazing dog who got along with every single dog we introduced her to,” Manship said. “For the two months she was with us in the shelter, we used her for almost every single dog and dog test that we did because she didn’t know a stranger … She was even great with cats.”
Officials with GHAM decided to reach out to officials with Elite Performance K9 to see if they would come and evaluate Bella. They did and took videos of Bella playing with a Frisbee as well as playing fetch with a tennis ball. The videos were posted on a Facebook page in hopes of finding someone who would want her and help develop her awesome skills.
“We waited a long time wanting the perfect opportunity for Bella,” Manship said.
In the end, it was all worth it as Bella found her forever home.
Renae Counter from Working Dogs for Conservation reached out to Manship after seeing Bella’s videos. The organization happened to have a trainer in Indiana working on a project so they set up a time for the trainer to come to GHAM and evaluate Bella.
“She came and got Bella and took her to Home Depot and out in an open field to work with her on basic things,” Manship said. “They were really impressed with Bella and they decided the very next day to take her into their program.”
Bella ended up leaving within days to Montana to be a working dog with Working Dogs for Conservation and now she’s living large.
“They sent us some amazing photos and said that she was doing great,” Manship said. “They said that she was easy to house, got along with all of the other dogs and that everyone loved her.”
The information included news Bella was currently out in the field looking for bear scat and that she was doing amazing. She has been with Working Dogs for Conservation since May, 2022, her forever home.
In addition to a new lease on life, Bella got a new name and was aptly named Ace for her sharp abilities. Counter told the Daily Reporter via email Ace has been doing wonderful since her arrival.
“She is still in the training phase but will be deploying on her first target, bear scat, come spring,” Counter said. “Her training has been loads of fun. She is such a high-energy, spunky dog with quite the funny personality.”
Ace quickly learned the “scent game” finding the target odor while getting to play with her toy and handler, Counter said. Once that happened, it was like a whole new world opened up for Ace as her personality began to shine through, and like with so many of their dogs, Counter said once Ace had purpose she became a more confident dog.
“For me, there is nothing more special than having a shelter dog come into our program and find so much joy and purpose by getting to do the work they love, and that has been the case for Ace,” Counter said. “That pint-sized pit bull has a really special place in my heart.”
Counter noted the work they ask the dogs to do can be difficult as they are searching large swaths of land, sometimes over rough terrain, to find sometimes only a single target like the scat of an endangered species or an elusive, invasive weed.
“Because the work is so difficult, most dogs we screen for the program do not raise their paws for the jobs and go on to active pet homes or other forms of work,” Counter said. “We are so thrilled that Ace has shown us time and time again that she is willing to do the work and she’s excelling at it too.”
Helping collect data on bears to better understand their diets, protect their habitat, and help to mitigate human and bear conflict will be Ace’s first job.
“But, I know she’s got a lot more up her sleeve, and I can’t wait to see what else her career will bring,” Counter said.
