Ask a VetIf You've Got a Dog at Home It's Time to Toss the Stash

Dogster

Labrador Retriever/Border Collie

Photo Comments

Home:Chicago, IL

Sex: Female Weight: 51-100 lbs

Dogster stats for Shadow


Stars:

Leave a bone for Shadow

Nicknames:
Shaddy, The Notorious D.O.G.

Doggie Dynamics:

Energy

sleepy		energetic

Intelligence

silly		genius

Friendliness

aggressive		affectionate

Playfulness

not playful		very playful

Disposition

anxious		calm

Birthday:
April 1st 1993

Likes:
being petted (close second: chewing on ink pens and tissues)

Pet-Peeves:
thunder storms, the stray cat that lives outside

Favorite Toy:
rope for tug-of-war

Favorite Food:
Anything on MY plate.

Favorite Walk:
to the car to go for a ride

Best Tricks:
she knows the whole family by name and what door each ordinarily comes in at the end of the day

Arrival Story:
Our springer spaniel, Beth, had just died a few months earlier. We had not planned on getting another dog for a while, but one day my mom and brother went to the grocery store and there were kids out in front with a box containing one dog. They said their purebred black lab and the neighbor's purebred border collie had a litter of puppies and their parents were going to drown them if they couldn't get rid of them that day. They had just one left and it was almost time for their parents to come back. Needless to say my mom and brother came back from the store with a puppy! The kids we got the dog from told us it was a male dog and we had her for a week before we rolled her on her back one day and noticed that she was actually female! This caused no small amount of ridicule for my dad at work (he's a vet).

Bio:
Shadow got her name because when she was a puppy she liked to hide in the shadows and jump out at us when we walked by. Since she is all black she was very hard to see. Ignore the city/state listed above - Shadow lives in Lexington, Kentucky with my parents. Shadow is really getting up there in years and there have definitely been times when we thought she wouldn't be with us much longer, but she's a tough dog and is hanging in. She's always got a doggy smile and big lick for everyone, especially if you have forbidden food products nearby. She's so sweet - even when it's clear she's having trouble getting around, she will still haul herself to her feet to follow you when you move from room to room. She has a degerative nerve problem which affects her ability to control her back legs at times, but (happily) after rapid progression of the problem for a while, she seems to have plateaued and can still walk pretty well, although she stumbles occasionally. Shadow loves her step brother, Bryher, and used to play tug with him whenever he would come to visit, but she's a little wobbly and tires easily, so we try to keep them calm. This does not prevent her from being a trouble-maker and stealing Bryher's toys out from under his nose, however, probably because she knows we won't let Bryher beat up on her for doing so :)

I've Been On Dogster Since:

August 29th 2004