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Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

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Stella

May 11, 2021 Filed Under: STELLA

Our dear friend Stella passed away yesterday. She was thirteen years, four months and seven days old. We were fortunate to be hers for more than twelve of those years.

She had degenerative myelopathy and spinal stenosis and we were told well over a year ago that she would rapidly begin to lose mobility. Stella did everything her way, including this. She had some back leg stiffness, but we were still walking a mile a day (on hills) until Friday morning when it all seemed to catch up with her at once. I am so sad, but also thankful that she got to be her full Stella-self right up to the end of her long life.

She was a master of being a friend. She was afraid of everything and (mostly) came around to doing it anyway. She never ever let her fears get in the way of being there when a friend needed her. She conquered her terror over cardboard boxes by eating one. She was goofy and sweet and weird and stubborn and herded us around like it was her job. Every walk we took was a mission to survey the neighborhood. She loved stuffed animals and was great at puzzles. She wore her heart on her face and I swear to you she had a droll sense of humor. She loved to dance to Rancid. She loved to bark at Jeremy like she was trying to tell him something. I could speak to her in full sentences and she picked out the words she needed. When she lost her hearing, she seemed to know how to read lips or expressions. I couldn’t wear sunglasses around her because she always wanted to see my eyes, and she picked up on everything I felt.

It is a powerful thing to be witnessed so intensely. She followed me around the house all day, every day, and since I work from home, I spent more time with my friend Stella than I have with any other being. It was an absolute blessing and a privilege to be her friend. I am a better person for it. We loved her fiercely and she made certain we always knew she loved us that way too. She was always on alert, ready to save us if we needed it, determined to keep us from getting lost. She had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. What luck we’ve had to be her people! What a gorgeous time we spent together!

I miss her so much.

2 Comments

Comments

  1. flurrious says

    June 24, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    I thought of Stella the other day after the Bidens announced they had lost Champ and shed a few tears for her (I cry most days; that day was Stella’s), even though I only knew her and of her funny, quirky ways through your tweets. It’s so hard that we outlive our non-humans by so much and doubly hard because they were probably our chief comforters in life and when they go is when we need comforting the most. I’m so sorry she’s gone. Thank you for sharing her with us.

    Reply
    • Allison Larkin says

      June 30, 2021 at 11:48 am

      Thank you so much. It’s truly comforting to know that you cared about Stella too. And that you understand how important she was to me. I really appreciate it. <3

      Reply

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Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda match. I admit it. Alright? We all knew this was coming. None of this should be a surprise to any of us. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogjacket #peoplewhomatchtheirdogs
Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn chair. And she likes it! #dailyroxydog #chihuahuamix #ilovemydog
We are in the habit of starting and ending our day We are in the habit of starting and ending our days side by side in our lawn chairs, while the light rises or dims. It’s still chilly at the outer edges of the day. Sometimes Roxy shivers. I bought her a sweater, but she won’t wear it. Sometimes I try to wrap her in my jacket, but she’s not having that either, so I throw her ball and try to get her run and then she comes back to her chair, warm for a little longer. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogssittinginchairs
“I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to “I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to heaven in a split pea shell.” ~ @petermulvey43 Words Too Small to Say
Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyro Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyroxydog #huskymixesofinstagram
I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic ant I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic antique store sometime in November and didn’t buy it. But then, of course, I kept thinking about her. She’s the perfect size for my office, and I found those drawer pulls hilarious. When I finally went back in December, I told myself I was shopping for wall art, because I assumed she would be gone. But she was right where I’d seen her last: balanced on another dresser with boxes of old picture frames and tchotchkes piled on top (the true mark of a magic antique store). I didn’t even realize she had a towel rack — that she was a wash stand, not a dresser — until I asked about the price, said I’d take her, and my favorite magic antique store person asked if we needed to unscrew the towel rack to fit her in my car. I suspect this little sweetie is not from the days of necessary wash stands so much as from a country kitchen in the 80s. She was in rough shape, and not made from wood worth stripping and re-staining, but her price reflected that. I had to disassemble that door and put it back together, but I’d been in the market for some experience working with old furniture, and she made me feel brave about trying. I thought about painting her something more neutral, but I’m so glad I didn’t. She deserves to be pink. She’s not perfectly painted and needs a few touch ups. I learned some things about chalk paint and finishes. The drawers stick a bit. Eventually, I’d like to line them with fabric and when I do, I might plane the edges to smooth things out. But goodness, I love her in a way that I wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent time cleaning away her cobwebs and scrubbing the grime from her hilarious drawer pulls. She’s also become a little shrine for the book I’m working on, which makes me love her even more. I’ve always been a person who sees some soul in certain things, and I’m learning to cherish that idiosyncrasy, because there’s so much joy to be found in a brave little toaster or an underdog wash stand. We’re not here in the world for all that long. We may as well love some bright little things. #furnituremakeover
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