SAD DAY

I won't be writing too long today. My heart is broken because we had to put one of our dogs, Shadow, to sleep this afternoon. He was a beautiful German Shepherd and so gentle and loving. We got him several years ago after we had to put our first German Shepherd, Wolf, to sleep because he had cancer and there was no more that could be done for him. I won't go into what all was wrong with our Shadow, but, will tell you he will be greatly missed. We got Shadow after Wolf died when our good friend, Janellen, called to tell us about a dog that had been abandoned at a farm where her daughter's horse was boarded in North Carolina. Janellen and her family are great rescuers of animals that need homes. There are several rescued beings scattered throughout their family. They even had a squirrel once that after it was better and released used to come knock on their door to come in. A guy that was doing some work at their home came and told her, very puzzled, that she had a squirrel knocking at her door. They have even taken in pets that we couldn't keep - a rabbit from us and a cat from our daughter, Jackee. Oh, one instance that is so funny is about their Chow that they rescued. In the summer his hair is cut low because it is so very hot and humid here. The cut, though, makes him look just like a lion! Once when my granddaughter, Dominique, and I pulled into their driveway the dog came walking out of the garage. And he looked just like a lion! Dominique hollered "Grandma, it's a lion!" But, I digress. When Janellen's daughter told her about Shadow she called us because she knew we are dog lovers and we had just lost Shadow. The loss was so hard that I first said that I did not want another dog. But, I knew Bill really wanted one and, to tell the truth, I did, too. We got Shadow and immediately fell in love with him. Shadow never gave us any problems except when he found a gate or door open and flew. He roamed around for a bit and came back later. Chris watched him one time for us and he did that and that was the last time she watched him. And I don't blame her. It's unnerving to be watching a beloved pet for someone and that pet runs away. That happened once, also, when we were watching, her dog, George. They just wanted to see what the outside world was like, I guess. Anyhow, our baby, Shadow, will be a hole in our heart.