If you have ever been a pet owner, you'd know. This is the inevitability that faces us all. Death and taxes they say. Well, they're not wrong.
Stellaluna a.k.a. Luna, was a long haired Chihuahua mixed with something, probably Falkor the Luck Dragon from Neverending Story. Unlike typical Chihuahuas - humorously aggressive, bonded to their people, this little lady was calm and independent. Many times we'd be lounging on the couch watching TV, and she'd be sitting outside in the front patio, enjoying the chilly night air all by herself. And if she deemed it appropriate, she may waltz back in and jump on top of the back of the couch, like a cat, and bestow her presence upon the rest of us humans.
Luna had quite a precarious beginning. She was abandoned inside a tiny cage, in the backyard of an apartment unit where the tenants had moved out and left her to die. Out of all the inhumane ways to get rid of a pet dog, this was one of the worst. At the minimum, let her run free and try to survive on her own, instead of condemning her to a slow death from dehydration and starvation under the sun.
But she was rescued just in time and nursed back to health. Perhaps Falkor the Luck Dragon did watch over her.
From there, Luna became a skilled escape artist and the defender of the home. As long as the perpetrators were outside, she would rouse the army and lead the charge out to the patio. However, once the riffraff had entered the kingdom, she would suddenly become their best friend - part defender, part ambassador.
During the latter part of her years, along with her sister Kira, we developed a new habit of eating together. Even though they had access to food all day, they would eat only when we ate. I'd be making sandwiches in the kitchen, and Luna, with her clairvoyant superpower, would somehow sense this and come trotting in without fail. Kira, afflicted with a serious case of FOMO, would soon make an appearance as well. The kitchen became our secret headquarter to plot against the neighborhood dogs and the package delivery guy.
Luna, you are the most un-Chihuahua Chihuahua I have ever met. You will be sorely missed.
