We’ve all heard the phrase, “Adopt, don’t shop.”
And I fully subscribe to it.
As many of you know, I’m a dog momma through and through. But I haven’t always been that way.
In fact, when I first moved to Alabama, I had to leave my dog behind in Pennsylvania with my ex-fiance. I came all by my lonesome, but I knew one of my first missions had to be to find a dog.
Never did I know I would find my lifelong best friend and companion. My ride or die. My shotgun rider.
When I first met Stella, her name was Sally. She was just a lonely little Beagle-Hound mix who had all kinds of problems. First and foremost, she had severe storm anxiety. And when I’m saying severe — let us all remember the time she jumped through my glass window to escape. But that wasn’t actually the biggest of her issues.
She was labeled as violent.
My little Stella, who wouldn’t hurt a fly.
But she did. She killed a chicken — what can she say though? She’s a bird dog. Mia Chandler, who was the director of Lake Martin Animal Shelter at the time, told me “Sally” was the gentlest little girl and convinced me I wasn’t getting a violent killer.
I studied “Sally” for about two weeks online before finally meeting her as soon as I returned home to Alabama from a trip to Mexico.
I still remember taking her out for the first time and sitting on the ground with her, her tail wagging like crazy as she jumped from side to side just excited to play with a human again. I adopted her the same day.
They asked if I wanted to take a few days and consider it, but I knew I had found my girl.
“Sally” had been through a lot before I met her. She was abandoned as a puppy and had been through four homes in her short life before me. That’s why we changed her name. Mia said keep it similar but something new will let her feel like she has a new home and a new family.
And so, Stella was born.
I’m sure you’ve also heard the phrase, “Who rescued whom?” I even have the bumper sticker myself.
Because it’s so true. Stella rescued me as much, if not more than, I rescued her from the shelter. She was close to euthanization due to her special needs; it is true. But she might’ve found another loving home. She might’ve survived.
I’m not sure I would’ve without her.
See, I’ve been through a lot since I got Stella almost eight years ago. I was in a pretty dark place when I first adopted her, and I’ve been through even worse depths since then. But Stella’s love and needs and energy has always remained the same.
I’ve still had to get up every morning and get her epilepsy medicine, even on mornings when I didn’t want to get out of the bed; I’ve still had to take her out to go potty even after a long day at work. She still needs snuggles during the rainstorms, and I’m happy to provide them, even if it means getting drenched in dog drool.
Stella keeps me focused during even the toughest times, and she keeps me grounded when I feel like everything else is falling apart.
Back when I first got Stella, it was just me and her. Since then, we’ve added a Daddy and a pile of brother and sister dogs and cats. Together, Stella and I have built a life and a family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Lizi Arbogast Gwin is the managing editor of Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. She can be reached at 434-962-9420 or via email at lizi.gwin@alexcityoutlook.com.
