Shellie
We got Shellie at the Avon Flea Market on a very cold Sunday morning, much to my daughter's surprise, and yes, she did have fleas. She was so tiny and so alert, and just knew that I wouldn't be able to resist her. My daughter, Marisa, was 8 years old, and it was time for her to have a dog.
The two of them were adorable playing together, especially "hide and seek". Marisa would ask me to keep Shellie beside me while she would go hide. Then, I'd say, "Where's Marisa?" Shellie would search and search until Marisa would pop out from her hiding spot, when Shellie had found her. Such excitement from both of them!
They played this game, often, until one day, Marisa asked me to "hide" Shellie, which I did, under the kitchen chair on which I was sitting. Marisa would search the living room and the dining room saying "Where's Shellie? Where's Shellie?" while Shellie stayed anxiously under my chair, with my help. Then, Marisa would come out to the kitchen and pretend that she couldn't see Shellie, and say, again, "Where's Shellie?", as she walked past Shellie in her "secret hiding place".
Marisa would continue walking, still "searching", as Shellie would very quietly come out from underneath the chair and stay directly behind Marisa, following her, but not giving herself away, at all. Finally, after 2 or 3 minutes, Marisa would turn around and act "so surprised" that Shellie was right there. Such excitement would ensue! I must say, though, that Shellie and Marisa weren't the only ones that enjoyed this game of "hide and seek". My mom, and I enjoyed it, every bit as much as they did. It never got "old" for any of us.
My brother gave us a "Neurotic Dog Lives Here" sign, to put on our door, because Shellie hated him and would run right into the bottom of the refrigerator and fall down, every time he came to our home. He had a deep voice and was a smoker, maybe that's why she reacted in such a way. We never knew, for sure, why she didn't like him.
When Shellie was quite young, she had a bladder stone, the full size of her bladder, at about 2" x 1 1/2" x 1/2". Amazingly, the veterinarian said that it was the largest bladder stone that he had ever removed from a dog her size. He kept the stone and used it in training future veterinarians. Shellie was only 12 pounds, when full grown. Once that stone was removed, she never had any other health issues, thankfully.
I've had 3 other Shelties, since Shellie, but none of them ever took her place. Each one of them was special in his or her own way. Chelsea, another Sable colored, was the sweetest, by far. Kody, a Blue Merle Shelty, was the only boy. He had ice blue eyes and was the biggest and oversized, but, oh so beautiful.
Bianca, also, was a Blue Merle. She had one blue eye and one brown eye. She was, probably, the naughtiest...squatting to "pee" in my dining room, while looking right at me as I would screech "NO!", with absolutely no effect. With that said, Bianca was going to have to find a new home. My daughter, Marisa, now with a family of her own, decided that Bianca's new home would be at their house, which worked out, relatively, well. As long as they kept one particular room gated off, Bianca didn't disrespect the privilege of living there. On the other hand, if someone forgot to put that gate up...old habits resurfaced, but, they loved her. Marisa has an amazing love for animals, and their home is best described as a menagerie, these days.
I've recently retired, and I'm enjoying the freedom of coming and going, whenever the desire "hits" me. So, I don't have any pets, at this time, I believe that someday, maybe when I'm more apt to stay home, I will most likely, again, want to add a "little love" to my home.
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