Meet Stella, a 3 yr old female red tick coon hound. Her story begins when she was a young pup, purebred and purchased by a man we know little about... except some of what he did to Stella. This man lives on a farm, and Stella was one of his 12 dogs. Our story really begins with the day the shelter people went to this man's farm and removed 6 of the 12 dogs, which is all he was willing to surrender. Stella was one of the dogs removed that day, and in the worst condition of any of them, lifeless and near dead.
The man who owned these dogs talked freely with the shelter people about them, not understanding that he had done anything wrong. When it came time to talk about Stella, he explained his nightmare with trying to train her. His favorite training tool was his cattle prod, which he used often. Stella didn't respond in the desired way to the cattle prod, so he used it on her often and supplemented that with starvation and beatings.
When nothing worked for him she was considered untrainable, her food was taken away and she was left to lay there and die. The day the shelter people arrived she was nearly gone and they were planning to euthanize her. One of the shelter workers was also a foster home for the shelter dogs, and she begged the others to let her take this poor lifeless creature home to nurse on her own, at her own expense. She found Stella to be such a pretty dog and a life worth trying to save after all she had been through. She had no idea back then just how right she turned out to be.
It took almost 1 yr for Stella to regain her health, gain almost her desired weight, and begin some basic training. Once she was considered healthy enough, the shelter insisted she go up for adoption and the foster mom simply could not keep her like she really wanted to.
The first family to come along and fall in love with Stella seemed like a good place for her to be. She had oodles of attention, walks and trips to the dog track regularly (as a spectator). Nobody is sure what went wrong, but within a week the new family returned Stella to the foster home and walked away, never to look back, the only explanation was that she jsut wasn't for them. The foster mom was very happy to see her miracle dog home again, but reality dictated that Stella simply could not stay long term, so the search for a new adoptive family began again.
The second family to take Stella home seemed to adore her, they pampered and spoiled her, started to bond with her quickly... until they decided that their new coon hound should hunt with them. Stella is extremely gun shy, end result of some of the trauma she faced during her first year of life full of abuse. Gun shy just was not in the cards for the second family, so two weeks after taking her home, they returned her to the foster mom.
By this time Stella was losing some of her new found trust in people, so the foster mom began to worry that Stella would end up listed as unadoptable and her fate would still be death, just in a kinder way.
In a last attempt to find Stella a home, the foster mom listed her with an online adoption agency, where she would be seen by a much larger audience. The picture of Stella was very dark and at quite a distance from the camera (we would find out later why), the most notable part of her photo was the floppy ears.
While online chatting with a friend one night I expressed my frustration in finding just the right dog for our family. I was not in a position to work with a dog that had bladder issues, aggression issues, etc. I had to find a dog that was good with kids for my 12 yr old daughter, something my allergies could tolerate, and adoption fees we could afford on our meager budget. The search began with thoughts of a dachsund or other small dog that could serve as a lap pet.
My friend also is a doggy foster mom, and was trying to convince me to take a pair of blue tick coon hounds that were in desperate need of a foster home. One dog was in good shape, the other had extensive medical and aggression issues, and it was mandatory they stayed together. Out of frustration at still just not having any luck after months of searching, I went back that night to the website I had been haunting regularly. By now many faces were becoming familiar on this website, but I scrolled anyways. That is when I found Stella.
Stella's listing came up under the wrong breed, so I found her completely by accident. All I can still remember seeing that night in her photo were the ears hanging alongside of her lowered head, and the big expressive eyes that looked so very sad.
I still cannot explain it, but I looked at that photo and said "there is my dog". I called the foster mom first thing in the morning, before I even warned my husband. The foster mom was very nice and friendly, and it was obvious she loved this dog so much. We talked for almost 2 hours and scheduled a meeting for that weekend, 2 days away. Then I emailed my husband at work and told him "I found my dog".
Hubby was a bit uneasy at first, wondering mostly about my allergies and if they would act up with this dog like they did with so many others, and he remained doubtful that I had really found us a dog.
2 days is a very long time to wait when you are as excited as I was to meet Stella, but finally the big day came. The foster mom was great, let us all go out into the yard in the snow to play with Stella, get a chance to visit with the foster mom and learn what training Stella had recently begun. Warnings were issued then, Stella is a runner and Stella has a lot of issues with separation anxiety and fear, and on and on the list went. Hubby looked a little worried, but then I knelt down and really got to meet Stella face to face. She was so shy and timid, but those eyes begged for love and compassion. My heart was won over with the first pat on the head, and our daughter was totally in love. My allergies were in check, Stella having climbed all over me and rubbed against me quite a bit, and no reaction.
I told the foster mom I would call her the next day to give her an answer and we went home. It was a 40 minute drive home, and by the time we arrived I was ready to call the foster mom and tell her we would take the dog. She had won us all over in just that couple of hours.
Stella came home the next week with a crate, the foster mom delivered her so she could see the house and yard, and how Stella reacted when she got inside. The crate was put in a corner of the living room where she could be with us and still feel safely away from us at the same time, and she went right to it and refused to come out for about 20 minutes. I sat down to visit with the foster mom and her son who had come along to say goodbye to Stella, he was crying by this time.
As we visited and the tears calmed, Stella eventually ventured out of her crate and began to slowly explore the house. The foster mom and her son said goodbye, and Stella was in her new home alone, which sent her right back to her crate. Part of my preparation for Stella was to make her a nice bed to fit inside her crate. Warm fleece with a 3 inch piece of foam inside, easy to wash and comfy. As Stella settled in, her safe place went from the crate to the bed I made just for her, and we were able to move it around the house one room at a time so she could learn to feel safe.
About 2 hours after her arrival my allergies took over and the hives began. It was fast, really fast. Inside of 5 minutes my arms were covered in hives, my face, and my eyes were swollen almost shut. Being home alone all I could do was keep washing myself with cool rags and avoid touching the dog. Fear set in, I did not want to part with this lovely dog before we even got her settled. I knew that going back to the foster home meant being listed as unadoptable & put to sleep, so I was determined there had to be a way to get past the allergies. I began wearing only long sleeve shirts and carrying lint brushes with me everywhere, along with cold wet washcloths to wipe any bare skin often. It took about an hour, but the hives began to let up slowly. I emailed hubby and asked him to bring home some Benedryl, knowing I would be needing it.
Adjustments here were slow, Stella got plenty of space because of my allergies, but I quickly found ways to avoid the hives on the face. Hives elsewhere I was willing to deal with just to keep my new dog, much to hubbys concern. I learned to not rub my face on her, hug her too tightly or for too long, and various other ways to interact with her to gain trust without triggering major hive outbreaks. It took time and my body eventually began to adjust over the months. Now I rub on her and cuddle her anyways, I just have to wash up right away before the hives can start.
After all of that, let me say now, hives were the least of our challenges. Stella came to us with stomach problems, stemming from the starvation. The foster mom had been giving her a spoonful of yogurt once/day as a treat to help calm her tummy. I am not sure if she tried anything else, but the yogurt didn't appear to me to be helping, so we stopped it. Within 2 days of no yogurt we found only 1/2 the gas problem. 1/2 of the gas problem remained, and to say it was bad is an understatement. Stella cleared any room she went into, in an instant.
Having a lifetime of dog experience, strays, shelter dogs, etc. I made myself a checklist of things to help Stella with her tummy, and began really paying attention to her eating habits.
Still being slightly underweight we were careful not to let her eat too much at a time for fear of making the problems worse, but we did increase the frequency of her meals. This poor dog inhaled anything put in front of her anytime it was offered. Stella didn't chew, she swallowed and gulped down everything, including her dry food. In an effort to slow her down while eating, I began mixing some of her dry food into small portions of canned food, which caused her to lick and chew instead of inhale. The gas problems went away that day, and now only show up when she is extremely nervous. One day at a time I began adjusting feedings, eventually finding that I could leave dry food for her all the time, she would eat her fill and stop, even if the bowl wasn't empty. That was something the foster mom said we couldn't do with this dog, it had been tried repeatedly and didn't work. She no longer feared starvation. Her canned food worked its way up to 1 small can/night, she got her dinner when we finished ours. Tummy problem fixed.
The cattle prod left some major mental damage in this poor dog, some of it I fear she will never overcome, but in the past 18 months Stella has still become a new dog.
A month after coming here Stella got to meet my adult son when he came to visit. She greeted him with snarling and snapping before he even got to the door, which was very unlike her normal personality. She tried to attack the windows when she saw him. Her new word that day was "enough" and she learned it quickly considering her condition. I grabbed the collar and my son came inside, Stella acted like she would eat him... but it was clear that a horrible fear was driving her aggression. My son went back outside and when he came in again, he stopped to get treats from the cabinet, then offered them to the dog. Stella would have nothing of it, refused to do anything more than growl and shake, hair standing on end. My son was given his routine of always stopping for treats when he came into the house.
3 visits like this in the course of 1 month left me feeling a bit desperate, so Stella and I took a trip to the local pet store to be fitted for a muzzle. Muzzles are unpleasant, and while trying one on Stella nearly turned herself inside out to get it off, there was no giving up until it was removed. I bought it.
The next day my son came again to visit, and Stella stood at the window next to me, growling as usual. Again I told her "enough" which did no good. As my son came into the house, Stella began to growl, as usual. Instead of telling her to stop, I just slipped the muzzle on and stepped back. I told my son to come in, sit on the floor with me near her, but to ignore her. Stella's attention was complete with the muzzle, so she had no reaction to him anymore. I reached and guided her to us, told my son to talk to her and pet her gently, slowly, and show her he would not hurt her. When I could see her stop shaking, I removed the muzzle. She looked at my son and let out a low growl, so I held up the muzzle and said "enough". That was the last time Stella growled at anyone. Her muzzle has been put back in its packaging and remains new, no more need for it that I can ever expect. Now her word is "enough" and she knows what it means and listens instantly. Stella and my son are now the best of friends. He moved in with us for a number of months and became one of Stella's favorite playmates.
By this time I wanted to show off my new dog, so I brought out a camera one day. One look at it and Stella was gone. I never imagined a 65 lb dog could get into such a small space, but Stella found hiding places that were so tight it was amazing she could get back out on her own. Just sight of the camera makes her shake and quake in fear, you don't even need to point it in her direction.
Thunder & lightning bring the same response, both of these problems we have yet to resolve, but we work on them regularly.
Stella's bed quickly moved from her crate to our daughter's room, and because there were no allergy issues with my daughter, it was only hours before Stella was invited to share the bed. That has been her bed ever since, the girls share it nicely and it works out so well for everyone. Stella even sleeps through the night, provided there isn't a storm.
A few nights after the first in a real bed, we had a really loud storm, through which Stella curled up in bed and shook through it all. Come morning my daughter woke up to a wet bed... Stella wet it. Mattress covers are a wonderful invention, so we double covered our daughter's bed and let Stella return to it. There have been a few accidents over the course of a year, but they have faded to the rare severe and loud storm.
I could write an entire book called Adventures with Stella. Maybe I will some day. I came here to tell her story because I wanted other people to know that even a dog who is near death is worth saving. I have owned many dogs over my lifetime, was raised with them, our family always had at least 1 or 2. Of every dog I have ever owned, Stella shines above them all.
She's cute, she's affectionate, very well behaved, puppy playful for a couple of hrs each day, funny to watch, super smart, and lazy. Stella turned out to be a wonderful guard dog, and lets nobody into the house unless we invite them. She hears daddy come home from work when he's still blocks away, and runs eagerly to the door to greet him every night. During the school year, 3:30pm finds Stella pacing the windows watching for her kid to come home, ending at the door with tail going 100mph.
I have never had a more trainable dog than Stella. She is good at letting us know what she wants, and accepting if she doesn't always get it. She has learned to come get us and lead us to what she wants, be it outside, dinner, treats, leash, or just play time. She knows her basics with sit, stay, down, off, and she has learned to walk on a leash so nicely.
Due to her fear of cameras I dont get to take many pictures of Stella, but we did get 1 last October when she went trick or treating with her kid. (I will eventually find a way to post it here for all to see) They were both witches, both had costumes, and both were a big hit all over town. Stella spent the walk greeting all of the little kids she met, kissing faces, and drooling on a grandmother who just couldn't get enough of her. Our local firemen who work as crossing guards for trick or treat have all promised to fill pockets full of Stella treats for this year, eager to see her new costume. Stella doesn't mind dressing up and came to us with a fleece shirt she loves to wear in the winter months.
Stella is an inspiration to anyone who knows her or her story, and should be a poster dog for shelter dogs, they really don't make them any better than this!
I encourage everyone to seek a shelter dog. Somewhere out there is the right one for everyone, you just have to look. Stella is our miracle, and reminds me every day that 65 lbs is never too big to be a lap dog.
Thanks for reading our story.
