Sophie's Choice

As many of you may or may not know, my dog Stella has had a very difficult fall.  She tore the ligaments in her hind leg along with her meniscus in her knee. ( This is the equivalent of a human tearing an ACL.)  She had surgery to clean up the knee and a metal plate was installed to stabilize the knee.  The recovery for this was ten weeks of absolutely no activity, WHAT SO EVER.  She endured this limitation, as best an Australian Cattle dog with one good leg can and as soon as she got the okay to start walking again, SNAP, went the other hind leg. So, we underwent another surgery and we are now at the end of another ten week restriction of no activity, but this blog is not about her physical recovery. This blog is about her mental state and the support of her friend, Sophie. 

Sophie is a beautiful Golden Doodle that lives at the foot of our hill and she is Stella's best friend.  When Stella was healthy Sophie would wander up quite frequently to visit Stella, sometimes daily and often for long periods of time.  They'd play for a while or sometimes, just sit at the top of our hill, over looking the neighborhood, content to just be in each others company.  They would each respond to the others' vibes and they know each other as well as two friends covered in fur can know each other.

When Stella tore the first ACL, she tested us with her limitations.  She quickly learned that we would walk her only until she relieved herself and then she was immediately returned indoors.  As smart as she is, she would hold it in, as long as she could, essentially forcing us to walk her, at least a little.  On the occasions that we walked her past Sophie's house, we would see Sophie sitting at her front door, longingly gazing at us, ears perked as if questioning, what's happened to my friend Stella? She looked like a dog in a picture frame, motionless and focused, but with the most sincere concern for a friend you could imagine . She would watch us intently, until we were out of her sight, or at least she was out of our sight, leaving us with this touching, nonverbal gesture, letting us know that Stella is truly, Sophie's Choice. Sophie's owner told me of a few instances when Sophie would sit in the middle of the road refusing to move, looking up at our house as if to say; I'm not going home until I see Stella. Sophie's excursions up to our yard were limited, to avoid, getting Stella excited, but on the occasions when she would come up, Stella could be heard whimpering to go out and visit. She'd hobble around and we would let her out to say a brief hello and that small contact was enough to keep Stella happy for a while.
After Stella's second leg went, her mobility was drastically compromised and as of late, she has had very little drive to move much at all.  Her legs are both weak and the muscles have atrophied significantly, but one thing is a constant, her need, to reconnect with Sophie.  Her dog bed sits in our living room, directly in front of a large, almost floor to ceiling length, double window, giving her a perfect visual of Sophie's house. It is quite often that we will see her sitting on her bed, intently looking out the window at Sophie's house, hoping to catch a glimpse of her wandering up to our house, to offer another visit. The sadness in her eyes, almost tangible.

 As Stella pines away for the days of leisure sitting in the sun with her friend Sophie, we are getting closer to the end of a long and taxing injury that has tried all of our patience.  Twenty weeks of waiting, for a dog, can seem like an eternity but it has reaffirmed Stella's loyalty to her best friend, a friendship that thrives on nothing but a dog's ability to make connections with unconditional fondness. It's been a true test of time and Stella can't wait to see if she's still Sophie's choice.