My Sister's Shadow is Gone

My younger sister had to put her dog, Shadow, to sleep today. The vet figured it was probably a brain tumor that caused her to go downhill so quickly in a few short days. My sister, mom and brother were there with her at the end.

Shadow was raised by my sister and my mom from 2 days old when a Brittany Spaniel mother rejected her first litter of puppies. So Shadow never really knew she was a dog. She would sleep on the furniture, ask for people food and go everywhere with them. She'd even been out to visit me once for Christmas and they were planning to come this year.

Shadow loved a good belly rub and demanded it of anyone visiting. She'd walk right up to you and stand over your foot till you obliged.

When Shadow first met my puppy Rocket, she didn't know how to interact with another dog. Rocket would chase and Shadow would run away jumping on the sofa to escape from the furry brown ball of chaos. Once Rocket matured they got along fine and the 4 of us went on quite a few walks in the woods or around the neighborhood whenever I visited. But it seems only on one walk in the autumn of 2004 did I manage to snap a few good photos of Shadow (and Rocket) having fun.


Good bye old girl. We and the chipmunk on your back porch will miss you.