Our crazy adventure began on Memorial Day weekend 2021, just as the end of the school year was approaching. After a gentle hike at one of our favorite places, Acadia National Park, Stella collapsed in the car as we loaded up to head back home. At the time we thought little of it, but once we reached home we knew something was terribly wrong. What the days/weeks ahead would reveal was devastating, Stella was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a common but aggressive and terminal form of cancer in dogs. Dogs with this type of cancer typically live an average of 2-3 months with no medical intervention, 4-6 months with treatment.
While we have been faced with many difficult decisions since the initial diagnosis, our first decision was the easiest, a vow to make Stella's remaining days a remarkable adventure for all of us. We would visit all our favorite places, adventure to new ones, eat our favorite foods, play with our favorite humans, swim in ALL the places, chase all the tennis balls, and enjoy an endless supply of snuggles and belly rubs. So here begins Stella's adventure, our adventure, our final days (may there be many) in this life together. Cheers to Stella!
Something that felt important to me was to document our adventures and Stella's end of life journey in some way. I began writing a journal on June 16, 2021, describing our daily adventures, narrated by Stella. I tried to imagine how this sweet dog would illustrate her daily comings and goings. Some entries are short, some are quite lengthy, each of them is endearing. After 45 days of journaling, I am deciding to change mediums and begin this blog. This is not meant to be perfect, just a place to free write and document our time together. We hope you enjoy all our past adventures and look forward to future posts. Lots of love from all of us!