Lisa Dixon

From Bow To Wow is right for Stella! She went from shelter dog to faithful companion of Olympian Michael Phelps.

It's a true love story: Olympic swimmer goes on morning talk show, and by the end is hopelessly smitten with a beautiful young girl named Penelope — who also happens to be a shelter dog.

You may recognize Penelope from TODAY's Bow To Wow segment in November. On that fateful winter day, Michael Phelps was on set to chat about his training regimen and ended up lending a hand by walking Penelope out on the plaza. In that brief moment, Phelps decided he had to adopt her and the pair have been partners ever since.

TODAY

Love at first sight! Michael Phelps met Penelope on TODAY and couldn't help but adopt her.

The Catahoula mix — now re-named Stella —  isn't Phelps' only dog. According to Michael's mom Debbie, Stella is getting along famously with Michael's other pooch, a bulldog named Herman. She said the happy trio are all doing well.

Lisa Dixon

Relaxing on vacation, Herman is the other faithful hound of Olympian Michael Phelps.

It's easy to see that Phelps is dedicated to his dogs just from a glance at his Twitter page. He regularly shares updates and photos of Herman and Stella, like these two from the end of May:

And, of course, how could any dog owned by an Olympic swimmer resist the water? Michael's mom told TODAY.com that Stella is going to learn to swim soon and from the below photo it's clear Herman doesn't shy away from the waves. 

Lisa Dixon

Herman, king of the dock, surveys all around him.

Lisa Dixon

Stella may not know how to swim yet but we're sure she will soon be a master of the water just like her owner!

While the pair of pooches won't be traveling with Michael if he continues to the Olympics, it's clear they'll certainly be in his thoughts and cheering him on!

More:

• Michael Phelps' mom: 'Don't push' kids into sports 
• Dogs rule the office: 16 Take Your Dog to Work Day photos
• Video: Meet Mugly (he's ugly) 

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