Shannon was feisty!
She came into my life on my 33rd birthday. This felt significant because my first dog, Shady was adopted from the SPCA on my 22nd birthday and she was the most beautiful, special girl and we had the closest relationship. She is in fact, the namesake of all my dogs who have names that begin with “sh” in her memory. I thought, “maybe this is a sign”.
Shannon (then bebe) had been relinquished from her home for biting a child. Originally acquired from a pet store, she was on her way to a shelter when a dog rescuer intervened to foster her. That’s when I was approached to help out. I tentatively agreed, pending my border collie, Shawn’s approval and my being able to overcome my own fear of her because I knew she was a biter and when I met her she was nipping at me too!
She was a hearty little thing, all fierce and defensive. Not a playful puppy at less than 12 months old, she was already serious and discriminating. She didn’t trust easily. I remember the moment that she decided to trust me. I brought her home and was relieved that she and Shawn and the cats showed an immediate comfort with one another. I went to another room and she was waiting outside the door for me. Giving me eye contact. I picked her up and just like that, we were bonded. That foster became a rescue that spanned 171/2 wonderful years.
Shannon and Shawn forged a relationship that even included mouth play, wrestling and playing. This was shocking and delightful because Shawn was a bit of a cold fish. He preferred frisbie chasing to socializing so his connection to Shannon was surprising and wonderful. They cohabited without incident. In fact, Shannon came on most of our hearty, wild walks and adapted to the fast paced border collie life. She was less partial to impromptu frisbee throwing stops especially in chilly weather and would refuse to go at all when it was downright cold. Although she was well equipped with snowsuits for sunny winter days.
She was strong and mighty and was always healthy and hearty. She loved to eat, she loved to nap, she was protective and loyal. When her other mother Kuki came on the scene, they had an almost immediate connection. It was Kuki who took a shine to Shannon most in the beginning. But it wasn’t long before the love was reciprocal. Kuki could read Shannon. She knew how to make her bed to perfection, which sometimes required the addition of the sweater off of our backs.
We cooked for her and went on adventures. She played brain games and seemed to enjoy a lively household with the other cats and dogs in the family. In her younger years, Shannon liked to chase muskrats at the waters’ edge or geese in open fields. She would yip and yap for what she wanted and could fend for herself with other dogs. She had this way of commanding respect. She was deceivingly cute yet surprisingly fierce. Many people had experienced her wrath and were still weary of her even when she was feeble, toothless and geriatric. She was still going for walks up until about a year ago. We used to go on what we would call the “unlimited sniffs walk” where she would choose exactly where she wanted to go, when to stop and sniff and when to return home. She was civilized and would take us on a reasonable excursion until she was ready to go home for some water and cookies. But she was rapidly slowing down. Had lost her eye site, her hearing and her appetite was minimal but her thirst unquenchable. We spent the last year in a constant quest to keep her fed. She had chronic kidney disease and was emaciated. She would still bark at us angrily when we got home from work and would gobble down a few mouthfuls of fresh, warm food in between sleeping on heated blankets and tip toeing gingerly around the house bumping into walls.
She was our only dog for the past 5 years so we often joked that she enjoyed her new found status of queen bee. Of course, we did everything we could for her. Including knowing when it was time to let her go.
If you knew Shannon then thank you for being a friend to her. She was our whole heart and we are so grateful to her for every lick and sniff, for every time she made us smile and laugh, for every zoomie and for letting us carry her when she got tired on walks, for being so precious. That is what she was to us. Our precious sweet girl who we will love forever.
