Bella Mimi is a 13-year-old Jack Rat terrier in Winnetka, CA, who needs $788 for Dental Extractions Major and Minor.

Thirteen years ago, as I happened upon a box of puppies for sale, one of the pups tried to reach up to me by stepping on top of her brothers and sisters. Bella Mimi picked me that day, and we've been like peas and carrots, ever since. Everywhere I went, Bella went with me. I even snuck her into work for the first few months, after we found each other.

When it was discovered that I had been sneaking a small dog into work, I was surprised when my manager gave the OK for Bella to come out of hiding, and join the rest of the staff, playing ball, giving hugs and relieving tension in usually, stressful situations. Anywhere she goes, Bella is instantly, part of the family,

Bella thinks she's a big dog. She has the classic, "short dog syndrome" mentality and has been known to jump on tables, to get in the face of a bigger, less intelligent dog, to bark a few orders and establish seniority, like an alpha. She's smarter than some people and barks at the tv when watching sports with the family.

Bella is older now and suffering from periodontal disease. She needs to have some of her teeth surgically removed to avoid further infection, relieve her ongoing pain and improve her quality of life. I've exhausted my savings due to unforseen circumstances and have had to postpone Bella's surgery for the last 3 weeks.

Bella Mimi has been my very best friend, in the good times and the hard times, like now. Our home was destroyed more than 3 years ago, resulting in us living in my car at one point. After losing almost everything, we've been struggling to get back to a some sort of normalcy.