Shilo came to our apartment in Kansas with John, a room mate. She was 5-6 years old when she arrived. We weren't quite sure what to expect, us with no dogs but with one cat (New, who I will write about some other time).
Shilo, despite her flaws, soon wormed her way into our hearts. Her flaws were many; John had raised her in a way that guaranteed that. One moment he would praise her (or laugh) when she did something - the next time he would yell at her or kick her. She was also (supposedly) trained as a guard dog, trained to guard John's wife and kids. John's wife lift with the kids, leaving john with his car and Shilo. The car in great shape, Shilo was neurotic.
Shilo soon became my companion whenever I went somewhere. She loved to go for a ride, and would sit in the passanger seat checking out the scenery. If someone got too close to the car, she would bark her fool head off. The first time I took her with me, a neighbor and I went to the grocery store. When we came back out, she was barking so hard that I wasn't sure she would let us back in the car. Once she shut up for a moment and yelled out "Hi Shilo," she decided to let us in. I don't know what we would have done if that hadn't worked, but it did.
Shilo loved water. We would take her fishing with us and throw rocks for her to chase (scaring the fish, but we didn't care). We would throw a pebble into the water and she would bring out a rock much bigger:
Sometimes she would get disgusted because there weren't any rocks large enough for her to bother bringing back
John left us in 1985. He went to California, where he had come form, saying he would be back in a month or two. "If I don't come back, I know Shilo will be in good hands," he said. He never came back. Shilo moped for a while, but she soon snapped out of it.
Shilo was really confused when we brought two puppies home in April of 1986 (more on Bogie and Argent in another post). She was jealous of them, but drawn to them. When they got to be about 6 months old, we would take them out to a country road, dump them out of the car, and let them follow the car for a couple of miles. Shilo loved that at first. She could stay ahead of them for the first mile, running about 20 MPH. We would stop and pick her up and then lead the pups for another mile or two. As the puppies grew older (and became more focused), she found herself losing ground, no longer able to lead the pack as many of them could run at 25 MPH. She would struggle mightily, but at 8 years old, she could no longer lead the chase.
She came to New Hampshire with us (we ahuled 3 dogs and a cat with us). Unfortunately, she never got to see the house. We were living in apartments, trying to find a place to buy, and the pets were farmed out to other people (except the cat). Shilo bit a child - not badly, but enough for that family not to want to keep her (I couldn't blame them). She stayed with another family, until she and the resident dog got into a fight and the woman became scared of her.
We had no place left to keep her, so we had to put her to sleep. She was the first pet WS and I had to take in to be put down. She was so good at the vet's office, as usual, looking forlorn because of her hurt leg (injured in the dogfight - the other dog was fine). We sat with her on the floor as the vet gave her the shot. She slowly slid down and was gone, so suddenly and quietly we couldn't believe it.
Poor Shilo, she was always as good as she knew how to be - she tried her best. People always let her down; in the end, we were no different.
Thanks for a beautiful story (and the photos), Bogie. It brought tears to my eyes--especially since I remember Shilo so fondly, myself. Your dogs have always been great!
Posted by: Cop Car | January 16, 2006 at 04:27 PM
No Bogie, you didn't let her down. You did the best you could and gave her more good attention than she ever had before. Things happen and the best of us just can't do any more than that.
And she gave you some really great memories. I have a few of her as well.
Posted by: Wichi Dude | January 17, 2006 at 03:32 AM
Sometimes the only option that is available is truly awful for us to take. Thank goodness you and WS had one another. How else could you have got through such a bad time.
Posted by: Cop Car | January 17, 2006 at 07:32 AM
How fortunate for Shilo that you were there for her. She had your love and care for all those years after John abandoned her, and you gave her a good life.
It's never easy to put a pet to sleep. I've gone through the experience a number of times, and regret that I'll have to do it again. But, I know that my pets have had better lives while they were with me, and it's that consolation, plus the happier memories, that get us through the experience.
Thanks for sharing pictures of Shilo. She was a beautiful dog.
Posted by: buffy | January 19, 2006 at 05:28 PM
This is such a sad story... You're very brave to post it. Shilo was lucky to have you for as long as she did, and vice versa.
Posted by: Jackie | January 19, 2006 at 07:47 PM