Book of Shadow

Anyone with "fur-babies" knows that there are some really funny things they do that make them "special".

Shadow sleeps on her back, on a pillow, under a blanket most nights.

She loves to ride in the car, but she wants to stand on the console between the seats and ride with her head out the sun-roof. Can you imagine how the police look at me as we ride through small towns?

She knows when I say we are going to Gramma and Pawpaw's house, that it's time to get her leash. She will not let us out the door without her. She is, after all, their "Grand-dog."

She "smiles" at new people. She is actually showing her teeth. Funny how people get nervous when a wolf smiles.

My mother is constantly saying "Use your inside voice, Shadow!" This girl does NOT have an "inside voice". She only has three volumes: loud, ear piercing, glass shattering.

I'm almost embarassed to tell you this, but before we decided on a name for her, I called her "Wolfenstein".

My son, Christopher, will sometimes ask me if I think Shadow would be mean now if we had left her in the woods. I can't, in all honesty, look into her gentle eyes and think that she could ever be mean. Realistically, I know that she was, and still is in many ways, a "wild animal" but to think of her as a predator is very hard to imagine.

Even though the vet told me she most likely was alone in the woods, 6 years later I still struggle with the idea that I may have taken her away from her mother. That her mother may have searched for her and how I would feel if my child was gone.

My son and I have often commented that she was brought into our lives because we needed each other. We needed healing from our grief of losing our beloved dog, Spirit, and my daughter-cat, Magic, who had passed away after 20 1/2 years, and Shadow needed a loving family.

Every family decision we make is made with her comfort and health in mind. A funny story about this: My parents were coming into town (they live 2 hours south-east of us) and we planned to go out for dinner that night. Now, understand, we were only going to be 2 miles away for a maximum of 1 hr. My father's first question after deciding on a restaurant was "What will you do with Shadow while you are gone?" I can only guess that he thought I needed to hire a baby-sitter.

Shadow loves the water. My parents live in a house on Lake Sinclair, in Sparta, GA. The first time I took her to my parent's house she headed straight for the lake and jumped off the dock into the water. So for several years we had one of those inflatable pools just to cool off in the summer. She and the Pit Bull next door used to swim and play in it together. It's funny though, when it even sprinkles, she runs inside so she doesn't get her "Farrah Fawcett" hair wet. She's a diva.

Recently I left for work without changing the tv to the channel she normally watches during the day. When I came home I found she had taken her food bowl to the couch and had obviously been watching soap operas all day.

I was recently able to get some of her baby pics from my mother and couldn't wait to share them with you. At the time of these pictures she was 9 weeks old. We know this because her baby teeth began falling out 4 weeks later.

A puppy's teeth will begin making way for the adult ones at approximately 13 weeks. This is how we were able to gauge her age.

As I looked through these pictures, the song "Wild Thing" was playing in my brain.

I had forgotten how big the ears on this baby were at the time. She looked like a huge bunny!

What a sweet face!

Shadow even has her own Zazzle store. She hasn't created many items yet but here are a few.

Would you believe my son said "I'd forgotten how ugly she was then"? Ugly? I don't think so. Just different.

Dear Dogs and Cats,

When I say to move, it means to go someplace else, not to switch positions with each other so there are still two of you in the way.

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years--canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

RULES FOR NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MY PETS:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.(That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. Dogs and cats are better than kids ... they eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called, never drive your car, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need a gazillion dollars for college - and, if they get pregnant, you can sell the children!