Shadow's Story
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This story begins on August 27,
2003. I'm a black Bearded Collie, and I was born in a little
town in Tennessee on June 20, 2003. That's me in the middle
there. This picture was taken in a hotel parking lot when Mary Jo delivered me to this family. I had met the humans on August
25 at Mary Jo's house, but I hadn't met these big dogs before.
They didn't seem to like me much. I really wanted to play
with them, but they just ignored me. The one on the right
even snarled at me once! I got put into a little kennel and they put me in that
motorhome and took me away from the only home I'd ever known, heading
for some place called Colorado Springs.
Well, that wasn't much fun! Something was wrong with the air conditioner and it was really hot, especially in that little kennel! So I barfed, and I barfed, and I barfed. I finally got to sit on a nice cool, wet towel in the lady's lap all the way to Nashville. After a little while, the towel started to dry out, so I tried to help by wetting it again, but she didn't seem to appreciate my efforts. People can sure be hard to please!
When we got to Nashville, we
went in a big place with air conditioning and lots of places
to leave puddles. It was there that I discovered my true
calling in life . . . my job is to look cute and make
everyone who sees me smile, even when I'm in the middle of
making a puddle!
After we'd been there a few hours, we moved into an RV park
next door where we stayed for a couple of days waiting for
the part needed to fix the motor home so we'd have air
conditioning.
RV parks are lots of fun! There are so many new things to sniff and taste, I could have stayed forever and never gotten bored! I didn't like the leash at first, but when I realized how many places I got to go with it on, I decided to quit arguing about it.
The big dogs still didn't want to play with me, so I confiscated all the toys and entertained the humans.
The motorhome is a pretty good place - it has lots of places to hide and lots of good-tasting things to chew. I saw where they hid my food and found out that it was very easy to let them know when I wanted some by sniffing at the door and scratching at it.
On Friday afternoon, off we went in the motorhome again, but this time, I was comfortable in my kennel. I slept almost all the time for the next couple of days as we headed for Colorado. The first night on the road, the humans bought a pen, and set it up right in the motorhome! They gave me food and toys in it, so it wasn't too bad.
Some time during the trip, my new humans decided that they needed to quit calling me "Puppy". They kept saying different names, and when "Shadow" came up, they were both happy. So now I am Shadow. My registered name will be "Oakengates Shadow Dancer".
When we got to my new home in Colorado Springs, I was really excited! I finally got to run and play, and Boogie actually started to pay some attention to me.
The big dogs were going in and
out of the house through their very own door, and it didn't
take me long to realize how great that is! The very first day, I learned that when someone knocks on a kitchen window, if I run inside and sit in a line with the big dogs, I'll get a treat!
I can't get to the grass until the humans come out and open a
gate, but the gravel area is full of toys and fun to dig in.
I figure if I work at it hard enough, I can get to the other
side on my own!
Life here gets better every day. Boogie, the Bearded Collie has decided it's fun to have a playmate. Scooch, the Wheaten, doesn't like playing when it's warm outside, but she is paying some attention to me now. Guess we'll have more fun in the winter time.
Here are some more pictures and
movies.
I'll keep you posted on my progress!
When we first got home, the grass hadn't been mowed in almost a month.
It's really hard to get a good family portrait. Someone always moves or closes their eyes!
The big dogs' favorite treat is a carrot. It took me a while to figure out why, but now I like them too. I'm in the refrigerator every time the door is opened!
Boogie and I are having a great time. We run and play several times every day. He's really nice - he doesn't even mind when I steal his bone or toy. This time, though, I think he thought I was a toy!
Scooch finally decided to join in the fun. It'll be great when it's cooler and she'll play with Boogie and me more!
Time for my nap now. See you again soon!