Stella
by McCall Hoyle
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Pub Date Mar 02 2021 | Archive Date Mar 02 2021
Shadow Mountain Publishing | Shadow Mountain
Description
An uplifting and poignant story about a former service beagle named Stella who must find the courage to overcome her fears and use her special nose to save a girl’s life.
Ever since Stella was a puppy, she was trained to use her powerful beagle nose to sniff out chemicals used in explosives and warn her human handler in order to keep people safe.
But during a routine security inspection, Stella is distracted and misses the scent of an explosive chemical. The sound of the blast is loud and scary. Stella survives but her handler—her best friend in the whole world—is gone. Stella blames herself, certain she’s a bad dog.
Scared of loud noises, especially thunder and fireworks, Stella struggles with her anxiety and must be retired from being a service animal. Several families try to foster her, but sometimes Stella is so scared she howls or digs or tears things up with her teeth. She wonders if anyone will want to adopt her.
An expert dog trainer, Esperanza, thinks she can help. It’s Stella’s last chance to prove she can be a good dog. Stella has every reason to love her new family, especially the young human named Chloe who smells like chocolate chip cookies, newly cut grass, the pages of books, and something else—a strange chemical she can’t quite identify.
Chloe has epilepsy, and a chemical inside her body surges just before she has a seizure. Stella’s nose makes the connection. But how can she warn Esperanza without her thinking it’s just Stella’s usual anxiety? How can she convince her new family that she can be a new kind of service dog and hopefully save Chloe’s life?
Told from Stella’s point of view, readers will experience life through a dog’s eyes, ears, and, especially, her nose. Like Babe the pig or Ivan the gorilla, Stella the beagle is an extraordinary story for kids who love animals. An endearing novel of courage, compassion, friendship, and love.
Ever since Stella was a puppy, she was trained to use her powerful beagle nose to sniff out chemicals used in explosives and warn her human handler in order to keep people safe.
But during a routine security inspection, Stella is distracted and misses the scent of an explosive chemical. The sound of the blast is loud and scary. Stella survives but her handler—her best friend in the whole world—is gone. Stella blames herself, certain she’s a bad dog.
Scared of loud noises, especially thunder and fireworks, Stella struggles with her anxiety and must be retired from being a service animal. Several families try to foster her, but sometimes Stella is so scared she howls or digs or tears things up with her teeth. She wonders if anyone will want to adopt her.
An expert dog trainer, Esperanza, thinks she can help. It’s Stella’s last chance to prove she can be a good dog. Stella has every reason to love her new family, especially the young human named Chloe who smells like chocolate chip cookies, newly cut grass, the pages of books, and something else—a strange chemical she can’t quite identify.
Chloe has epilepsy, and a chemical inside her body surges just before she has a seizure. Stella’s nose makes the connection. But how can she warn Esperanza without her thinking it’s just Stella’s usual anxiety? How can she convince her new family that she can be a new kind of service dog and hopefully save Chloe’s life?
Told from Stella’s point of view, readers will experience life through a dog’s eyes, ears, and, especially, her nose. Like Babe the pig or Ivan the gorilla, Stella the beagle is an extraordinary story for kids who love animals. An endearing novel of courage, compassion, friendship, and love.
A Note From the Publisher
Told from the perspective of Stella, a beagle specially trained and skilled in explosive detection who works in law enforcement until a tragedy forces her retirement.
Stella is a smart dog and knows many human words and phrases such as a favorite phrase from her handler, Connie: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do" and she uses human words to encourage herself to do hard things.
On a routine law enforcement call Stella is momentarily distracted and misses the scent of an explosive which detonates, injuring the beagle and taking the life of her handler. Stella experiences PTSD and has flashbacks and nightmares of the day of the tragedy. Stella blames herself and thinks surely she is a bad dog. Her PTSD causes anxiety and behavior which makes it difficult to place her in a new home.
An expert dog trainer takes her in and her new family shows her love and caring. Though sad, Stella becomes fond of the trainer's daughter, Chloe, a girl who has epilepsy. Stella realizes she is picking up a scent before a seizure happens to Chloe and tries to warn her so she can get to safety and not fall and hurt herself, but can her family understand this is a warning and not Stella's usual anxiety?
Research shows dogs can detect epileptic seizures in humans up to 45 minutes before they happen with 100% accuracy (Business Insider, April 2019).
Theme of bullying: During a walk in the woods, Stella and Chloe are confronted by two neighborhood bullies who light firecrackers to scare them. Stella is terrified and the memory of the explosion that killed Connie overwhelms her and she runs away. Scared and alone in the woods, Stella is comforted by the wise words she remembers from Connie and musters the courage to brave a thunderstorm and forest fire to find and save Chloe.
Chloe helps Stella overcome her PTSD with kindness and patience and over time Stella thinks that true love is trusting someone so much that you feel safe enough to be yourself with them. Eventually, with the help and support of her new family, Stella finds new purpose in her life of service.
Told from the perspective of Stella, a beagle specially trained and skilled in explosive detection who works in law enforcement until a tragedy forces her retirement.
Stella is a smart dog and knows many human words and phrases such as a favorite phrase from her handler, Connie: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do" and she uses human words to encourage herself to do hard things.
On a routine law enforcement call Stella is momentarily distracted and misses the scent of an explosive which detonates, injuring the beagle and taking the life of her handler. Stella experiences PTSD and has flashbacks and nightmares of the day of the tragedy. Stella blames herself and thinks surely she is a bad dog. Her PTSD causes anxiety and behavior which makes it difficult to place her in a new home.
An expert dog trainer takes her in and her new family shows her love and caring. Though sad, Stella becomes fond of the trainer's daughter, Chloe, a girl who has epilepsy. Stella realizes she is picking up a scent before a seizure happens to Chloe and tries to warn her so she can get to safety and not fall and hurt herself, but can her family understand this is a warning and not Stella's usual anxiety?
Research shows dogs can detect epileptic seizures in humans up to 45 minutes before they happen with 100% accuracy (Business Insider, April 2019).
Theme of bullying: During a walk in the woods, Stella and Chloe are confronted by two neighborhood bullies who light firecrackers to scare them. Stella is terrified and the memory of the explosion that killed Connie overwhelms her and she runs away. Scared and alone in the woods, Stella is comforted by the wise words she remembers from Connie and musters the courage to brave a thunderstorm and forest fire to find and save Chloe.
Chloe helps Stella overcome her PTSD with kindness and patience and over time Stella thinks that true love is trusting someone so much that you feel safe enough to be yourself with them. Eventually, with the help and support of her new family, Stella finds new purpose in her life of service.
Stella is a smart dog and knows many human words and phrases such as a favorite phrase from her handler, Connie: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do" and she uses human words to encourage herself to do hard things.
On a routine law enforcement call Stella is momentarily distracted and misses the scent of an explosive which detonates, injuring the beagle and taking the life of her handler. Stella experiences PTSD and has flashbacks and nightmares of the day of the tragedy. Stella blames herself and thinks surely she is a bad dog. Her PTSD causes anxiety and behavior which makes it difficult to place her in a new home.
An expert dog trainer takes her in and her new family shows her love and caring. Though sad, Stella becomes fond of the trainer's daughter, Chloe, a girl who has epilepsy. Stella realizes she is picking up a scent before a seizure happens to Chloe and tries to warn her so she can get to safety and not fall and hurt herself, but can her family understand this is a warning and not Stella's usual anxiety?
Research shows dogs can detect epileptic seizures in humans up to 45 minutes before they happen with 100% accuracy (Business Insider, April 2019).
Theme of bullying: During a walk in the woods, Stella and Chloe are confronted by two neighborhood bullies who light firecrackers to scare them. Stella is terrified and the memory of the explosion that killed Connie overwhelms her and she runs away. Scared and alone in the woods, Stella is comforted by the wise words she remembers from Connie and musters the courage to brave a thunderstorm and forest fire to find and save Chloe.
Chloe helps Stella overcome her PTSD with kindness and patience and over time Stella thinks that true love is trusting someone so much that you feel safe enough to be yourself with them. Eventually, with the help and support of her new family, Stella finds new purpose in her life of service.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781629729015 |
| PRICE | $16.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 176 |
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