itsawonderfilledlife

My Beast, Shiloh

In the summer of 1996 our family embarked on a journey of searching for the ‘perfect dog’ for our family. Obviously we knew nothing of dogs … or our family.

We (by ‘we’ I mean ‘I’) sniffed in pet stores, shelters, the newspaper, Craigslist and (my personal favorite) http://www.petfinder.com.

We (by ‘we’ I mean ‘I’) had minimal requirements … NOT a puppy (yikes, another baby was so NOT what we (by ‘we’ I mean ‘I’) wanted!

The dog had to be a bigger dog … sorry people, but for me, when it comes to dogs … size does matter! The dog had to be big enough to be imposing to strangers, when our kids took it for a walk.

Also, the dog we chose had to be gentle. It would need to be a beast that we would feel was safe to be with our kids and their friends.

As the fall wore on, I still had not fetched a pooch pal. And Christmas was racing into view. It occurred to me that it might be best to heel for awhile, in the searching. So, as I sat at my computer one day, in early December, I decided to have one last look at my PetFinder web site. And there she was!

They indicated that she, was about a year and a half. Found in a snowstorm, on the city streets. She was a beaut., with a look somewhere between a white shepherd, lab, and collie. And they said she was gentle. So, I emailed my interest.

And that is the beginning of our story.

Within a week, my son and I went to fetch her. As I filled out form, after form, after form, after form … get the idea? There were ALOT of forms (I am convinced there were more, than if we had wanted to adopt a human child from a third world country). Anyway, as I was writing my name in triplicate, Shiloh sat at Ben’s feet, and did not move. This was her first family/pack imprinting.

The Beast and Her Pack

After almost seven years, Shiloh is a part of our pack … she thinks she is the pack leader, (someone else would say she isn’t even part of the pack).

She has chewed up our baseboards, and a corner of a table, she has dug up a few holes in our backyard, but, also found where the leak in the septic field was located. She hates swimming, cats and squirrels. She cannot be let off leash, as her life’s goal is to run like the wind, and she does not remember our voice, or our existence until hours later when she is tired.

There are four of us who adore her, and one who denies her existence …

In the beginning promises of ‘mom, we’ll do everything to care for a dog … we will feed it, brush it, pick up it’s poo’ … they lied …

She’s the best security system a person could hope for … she barks if anyone, or anything comes into our yard. From an imposing man, to a certain black lab, to our neighbors cheeky cat, to nasty squirrels, to leaves. This particular security feature is what hubby detests the most about her.

But, we all know he loves her …

The Beast and The Hubby