In Loving Memory of Shadow

In Loving Memory of my dearly beloved and now departed Shadow. Shadow was born on 11/15/2001 to a pure bred German Shepherd mom and sired by a pure bred Rottweiler.

In full disclosure, hoping for Rottweiler DNA (since I'd owned two) she was adopted and named Shadow because as a puppy she was afraid of her own shadow and followed us like a shadow, (hard to believe she was small enough then, even at 8 weeks old, to crawl under the sofa).  Laid back Rottweiler is what I was hoping for which I'd experienced with both Shumba and Panzer (the Rotties). And while Shadow looked like she could lean toward the Rottweiler appearance with her coloring, we decided (wisely on my then husband's thoughts) to not have her tail cropped until we knew for certain her appearance. Thank gawd we didn't have her tail cropped as she would have looked a little strange.  Perhaps the only thing resembling the Rottweiler look are her flat ears which really are neither Rottie nor standard German Shepherd.  Certainly her behavior was 100% ready-for-action German Shepherd; it is obvious why police officers use a lot of them as duty dogs.

If I was paying more attention to the computer than I was paying to her.... she'd come seek me out and give me a nudge on the arm or stand there and stare until I went to take my position on the sofa beside her.  If I didn't leave the computer she would give in and lay down near me instead.  What she really wanted to do was guard the house with me beside her but if she couldn't have that then she'd stay by  my side in the computer room.

Shadow has been my loyal and loving companion for 10 years. She could sense if I was depressed or upset so she would bring me her favorite squeaky (favorite at that time) to cheer me up. Actually SHE wanted to play but made me think she was doing it as a favor for me. 

She was a guardian and took her job to heart watching the driveway to be sure no insurgents invaded our home. She would bark out a warning for anything that moved even beyond the tree line that she could see.  She particularly didn't like the noise that a UPS truck made.  Here she is very alert and watching the front yard and driveway to be sure no one makes entry without her permission.  This is where she and I sit while I hook.

Shadow was a sociable dog and would greet guests with caution and smell to be sure they were suitable to gain entry to the house and be near me.  These are two of my gal pals from Pennsylvania who just arrived for the hook-in in April.

Here we are all on the back deck with Shadow at her mom's side.

And during the winter last year she actually was distraught when I fell in the above-knee snow and couldn't move. Shadow gallantly jetted herself above her neck high snow over and over again to reach me and see if she could help. That was when it truly hit me that Shadow had my back and was my protector against the odds.  This is still early in that winter storm there was lots more white stuff coming.

Shadow had a large vocabulary and knowledge of words beyond the ones I'm about to mention.  I could say laundry or hang out clothes and she would lead the way to the laundry room.  If I said 'compost pile', 'fill up the bird feeders', 'garage' or 'car' she would lead the way toward the garage door to exit that way.  If I said 'fish pond' she would lead me to the back door.  While I thought her as highly intelligent, she was most adorable and I would laugh whole-heartily when I would say a word she didn't understand.  She would twist her head from side to side as if she was shaking the word about in her head to see if she could put a task to the word.  I would laugh so hard at her cuteness that she would come up to get hugs.

 I will miss you terribly my dear precious girl.  You were truly loved by your family.  There will never be another Shadow dog.  Rest in peace and pain free until we meet again one day.

Shadow 11/15/2001 - 7/8/2011