Not every pup shows up to bath day ready to party. Some pups… show up like Ms. Stella.

Now Stella is on the smaller side, but don’t let that fool you—she came in with some very strong opinions about how this whole “bath” situation was supposed to go. And let me tell you right now… her version and my version? Not the same. From the second she got near the tub, she hit me with that look.
You know the one.

Head slightly lowered, eyes locked in, body language screaming:
“We don’t have to do this.”

Unfortunately for her… we absolutely did.

Getting her into the tub wasn’t a fight, but it was… a negotiation. A slow, cautious, “I’ll step in but I don’t like it and I need you to know that” kind of move. Once the water turned on, she froze.

Not panic. Not chaos. Just a very still, very unimpressed Stella standing there like:
“This is my life now.”

Every movement I made was met with a side-eye. Not aggressive, not dramatic—just deeply judgmental. Like I had personally betrayed her.

Now to her credit, she didn’t thrash, didn’t snap, didn’t try to escape. She just… endured. Quietly. Patiently. With the kind of energy that says, “I will remember this.” When it came time to actually scrub her down, she tolerated it, but barely. She’d shift her weight just enough to let me know she wasn’t thrilled, but not enough to stop the process.

A true professional protest.

Rinsing her off got a little more interesting—she wasn’t a fan of the water moving around her, but again… no meltdown. Just more of that “this is unacceptable but I will allow it” attitude.

And then came the turning point.

Somewhere toward the end, once she realized the bath wasn’t going to last forever, she softened just a bit. Not a full surrender… but enough to say, “Fine. Let’s get this over with.” By the time we were done, Stella was clean, smelling great, and still carrying herself like she had just gone through a minor inconvenience that she plans to file a complaint about later.

But here’s the thing—under all that attitude?
Total sweetheart.

She trusted the process just enough to let it happen, even if she didn’t enjoy a single second of it.

And honestly… those are some of my favorite kinds of pups to work with.

8/10 enthusiasm
10/10 personality
10/10 would earn her trust again