ABOUT STELLA, THE DOG BEHIND IT ALL...

Stella was adopted on April 9, 2011, from the Camden County Animal Shelter after being found as a stray. From day one, I knew she would change my life forever, but I had no idea just how many other lives she would touch along the way.

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Stella settled in quickly and made herself right at home. It was as if she had always been there—and, most importantly, as if she was meant to be there. She formed an instant bond with my cats, claimed a queen-size comforter as her own, and every night for her entire life, she would knead and suckle on it. I still have what we affectionately called her “blankie.” She also made friends with the neighbors and all the neighborhood dogs, becoming a familiar and beloved face in our community.

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Pretty much right away, our adventures began—and boy, did we have a lot of them over the next 13½ years. We went to countless Yappy Hours, traveled all over the United States, went paddleboarding and swimming, attended concerts, spent time at the beach, went camping and hiking, enjoyed canoe rides and road trips…the list could go on and on.

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Along the way, we met so many amazing people, both in person and through social media. Yes, I was that dog mom who posted our adventures at nauseam on Instagram and Facebook. At the time, I was simply sharing our lives because I wanted everyone to see just how amazing my dog was. I had no idea that, in doing so, Stella was changing the way people viewed bully breeds.

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Stella had the most gentle way about her. She had an incredibly calm demeanor around people and other animals, and she had a way of looking straight into your soul, as if she were hanging onto every last word you said. Don’t get me wrong—she definitely had her moments of zoomies like any other dog! But for the most part, she was incredibly chill.

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For those of you who never had the opportunity to meet her, I hope I’m painting a picture of who she was. Her personality seemed to shine through in every photo I posted. I cannot count the number of comments, messages, and emails I received from people telling me how amazing Stella was, how she had changed their perception of bully breeds, and, in some cases, how seeing her story inspired them to adopt a pit bull-type dog of their own.

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For more than 13 years, Stella and I went through everything together—the highs, the lows, and everything in between. No matter what life brought our way, we stood by each other. She was my shadow, my constant, my best friend, my other half. She meant the absolute world to me, and her absence is felt in every part of my life.​ The love of an animal is like no other. It is pure, loyal, and unconditional. Stella gave me that love every single day, and it is a gift I will carry with me for the rest of my life. She is missed deeply, loved endlessly, and remembered every second of every day.

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Creating Stella’s Ball Library was a way for me to heal while continuing to honor her at one of her favorite places on Earth—the Asbury Park Beach. In addition to chasing her remote-control car, Stella absolutely loved playing fetch. There was nothing she enjoyed more than running after a ball and bringing it back...over and over again.​ Now, through Stella’s Ball Library, she gets to pay that joy forward. Her love of fetch can continue to bring happiness to countless other dogs and their people. Every dog that picks up a ball from her library gets to experience a little piece of the happiness that Stella brought into my life—and into the lives of so many others.

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I was incredibly blessed to have Stella by my side for 13½ years, but let’s be honest: when you form a bond and a love that great, it is never long enough.​ Stella may no longer be beside me, but her legacy lives on—in every life she touched, every person whose perception she changed, every dog she inspired someone to adopt, and now, in every dog that gets to enjoy a game of fetch at the beach.

 

She will forever be my girl, my shadow, my constant, and one of the greatest loves of my life.