Stella la Bella de Seantiago
May 5, 2008 – August 17, 2018
ciao, ciao mia amica
For those who knew Stella and how much she meant to us, we want to let you know that after only 10 years, her adventure in life has come to an end. Stella was diagnosed with advanced congestive heart failure at an annual checkup in September 2017. Thanks to the excellent and compassionate care of the staff, and especially Dr. Petra Juzwishin-Warnock, of the Elk Lake Veterinary Hospital, our little family had one more year together.
Stella was born in Crofton, BC and came to us in Victoria when she was two months old. From the start, it was evident that she was smart and adventurous. Being the doting parents that we were, we enrolled her in puppy socialization class, urban dog training, freestyle dance class and canine agility. Of course, she was top of the class in every challenge, but mostly she was top of the class in our hearts. Agility video link: https://youtu.be/lZoOgNPzduE
In 2010 Stella made her first continental trip to attend her grandparent’s 50th-anniversary party in Clare, Nova Scotia. We made a video.https://youtu.be/qeQtSCwRfYw
Upon our return we discovered geocaching. We became Team Stellalabella. Over the next few years, life was full of geocaching adventures. Today our total geocache find number is 2931 and Stella was there to help find most of them.
A couple of other epic adventures include her 2014 second continental trip, with her moms and one of her best friends, Louise. On this trip, Stella visited nine Canadian provinces and thirty American states. Though totality was a bit scary for her, in 2017 Stella witnessed the total solar eclipse in Lincoln City, Oregon. Other adventures that she loved included camping and running on any beach. She was always happy to make new friends everywhere she went.
At home, Stella loved to be like a piece of velcro, stuck to a body part, or like a shadow, never far away. She was a connoisseur of treats from around the world and for days before every Christmas morning, she was excited to get to that stocking full of goodies and toys just for her.
The last year has been a difficult one for the three of us, though at the beginning of this process the medicine slowed down the progression of her symptoms. However, we had to accept the fact that her condition was terminal. She spent more and more time resting, chilling on the couch or on the big bed, and, when she was outside, chilling in her well-loved pet stroller.
Towards the end of July, she lost consciousness for the first time and we knew our time together was getting shorter. There were two more frightening incidents, each one worse than the previous, and despite having more tests and more medicine her life was ebbing.
Today, with the help of her doctor, just after noon, Stella went to sleep in our arms and had a peaceful and good death.
August 17, 2018