Meet Stella.
This little sweetie came home with us from the Humane Society of Fremont County this last Monday and our house has been Puppy Central ever since. You can easily see why.
And here we dog again…
I had been meaning to get a dog for quite a little while now. We haven’t had one for a few years (since Wiley) and the truth is, I do better if I have a dog in my life. Pretty much everyone agrees on this, especially my family.
Since just before I left home for college, I have had five dogs so far:
- Ararf, who became my folks’ dog once I went to Austin
- Squirrel Tooth Alice, the Thistle stray I ended up with
- Brutus — Most Dog of All dogs. Say no more — the tales are legendary.
- Sadie, our sweet but seriously timid shelter girl
- Wiley Pup-ot-e, the pup we rescued up for Lucas
Other than Ararf, all of these were strays, rescues, or “accidental” dogs I partnered up with. Other than Ararf, all of them were dogs rather than puppies. Although I knew Brutus as a puppy, he did not become mine until later.
Ararf was one of a litter of pups a friend of my parents was giving away. My folks saw how taken I was with the pups —we mostly had cats while I was growing up — and surprised me with that first dog. One by one, I worked my way through that set of “Best Friends,” loving each other in turn, and turning to each new one in time.
Now, we have Stella.
“Stella Blue?” a Deadhead friend asked.
Stella Blue.
Stella Black.
Stella Black and Blue
Stella Artois
“STELLA!”
In fact, that was my first reaction to the suggested name: my terrible imitation of Marlon Brando screaming, “STELLA!” from A Streetcar Named Desire.
Ya gotta admit — it’s a Stella performance.
We weren’t intending to get a puppy. But love is love and none of the adult dogs gave us that feeling. There were several puppies but Stella seemed to the one most interested in us, so we kida chose each other — always the best way.
So, we’re in puppy training mode now, getting her used to her new home, her yard, and her new surroundings and routines. She’s met one of our cats, Scamp, but not Hussy, our older, less tolerant cat. So far, we’re mostly keeping her separated from them. Time enough for that later.
Gotta go feed the pup and get her outside for the pee and poop patrol. Still working on that. Ah, the joys of puppy parenthood.
Expect updates.
Buller's back porch 