How Stella Rescued Me
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
By: Tricia Westergard

Stella

I had no intentions of getting another dog anytime soon after the passing of my 17 year old Shih Tzu, Samantha, last December had left me heart broken. Soon after Samantha had passed away I had decided that I wanted to move and had convinced myself it would just be easier to do without a pet, so there would be no dog in my home until sometime in 2014 for the first time in over 20 years (having lost my oldest Shih Tzu, Sasha, in 2007).

That was until July 11th of this year when my sister posted a picture of then Cami on my Facebook page. Adorable to a fault and described as a 'couch potato' my sister had commented - 'perfect for you!' With one photo I was smitten - this little girl needed to come live with me. I arrived at 11:55 that July day, five minutes before adoptions would open just to make sure nobody else would snatch her up. She was shy in the meet and greet but the warm greeting she gave the handlers that she was most close to and I knew she had a big heart.

Stella is my first shelter/rescue dog and I can't tell you how happy she has made me. I had not realized in the short eight months without a dog how empty my home, my life was without one. We had a rocky first couple of weeks as I was unprepared to deal with a timid, fearful dog. With alot of love and patience she has bloomed from the full time couch potato to a bit of a goofball. She played with a toy for the first time just last month, which made her momma cry - what a joy to watch her discover just how great chasing a ball around can be.

Thank you NHS! Since Stella also loves the company of other dogs, we can't wait until I get moved next year so we can return to find her a buddy!