Stella

Queen of the Universe

Stella was my first guide dog. She worked with me for six or so years, before deciding she wanted to retire aged eight and a half. She was the saviour I didn’t realise I needed. She literally did not let me out of her sight for three whole weeks when she first came to me – wherever I went, be it to the loo in the middle of the night, out to the garden to empty a bin, into a different room … she was there. After that point she got her feet under her and decided she was in charge of me, absolutely.
She put me straight on so many things – pestered me if I didn’t eat regularly, mithered me if I was unwell (which being that I have suffered from fibromyalgia since 2003 I often am), and bossed us all around from very early on. This did not stop once she was retired. When Big came along to work with me some eighteen months after she hung up her harness she bossed him about as well. Often sneaky and somewhat manipulative (although a total darling with it), she ran rings around poor Big and his gentle, simple heart. What she couldn’t get by asking she achieved via stealth. Dear girl, such a diva.