Tarra the elephant and Bella the dog; best friends at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. With no human encouragement, Tarra adopted this stray dog on her own several years ago, and the two are now inseparable. Their inspiring, "odd couple" story was recently featured on CBS News and in "Bark" magazine. For more information about the Elephant Sanctuary, please visit http://www.elephants.com
Footnote: Since Bella and Tarra's recent television exposure, a lot of people have asked how the spinal injury happened. When Bella was found in a shallow ravine in the elephant habitat, unable to walk, she was rushed to the veterinary hospital. X-rays revealed that she had sustained a spinal injury. The absence of deep tissue damage and puncture wounds led the veterinarian to surmise that Bella's spinal injury was the result of an awkward twist, most likely sustained when she was running and jumping over something. The good news is that Bella has recovered from her injury.
UPDATE: Sadly, Bella has passed away. Please visit the following pages for more information on Bella:
Bella's tribute page: http://bit.ly/Bella_Tribute
Slideshow in honor of Bella: http://bit.ly/u1oFcG
Goodbye to Bella: http://bit.ly/vbbGNG
