Goodbye Shelby

Last night we said goodbye to our dear, sweet Shelby. She left this world at the vet’s office in such a calm and peaceful way. It was only fitting for our graceful princess.

Shelby was my Christmas present to Scott in 1991. After receiving clearance from Ben and Pat, she joined our family when Pat, Scott and I met her at PAWS. She was just under a year then. The Brier Police Department found her walking around the streets and brought her in. She had recently been spayed because her tummy was still shaved and she still had the sutures. We thought her owner would reclaim her as soon as they discovered she was missing. We had to wait for 3 days to adopt her until she was finally ours! We all fell in love with her sweet gentleness right away.

Shelby saw the entire Loftin family through the highest and lowest moments of the past 14 years. She was there to help Scott adjust to moving back home during college. When we got married, we tried to think of a way to incorporate her into our special day, to no avail. She helped make our first house (a townhouse) a home, and was there when we moved into our first real house. She loved to sun herself while we tried to figure out what we were doing in the garden. She was 8 when we brought home a rambunctious puppy named Henry. We hoped Henry would breathe a little youth into Shelby. She never was too fond of him. She would tolerate him with a quivering lip and a slight snarl. He adored her and although he is a true Alpha, she had the upper paw with him. She greeted us when we brought Baby Nathan home from the hospital. She was a bit indifferent towards our newest member of the family. A few months later we realized that the combination of Henry, still a puppy at 1, and infant Nathan, was just a little bit too much excitement for Shelby, who was going on 9. Ben and Pat welcomed her back to their home- a move that made Shelby and Ben equally as happy. Shelby helped Ben usher in his retirement and was his constant companion. He loved her like no-one else and the feeling was mutual. She was by his side when he passed away. I remember we worried about how Shelby would take the loss. She was then Pat’s loyal friend to the very end. Shelby was happiest when she was in Pat’s company as they walked daily, gardened, or spent time at Shelby’s very favorite spot-the beach.

Shelby taught us many things over the years. Through her we learned about a dog’s loyalty and bond, their unconditional love, and their need for companionship. We also learned that dogs snore, that they like to lick dishes in the dishwasher, that horse poop is fun to roll in, that labs are natural bird dogs as Shelby flushed out many pheasants and even caught a live seagull once, that labs can swim and swim and swim and retrieve and retrieve and retrieve, that a dog’s heart will beat out of her chest and her stomach will need to be pumped if she eats chocolate, that a dog can tear her ACL more than once just like a real athlete, that they have selective hearing, that dogs softly woof and run in their sleep, that a dog’s strong mouth and sharp teeth can be gentle and soft when taking a treat from an owner’s hand, that dogs can tell what time of the day it is and will pout until they are fed or walked, and that a dog can grow old gracefully and be our dearest old friend.

We will all miss Shelby and her ways. She was intelligent, sweet, gentle, particular, graceful, a beggar, proud, independent, stubborn, precious, and irreplaceable. Shelby, we hope you are with your buddy Ben again. We know that he has a pocketful of treats for you like he always did. Your pain has faded away and you can run and roll and frolic like you used to.

Goodbye dear friend.