It was so wonderful of you to take this dog in
We also took in a dog this year (6/27/02), the first one we've never raised from a puppy & had a hand in molding (she came with her own, sometimes strange personality).
Huney obviously had been hit & kicked, she was scared to death of my husband, but not too bad with me. She has never pottied in the house (she has free run) and never destroyed anything (except maybe a stuffed animal or two ) We never talked mean to her, so now her only problem is she thinks she's never bad, and she rarely ever is!
All in all she has been the most wonderful dog! She's totally gotten over her shyness of Mark & she loves him to death! We took her to obedience school & she was a quick study. She loves other dogs, but still not too sure about people, but she's slowly getting there.
I hope you will have as much luck with Belle as we've had with our little Huney Bun (that's a pic of her in my signature-the beautiful looking chow!)!
Do you have a pic of Belle? We'd love to see her!