Monday, September 06, 2004

Introducing Stella— A 10 month old harlequin-colored Great Dane.



Stella is unique in many ways, from her beautiful brown/blue eyes, the patterns on her nose and lips, her happy tail...



Stella has a story. It is best told by Julie, of the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue organization:

"Stella was owned by a backyard breeder out in Southwestern Colorado. She was allowed to be hit by a car. We were called about her 2 weeks after the accident. The owners were going to shoot her since she wasn't getting any better and lucky for Stella and everyone that meets her she was saved by a family member and taken to the local vet. Stella arrived at my home late on a Wednesday night with her little leg just hanging. She was in severe pain but her eyes and tail never stopped saying hi. Her tail is lethal by the way. Anyway, she was taken to the vet the next day(who came in on his day off) to examine her and review her x-rays. He also had the ortho vet and one other specialist look at the x-rays. They really wanted to save the leg but in the end there was just too much damage.

The x-rays were horrible. The femur was broke in several places, the hip ball was broke off and had fractures all in it, and the worst part was the femur had gone through her pelvis. Everyone in the medical community decided it was a miracle that she lived through all of that. The next day(Friday) she went into surgery to have the leg amputated and part of her pelvis too. It was a very long (3 1/2) hour surgery. I stayed with her the whole time. At one time her blood pressure dropped and we thought we were going to lose her but she rebounded.

Within 24 hrs she was home. She immediately jumped on the couch and claimed her spot. While she recovered her she made many friends. She went to my daughters classrooms to visit all the kids. For Stella this was the best part of her life. She loves kids so much and is so gentle with them for her being a puppy it truly is amazing. She also went to many public events to help raise money for herself and Faith. She is definitely the Social Butterfly of the Dane world. I don't think Stella has ever met someone she does not like. She won that title at the Gathering on Sat. But then Sunday she won "most likely to run away". She really was just going to visit the "new" people over at the next pavilion.

I did not know Jon and Jerrie were members of the GDR until Friday evening at Gail's house [at the Great Dane Gathering in Colorado Springs]. We were talking and realized that we knew each other. I was the one that had processed their application for adoption through RMGDRI. They immediately asked about Stella. Apparently they had been following her progress on our web page. I told them all about her and that I would bring her to Sat. event to meet them. As soon as they set eyes on each other I knew she was not coming home with me. I don't know who was more smitten, Oola, Jon, or Jerrie. She did come home with me on Saturday only to return on Sunday with a contract. I left the contract in the car hoping and sure enough Jon and Jerrie gave me the news right after we arrived. Stella never left their side. I truly believe in fate and that she was meant to be in their home. She has such a special soul. She definitely was meant to survive and bring joy to many people.

So that's Stella's story."







So, now Oola has a companion. They love to play together.