Stella, Queen Corgi Mix

Stella was born in April, 2000. She had a brother named Riley. The two puppies were adopted from a feed store in Palatka, FL by two of my dearest friends, Adele and Stacy. One weekend in May when I went up to Salt Springs to visit them, they showed me the two puppies and I fell in love with both of them. Riley was my favorite but he had already been spoken for by Stacey's son, Chase. The other pup, a female, didn't have a name. I asked why they had gotten two puppies and they told me one was for me.

I was scheduled for breast cancer surgery that June and the last thing I thought I needed was a puppy. Having just gone through a difficult puppyhood with Chaos, my wolf-hybrid who was just starting to become a well-behaved one year-old, the thought of housebreaking another puppy while recovering from a mastectomy and possibly more chemotherapy did not excite me. But over the weekend, I couldn't help but fall in love with the pup. I told my friends I would take her home with me and bring her back two weeks later. I knew she needed to be wormed and given her first shots and wanted to help them out because they needed to do the same with Riley and money was tight.

That is how the little Corgi-Sheltie mix puppy came into my life. On my way home, with the pup on the front seat next to me, wrapped up in a borrowed blanket and sound asleep, I decided she needed a name. That was my first mistake. When you actually name an animal you are officially responsible for them for the rest of their life. At least that's the way I believe it should be. As Saint Exupery said in The Little Prince, "You become responsible forever, for what you have tamed."

So I thought about my friends, who had decided I needed a puppy while I was recovering and realized the perfect name for her would be Stella, a combination of Stacey and Adele's names. Now that she had a name, I tried to figure out some way to tell my husband we had a new puppy. I knew that would not be as easy naming her!

When I arrived home, I told him Stella was just going to stay with us for a few weeks until I had to go back up to Salt Springs for an awards banquet. The poor puppy needed to see a vet and I thought I'd help the girls out by getting her first shots and having her wormed.

For my last selling point, I suggested it would take my mind off the upcoming surgery at the end of June. Dan is pretty easy when it comes to animals. That's a good thing because, over the years, I have brought a lot of animals home to live with us. He told me it was fine as long as I was going to take Stella back in two weeks.

I figured by the end of two weeks, Dan would be as in love with Stella as I was. And I wasn't Stella's only fan. Chaos was thrilled to have someone to play with her. At one year, Chaos was pretty big even though it would take her another two years to fully mature. Stella was small and Chaos towered over her, but she was one tough puppy.

Whenever Chaos got too rough with her, Stella would grab a mouthful of Chaos' neck fur and just hold on. Chaos never hurt her but she spun her around quite a bit. Stella was tenacious and brave. She never let go. They were instant pals.

Stella did go to the awards banquet with me but she also came back home to live with us permanently. Dan softened a bit toward the end, constantly asking if I was still taking the puppy back until the day I was scheduled to leave.

"I'm taking her up to Salt Springs but I'm bringing her back," I told him. "The girls want to see her and I want her to go with me. But I'm going to keep her. Chaos loves her and so do you!"

Dan just nodded. He had known all along this was going to happen and secretly thought Stella was great. He just never made it easy for me.

After the surgery, I found out why my friends had insisted I needed a puppy. She really did help me recover faster. I had responsibility plus I had a pal to lounge around with until I felt better. The most interesting thing I learned about Stella during my recovery was that she was a true nurse dog.

Some dogs take care of other dogs but they take care of people too. If there was any unusual sound out of me, Stella was there in an instant, checking up on me and making sure I was OK. She did this from a very early age and has been my nurse for her whole life.

I've had several surgeries since then and Stella always took care of me. Any time I was recovering or sick, I became her number one priority. She takes her job very seriously to this day.

If I'm cheering at some athlete's win or catching my breath at a terrible skiing fall while watching the Olympics, Stella's head comes up and she looks anxiously in my direction. She's still taking care of me. 

Stella is the only dog I've ever had I didn't choose myself. Although I didn't know it at the time, Stacey and Adele knew that little puppy was exactly what I needed. I will always be grateful for their intuitive and loving gift.

I have to go now because it's time for bed. Stella is a little older now and she likes to get her beauty sleep!

(This story is in memory of Riley, who was not fortunate enough to have as long a life as Stella. We all miss his wisdom and his kindness.)


Photo Credits:
Stella and Carol by Stacy and Adele
Stella cruising the Keys in her Boston Whaler by Carol Clark