Rachael Ray Described Her Dog Bella’s ‘Odd Eating Habits’ in Her Most Recent Book
Television personality Rachael Ray is known for more than being a the culinary queen. With product lines in the cooking and food sector, furniture and home goods, Ray also has a corner in the pet food market. The Food Network star is a vocal animal lover and recently shared some of her dog Bella’s go-to menu items and dining mannerisms.
Rachael Ray adopted Bella from a rescue organization
Ray’s longtime canine companion Isaboo died in May 2020. After seeing Bella’s picture from a friend who worked at the rescue shelter North Shore Animal League, Ray was immediately hooked and adopted the half pit bull, half Weimaraner a few weeks after Isaboo’s passing. Naming her Bella Boo Blue (Triple B for short), Ray and her husband John Cusimano were thrilled with their new addition to the family.
“Bella means beautiful in Italian, and our dog lives up to her name,” Ray wrote in her book, This Must Be the Place. “She has a tiny butt, long legs and torso, and those Dumbo ears now look like a coiffed mane that draws you in to her blue, mysterious, and mesmerizing eyes.”
Apparently Bella loves to be babied, often pleading for belly rubs by striking a unique pose.
“She snuggles and nuzzles like no dog we’ve ever had,” Ray noted, “and loves belly rubs so much that she can fall asleep on her back with her legs stretched wide open.”
Bella is partial to pita
The 30-Minute Meals star divulged some details on Bella’s penchant for perusing her garden, where she takes liberty with some of the up-and-coming offerings.
“Bella has odd eating habits,” Ray explained. “She loves roaming and grazing the herbs in our summer garden, including parsley and mint, and occasionally a little sage. She steals away large pieces of bark from the wood pile (too much fiber for sure) and enjoys wedges of pumpkin, apple, and cheese, and noodles of all kinds.”
Though Ray isn’t sure why, Bella seems to gravitate toward some light carbs as bedding and doesn’t like to dine on the same meal within a one-day time frame.
“She will steal a pita off my counter and sleep on it like it’s a security blanket,” Ray wrote. “I cook for her… but Bella is fussy and refuses to eat the same dish twice in 24 hours.”
Rachael Ray enlisted a dog trainer for Bella
Ray recruited Elizabeth Lajeunesse to help train Bella in certain behavioral areas. The cookbook author revealed that she and her husband were the ones who really needed the lessons.
“Elizabeth had to work harder to train us,” Ray remarked. “We are the old dogs in the scenario, and were set in our ways. But eager to learn! Elizabeth was calm and collaborative, teaching us how to be better listeners and have more patience and persistence.”
She added, “Great lessons for any human, whether you belong to a dog or not.”
