Met a dog (and owneer) of a dog that might have been Bella's Mom, the dog that is, not the owner.
Graying muzzle, spot on her chest, a tiny bit bigger but still a small Dane, same tail. I heard a bit about the dogs story and the story totally lines up and explains things if it's true. If true Bella is a 100% Great Dane, just small and underfed for a while, as I had expected. Very cool, I hope I run into both dog and owner again.