Stella, a Shuswap local, recently made her debut as a pin-up puppy for the month of September in the 2025 Companions for Change calendar.
The Tappen-based Bernedoodle, a Bernese Mountain dog and poodle mix who will be 11 months on Nov. 15, was chosen as a calendar girl out of more than 43,000 entries from across Canada. Winners were chosen through a public poll that had almost 5.5 million votes cast in the 15-days it was open.
"I'm pretty proud that one, she got it, and two, for our little town of Salmon Arm," pet parent Lynn Walters said. "When they sent the proof it's one thing, but we picked up some calendars and it's like, 'oh my god, our dog's in print'... it's cool."
The calendar is now available in all Bosley's by Pet Valu stores in B.C. for a give-what-you-can donation, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the company's Companions for Change which has raised over $31 million for animal rescues and charities across Canada since 2010.
In addition to Stella, the 2025 edition features other Canadian pets including other dogs, cats, a hamster and even a lobster. Even before her calendar debut Stella, who was more than ready for her close up, has garnered attention wherever she goes.
"She is recognized... because she's such a different looking dog too, we do get stopped," Walters said, recalling their summer trip to Banff where it took them two-and-a-half hours to walk two blocks because of all the attention Stella was getting.
"We had the CEO of Chewy, which is a big company in the United States, follow us all over the place and she was pretty well offered a commercial if she lived in the U.S."
Her traffic-stopping cuteness is well accepted by Stella, who loves attention and can already be somewhat of a diva.
"She loves to be loved," Walters said of her puppy personality. "She loves attention and if you ignore her, she paws you... she's sometimes very demanding."
More about the calendar stars and fundraising initiative can be found at petvalu.ca and their Facebook page.
