Boston Blades forward and Team USA member Kelli Stack left the 2014 Sochi Olympics with a silver medal and a companion named Shayba.

Sochi, Russia is known for having excessive amounts of stray dogs. Prior to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, officials intended on poisoning the stray dogs to prepare for the influx of people brought on by the Olympics. The organization Sochi Dogs took a stand against this and began Sochi’s first all volunteer animal shelter.

The story blew up on social media and Kelli Stack took notice. “After arriving in Sochi,” Stack began, “I heard stories about the stray dogs on social media. I saw packs of stray dogs walking around the Olympic Village and it broke my heart.”

Stack, a lover of dogs, said that she grew up around animals explaining the extra impact the Sochi strays took upon her. Upon seeing the strays, Stack knew she wanted to help. “After seeing the strays with my own eyes I had to help in any way that I could. In the village, I rode around on a bike looking for strays to feed with food from the dining hall.”

The types of incidents Stack saw during her times feeding the strays are what led her to want to adopt a Sochi stray. “There was one specific incident that convinced me to adopt.” Stack recalled. “We were waiting for our bus to come pick us up for practice one morning and there was a stray dog laying on the sidewalk, basking in the sunlight, and not bothering anyone. He was very friendly and some of us were petting him. Out of nowhere, a white van pulled up and two Russian men got out, picked up the dog and put him in the back of the van. It literally brought tears to my eyes. After that I decided to do some research to see if it would be possible to adopt.”

It was the tweets of US skier Gus Kenworthy that got Stack seriously thinking about adopting a Sochi stray. To further her research, she read a USA Today article on how to adopt Sochi strays. Once learning the process, she remained in contact with the right people and began approaching the shelter. Though Stack had her worries that the adoption process would be challenging due to the language barrier, the back and forth between Stack and the shelter proved seamless. Unable to physically choose a dog, the shelter sent Stack pictures of two different dogs in the shelter. Stack, not wanting to have to choose between any of the dogs, went with the first one she saw. She named her Shayba. Shayba was the name of the rink Stack played at in Sochi, meaning “hockey puck” in Russian. “It’s actually pronounced "Shyba".” Stack said, “Most people think it's pronounced "Shayba" like its spelled, so we just shortened it to Shay because it was easier for people to say. She has a bunch of different nicknames though that have evolved from Shayba. She will pretty much answer to any word that begins with "Sh".

Shayba resembles a miniature German Shepard but is actually a variety of breeds. Stack had a wisdom panel done on her to determine which breeds due to everyone inquiring on it. “The breed of Shay is German Shepard/Pit on one side and Shih Tzu, Skye Terrier, Pulli, Bolognese, and Russian Wolf Hound on the other side.”

The shelter took care of the travel process including vaccines and a passport. Despite the shelter’s help, they could not financially help to pay for Shayba’s travels and other expenses. The total cost was $1,400. To raise this money, Stack set up a GoFundMe page and her Twitter followers aided her in raising the money in a span of two hours.

The entire process took approximately four to six weeks. “Shayba was in quarantine in Moscow for 4 weeks and then took a flight from Moscow to Frankfurt to Boston.” Stacks’ boyfriend picked Shayba up from customs and she slept the whole 1.5-hour ride back to her new home in Westfield, MA. “She was timid at first, but quickly got accustomed to her new home. We also have a 2-year-old yellow lab, Bruce, and he helped comfort her. She had a few gastrointestinal health issues at her first Vet visit, but other than that she has been completely healthy.” Six weeks, $1,400, and a silver Olympic medal later, Shayba was happily and safely settled in to her new home.

Stack left Sochi as an Olympic silver medalist and the owner of a new dog who she quickly fell in love with. “She is the sweetest dog, so loving and cuddly.” Stack said when describing Shayba, “She is also super athletic, fast, and agile. She loves chasing squirrels in the backyard. My favorite thing about Shayba is when she has been bad and knows she is guilty, she flips up her top lip and shows her teeth. It's so funny!”

Stack would recommend adopting a Sochi stray to anyone and would do it again in a heartbeat. “We bring both of our dogs everywhere we go and strangers always come up to me asking about Shayba. I have gotten so many compliments on how unique-looking she is, and when I tell her story, people love her even more! I am so happy the adoption process was fairly easy and smooth, I would do it over a thousand times. Shayba is the best dog!”

While USA did not win the Olympic gold medal, Stack returned from Sochi with something much more valuable.

For interest in adopting a Sochi Stray, please visit http://www.sochidogs.org/.