Your story is so cute!! You really feel like you are there when you read it!!!
I always hated trimming nails too!!!
I use a "Pedicure" on Bella and Simon and it works wonderfully! Every 2-3 weeks we have our "manicure" and because it really doesn't hurt, and she gets wonderful treats afterwards, she has come to the point where she jumps right up on the couch and puts her paw across my lap when she sees me get it out.
I introduced it to my dogs slowly.
First I brought it out and turned it on and let it run and gave them treats while they sniffed it. I did Simon first, he is a German Short Haired Pointer and has pure black nails, very long because, like mentioned above, I couldn't see the quick to safely clip them. Simon was 11 and pretty mellow, so he let me work on him without too much grief and Bella watched and had her nose right in the middle of the work!!!
When Simon was done she let me do her, she was wiggly and kept pulling her paw away at first, but I stayed calm and spoke in my best "Mommy Soothing" voice and she relaxed a bit. It took several sessions, but now she is very cooperative!
Thank goodness for big brother, it really helped, Bella was still very young and she has accepted it as one of our rituals now!!!
I really like the tool because you really cannot hurt your pet's quick like you can with clippers. I threw the clippers out.