Stella

After a long and eventful life, Stella waddled peacefully across the Rainbow Bridge this past July 26th at the age of 14 ¾. She is survived on this side by pet parents Margaret and Michael, and her pet-sister Rebecca.
Stella was adopted at the age of 2 through the auspices of Tri State Basset Hound Rescue after an extensive interviewing process to ensure a stable and loving home environment. Her adoptive family spent the next 12 ¾ years proving it was worthy of a raised eyebrow. Having done some independent research on the nature and temperament of the breed, her pet parents took away several nuggets that proved particularly useful over the years:

• Basset Hounds are not constrained by time or space – a 40-acre farm is too small…
• In practical terms, this means they have to be walked to within an inch of their lives.
• Most importantly, Basset Hounds do not obey so much as they acquiesce which means that…
• In practical terms, obedience is more likely when the interests of the hound and pet parent are aligned.

Mostly as a result of walks that could extend upwards to 90 minutes and a personality that led total strangers to gravitate to her, she was well-known throughout the community. Her hunting skills were in keeping with those of the breed; she was equally at home tracking down baby rabbits, assorted road kill as well as the odd stray bagels left over from local street fairs.
In her later years, Stella was content to sit in the sun, contemplate life and let it come to her.
Stella would ask that those of you reading this not mourn her, but consider a contribution to TSBHR in order that it might continue its good work of screening potential pet families as to worthiness to adopt the dogs they shelter…for, in the eyes of Basset Hounds (if not necessarily their sponsoring agency), pet-parenting is a privilege only to be earned over the fullness of time.