Meet Stella. She is a tiny, apricot toy poodle.
This is Stella's story as she knows it.
Can you imagine growing up in a puppy mill? And, having deformed hind legs? Living in a cage, where you eat, sleep, urinate and defecate?
That is how poor Stella, a 6 lb. apricot toy poodle with the biggest black eyes, started out her life.
So how did she arrive in my home and my heart?
Having fallen in love with a friend's toy poodles, I decided that I would like to foster one to see if it could fit into my household, which is controlled by a flock of four parrots. I found Carolina
Poodle Rescue online, and was totally blown away by Stella's story,
featured prominently on the main page. It described a shy dog that needed a foster home in Raleigh, NC while she got surgery for her deformed legs. The accompanying video sung to my heart. When I found out that the local rescue contact worked for the same company I do, in the same building, and also has a parrot --- well, I just figured
it was fate.
I was very impressed by both the speed and the thoroughness with which I was vetted as a person that could indeed be trusted to foster Stella. And, I was shocked by how quickly the transport was arranged. Stella was to arrive on Saturday Dec 12, 2010.
And she did. Right on schedule. We spent that afternoon just hanging out together on my couch reading (well I was reading..), watching TV and sharing the same space. She let me hold and cuddle her, but she was very shaky and a bit afraid about this big new place the first place she has been in without another dog. She also wanted to always
be in my sight, following me everywhere.
Although I was told that she did not bark once at the Rescue, she barked the first night. I put her in her travel carrier to sleep and she let me know in no uncertain terms that she was not happy. I felt it was a good sign that she felt that she now was entitled to
speak her mind- and definitely had something to say. I put the carrier on the bed, but that still was not good enough. So, I put the open carrier on the floor by my bed, and put one of the new plush beds right by it. She slept in that bed all night.
The next day I introduced her to the flock. They were polite but indifferent towards her except for my Patagonian Conure, Detre, who tried to make friends with her. He flew down to the floor and followed her around, making her a bit nervous. Since then they have all settled in to a nice rhythm and coexist in harmony.
Not surprisingly, we do have some housebreaking issues; but Stella is training me as to when she likes to go out and urinate (before breakfast) and when she needs to defecate (after breakfast, thank you very much). She has pads to use when I am out and she is in her confined space a_" and she mostly uses them.
I will never forget the first milestone. It was a week after she arrived. As I was holding her in my arms, she looked up at me with those incredible eyes, and licked my nose. A doggie kiss! After only a week! What a privilege. And on Christmas eve she gave me the greatest present she wagged her tail! It was a bit hard to see due to her misshapen legs, but it was a wag. Since then her tail wags have gotten more enthusiastic wagging her rear end along with the tail.
The first time she did the toy poodle spin & dance_ I was enchanted. It is so cute to watch her skipping, sliding, and prancing in her own peculiar way down the long hall from my front door.
I took Stella to meet my vet , who fell for her immediately. Dr Brown indicated that it was Stella's legs and not her hips that were the issue. She identified a mammary tumor, which unnerved me a bit , and took a chest x-ray to confirm that it had not spread. A few days later we took Stella to Dr. Gallagher, the surgeon that worked on other CPR dogs. Dr. Gallagher was completely likable and professional. He said that her knees were frozen causing Stella to hunch over when she walks, putting them way under her. He recommends that we operate on her better leg (the left one ) first and then see
how to proceed. He also agreed with my contention that Stella should be spayed and have the tumor removed before the leg surgery.
So on Jan 14, Stella was spayed and had her tumor removed. She was
groggy when she got home, but by the next day was starting to get back to her previous self. And I was relieved to hear that the tumor was
benign.
Stella has made incredible progress since she arrived at my doorstep almost two months ago a scared, little dog with huge black eyes. Every day she comes out of her shell more and more. I know that when we are able to get her the leg surgery that Stella's quality of life will improve even further.
The only question is --- who is benefiting more from this arrangement" Stella or me?
Diane
Breaking news Stella's surgery will cost around $ 2,000. One of our supporters has pledged $ 500 towards the surgery if we can match
it. That will get us halfway to our goal of new legs for Stella. Can you help?
If you would like to contribute towards her surgery, please visit our website here: donate
You can also mail a check to our Business Office at: 10901 Reidville Rd, Greer, SC 29651. Make sure to put "Stella" in the memo/comment section so that we can apply it to her surgery.
Video tape of Stella before she left Dreamweaver Farms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HnFXqCVAzE
