Today, Bella's back on her feet and happily joined at the hip with Tarra. "Bella knows that she's not an elephant, and Tarra knows that she's not a dog," Scott says. "But it's just a relationship that goes across those boundaries. It exceeds all those. It's just a true friendship."

Still, the path to friendship wasn't always so smooth—Carol says the other elephants initially threw sticks and kicked dirt at Bella. "Bella would just stand her ground and then she'd go over and sit down right next to Tarra, maybe lean on Tarra's leg like: 'I'm here. I'm here to stay,'" Carol says.

No matter what, Bella harbors no hard feelings. "Now that Bella's part of Tarra's little herd and Tarra's clique, Bella will often protect the other elephants also," Scott says.

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