You should never underestimate what love can do.
When Stella was discovered wandering the streets of Atlanta, Georgia, her spirit was shattered. The gray and white pup carried a past full of pain, leaving her deeply scarred and mistrustful.
She had a haunting bark whenever anyone came near. But then, the right person appeared, and Stella’s story took an unexpected turn.
This is how it happened.
Stella’s Painful Past
A neighbor first noticed Stella roaming the streets of Atlanta after her owner cruelly abandoned her. She had been used for breeding over and over, then discarded when she was no longer wanted.
Animal control picked her up, but Stella’s fear and emotional scars made her nearly impossible to place in a home. In the end, she was marked to be euthanized.
That’s when LifeLine Animal Project, from Atlanta, Georgia, stepped forward.
They took Stella in and refused to give up on her. With the help of Fly With Me Animal Rescue, Stella was placed in safe care until she was ready for a new beginning.
Then, everything changed with one woman.
Krista Keough came across Stella’s photo on the rescue’s Instagram just hours after she had a striking dream.
“She came into my life because I had a dream one night that I was running on the beach with my sister and her dog, and I looked down to see a gray and white dog;” Kirsta told GeoBeats Animals.
Convinced it was fate, she went to meet Stella.
From the very first moment, the two were connected. Immediately, Stella rested her head in Krista’s arms, as if declaring, “You’re my hooman now.”
That day, Stella left with Krista to start a new life.
A Long Road To Healing
For a few weeks, Krista held off on introducing Stella to her other dog, Apollo. Stella was fragile, still haunted by her past, so Krista worked to make her feel safe.
Her heartbreaking bark returned whenever she went outside and sensed “a threat”. She barked not as a guard dog, but as a pained soul terrified of being hurt again.
But slowly, with lots of patience and love, her walls began to fall.
Eventually, Stella and Apollo bonded, becoming inseparable friends. Beneath her trauma, Stella revealed her playful side, racing joyfully around the yard in zoomies.
Even so, her struggles weren’t gone. New situations sometimes triggered her fears, and Krista admitted there were moments of doubt.
“I felt like maybe I had taken on too much. And I thought about her backstory from the time that she was in her former family home to the streets to the shelter on a bus all the way to me, and I thought, if she can overcome that, then I can certainly make some changes in my life to accommodate her and give her the things that she needs,” says Krista.
Stella’s recovery inspired Krista to write a book, Dear Diary, It’s Me, Stella, capturing her despair and resilience. Through it, Krista hoped to raise awareness about rescue dogs and their ability to heal despite unbearable pasts.
Today, Stella is thriving with her family. She still carries traces of her old pain, but with Krista’s devotion, she will never again know the feeling of being unwanted. Her mom’s lap is now her safest place.
And really, isn’t that what every dog deserves?