When Winston Sisetki first saw his dog Stella, he knew she had something special to offer.
“[She was] desperately in need of getting out of her shell,” says the retired Flin Flonner.
“She tweaked my heart.”
Now the story of how Sisetki and Stella parted ways is tweaking the heart of anyone who has ever loved an animal.
Sisetki was working at the garage he owns near Main Street on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 8. Stella was tied up outside.
Sometime between 3 and 4 pm, he finished up for the day and went to free Stella. As he started to unhook her leash, the dog gave a jerk and the leash came apart.
The poodle went toward Sisetki’s adjacent house, but instead of stopping took off toward the nearby Co-op. She was wearing a pink collar and dragging two feet of black leash behind her.
That was the last time Sisetki saw Stella.
He had only had Stella for a little over two weeks. The dog had spent her whole life as a breeding dog at a kennel in southern Saskatchewan.
Due to complications with her final litter, Stella was spayed. Approximately four years old and unable to breed, she needed a good home.
Stella was a natural fit for Sisetki, a retired Hudbay employee and truck driver. He owned several dogs before her, including a number of rescues.
“It’s kind of neat to see them come out of their shell,” he says.
Sisetki describes Stella as a very shy dog.
“In the two weeks I had her, I never heard her bark,” he says.
So unsocialized was the apricot-coloured poodle that when Sisetki would hold out a treat in his hand, she usually just sniffed it and walked away.
With foxes in the area, Sisetki is understandably concerned about Stella and whether he will see her again. He describes her as standing about 10 inches tall and measuring about 18 inches long.
Anyone who has seen Stella is asked to call Sisetki at
204-687-6322.
