Miss Bella.

We moved into a new house in Greencastle recently.

The layout of the house is such that my husband's and my bedroom is on one end of the house, while our 6-year-old son's room is on the other. The house isn't huge, so it's not like we can't hear Will if he calls out for us, but it's different because in every other house we've ever lived in he's been right next door or right across the hall.

Since we brought her home as a 6-month-old puppy in 2001, our black Cocker Spaniel, Bella, has slept in the room with my husband and me. She used to sleep in the bed with us, but she was hit by a car a couple of years ago, and she's been unable to get into the bed ever since, so we got her a pillow of her own and she started sleeping on that next to our bed.

I didn't even realize until last night that Bella hadn't been sleeping in our room at the new house.

Will fell asleep in bed next to me last night while we were watching TV, so I carried him to his room and tucked him in. I stayed out in the living room for a bit reading after that, and about an hour later decided it was time to go to bed.

As I was making my way into the bathroom to brush my teeth, I peeked in on Will ... and saw Bella laying on the floor right next to his bed. She never even lifted her head, but she looked back at me and her little tail wagged.

My husband was at work, so I called to tell him good night, and I mentioned that Bella was in Will's room.

"She's been sleeping in there ever since we moved," he said.

I've heard it said that animals can't feel love. I've never believed it before, and now I really don't. Bella obviously didn't like the idea of Will being so far away from us, so she took it upon herself to watch over him at night.

I was pregnant with Will when we adopted Bella, and I remember coming home in the afternoon and curling up with her for a nap. She would cuddle up under my stomach and Will would kick her in the head, and she'd never move.

When Will first came home, Bella would lay next to his cradle for hours. When I would feed him, she would sit in my lap with him. If anyone other than Will's father or sister approached us, she would emit a low warning growl in her throat ... she'd never go after anyone or bite; she just wanted people to know they weren't supposed to get any closer.

This animal has become such a part of our family, and I know that she loves Will and would do anything to protect him. Pets are such a blessing, aren't they?