First of all - our dog's name is Stella! We tried out other names, but when we found out that her name is Stella - it is a long story that I will write about below - it felt so natural and so correct for her :)
Second - I am sitting with so many awards and medals that I want to hand out. These are not medals made out of gold, but made of so much respect and gratitude and admiration! The ones that most of all deserve a medal are the ones that work in animal protection organizations. They were the ones that found Stella and got her out of where she was. They were the ones that found us, that organizes with the vet. They are the ones that work throughout the whole year to try to make life better for animals that live in horrible conditions. They deserve all the respect and admiration - and help - that we can give them. This medla also goes to our dog owner friends who have helped us with advice, with special shampoo, with a bew dog bed, and to other dog lovers on forums who help with sweet comments and hints!
My second medal goes to Maja!!! Maja has shared her lawn, her house, her toys, her parents, her bed (!), her food bowls, her friends, her privacy, all attention and her own love - all of it without refusing, without a grudge, without sulking. Maja is my hero!
The third medal goes to Stella! She har already brought so much of her own light into the house - she is so friendly, so fearless, so positive, happy and loving. She accepts us showering her, cutting her nails, telling her to go here and there, taking food away from her just to test her (passed with flying colours!!), and rewards us with so much affection and a wildly wagging tail :)
Today has been great! We decided to try to go for a walk together with Maja and Grotas, her best boyfriend. We were not sure how this would go, but after one minute on the lawn we knew this would be a success. Both on leash on the sidewalk on the way to the forest and in the forest, they looked like a proper pack; trotting along side by side. Maja and Grotas did most of the playing, Stella is a little bit to weak to match their speed, but she is having a great time still. Then we met some other dogs we now and then go for walk with - no problem there, either. In general; we don't see any problems. She seems mentally extremely stable, very friendly with no agressions (I can take away her food whenever I want to), and totally happy.
And somehow, this has made us wonder: we were told that Stella was about two years old, but she seems older. Also - she seems so used to walking on leash, to playing with other dogs and to being in a house; we were really sure that she must have had some "civilized" background. While I was at work, my girlfriend and some dog owner friends did some research: Stella has a breeders tattoo on the inside of her ear! They checked with the Retrievers' Club in Lithuania, and they tracked down the breeding house. It was really small and produced only one litter: Our dog was called Stella, and is close to four years old. It is still a mystery how she ended up where she did, but we'll try to do some more research tomorrow. It was in a way exciting news; at once when I heard the name Stelle I knew that it was right. If there are some owners out there that have lost her, it will be fantastic to be able to give her back. At the same time, I did feel some sting in my heart when I thought about that possibility. We plan (!) to foster, not to own, but she is here now: I still so hope to have her for a while, to get to know her better, to let Maja have her playing friend for a while, and to see her grow healthy and strong. I do not, not want to give her away now!
She is showered again and so good smelling. When she is wet, you can clearly see how horrifyingly thin and undernourished she is, but we will fix that. We did some more grooming today, cut the rest of her nails and trimmed the hairs on her paws; she is starting to look like a really proper dog.
Now both Stella and Maja are asleep, all is well and quiet in the house. It is a blessing to have to totally happy dogs sleeping in the same room. Stella has just escaped hell, Maja also had a rough start in life. We try to remind ourselves not to feel sorry for them, but myself I really feel so touched - these dogs so deserve to be happy and safe, and right now it really seems like they are :)
... Never too much cuddling..
Showering - so terribly thin:
Two dogs relaxing:
Playing:
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