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Shy, a.k.a. Champion Shy Lady Lace of Mayo, HC TT was a wonderful Smooth Collie who graced Kathy and
Rob's lives for over 10 years. Shy did well in the show ring with lots of ribbons and titles for her hard work.
When she was younger she had a "confirmation party" where she wore a white veil and everything out at
Rob's old farm before he and Kathy were married. Shy would herd the ducks and play with Faiya who was Rob's
Bearded Collie with the one floppy ear. Shy loved Rob too, so when he and Kathy were married life was just as much fun for her. Shy loved to "sneak" cookies from Aunt Dort (although she wasn't supposed to have them) and spend time with her family. When Kathy lived upstairs from Aunt Dort & Uncle Ed my Cairn Angus came for a visit. It was winter and since he was a diabetic he wore his red snowsuit with hat, boots and scarf. Well, Shy thought his scarf was a chew toy and she tried to "take it" away from him. She ended up picking the little guy up by the scarf and trying to carry him around before she figured out it wasn't going to work. Everyone was laughing! Shy was a trouper and moved with her family around the world. She started out in Ohio, then to Atlanta and then to Vienna, Austria. While they were living in Atlanta, she had an ear infection and the drops to treat it caused sudden deafness, which she partly regained. She spent the last few years of her life sharing her house with little Poco and her kitty sister Isis. In the months previous Kathy had been in the States and Rob lovingly took care of her as she slowly weakened. Shy waited for her Kathy to make it home before she "crashed". She was a loved dog and when she began to suffer so, Rob and Kathy made the decision to end her suffering. She was lucky (being in Vienna) to find a vet to come to her home and let Shy go where she was "home". Shy went to the Rainbow Bridge on July 20, 1999. She is missed. |
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Shebah came from Southern Hope Humane Society in Georgia to live with cousins Kathy & Rob. They were at Petsmart
one Saturday when Kathy noticed her when they were walking in the door. She turned to Rob and said "doesn't that
look like Fai....." and when she looked at his face, he had tears in his eyes. She really looked like Faiya, Rob's favorite
dog that passed away in '92. Rob bonded with her while at the store and they processed papers to adopt her. She was set to be spayed before coming home and that was where the vet found parvo immediately after her surgery. They started the treatment and she pulled though and she was able to go home once she stopped shedding virus. Once home Kathy had this feeling that she just wasn't exhibiting usual puppy behavior. Sheba went to the vet for many visits, IVs, meds and such when she was finally diagnosed with distemper. Kathy & Rob had her for 3 weeks in July of 2002 before she had to be put down. This was long enough for her to make a lasting impression on their lives along with those at the vet's office. Everyone there, including the owner/vet, fell in love with her. He called Rob directly to explain to him that the best and only solution was to put her down. She exhibited a great disposition and was very bright. Even with all her health complications, she was housebroken in less than 5 days. Rob & Kathy have no idea why God would have her with them for such a short time, but there must have been some reason. Everyone in the vet's office said good-bye to Sheba before she rested. It was terribly sad. |
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Poco was a little 9 pound wonder who came in to cousins Kathy and Robs lives in August of 1995.
She was found wandering along a roadside when they were out on a drive for ice cream. Kathy said she noticed a tiny black blob walking alongside the
road. They thought she was lost and for 2 hours went house-to-house searching for her owners. They kept her
overnight and then animal control picked her up. They put an ad in the paper about finding her, they checked on
her at the shelter, and when her time was "up" Rob decided they had to pick her up. She did not appear to be
abused, just neglected, and took some vet visits to take care of the fleas, dry skin and bad teeth. She was
used to a crate, housebroken and immediately answered to the name of Poco. That Thanksgiving Rob, Kathy, Shy, Isis and Poco drove up to Ohio for their visit. They thought they would find Poco a good home there. They found a number of them, but decided they just couldn't part with her. She was such a sweetie. So, she stayed with Isis and Shy in Atlanta. When the time came she made the move to Vienna, Austria. That was where Kathy noticed her wanderlust. They quickly met their neighbers because Poco would manage to get out of their tiny fenced backyard. Austrians love dogs, so the neighbors would come over smiling and carrying this tiny lady. There was never anyone who didn't just fall in love with her. In Vienna Mrs. Pustak was her best friend and babysitter whenever Kathy and Rob had to travel back home to the US for any length of time. This woman couldn't speak English but Poco communicated with her! She even trimmed Poco's fur around her eyes while they were gone one time. Poco was so gray by that time, she looked like a raccoon. They couldn't help laughing but thanked Mrs. Pustak for trying to clean her up. Poco's biggest trick was unwrapping chocolate candy like a human being so you didn't know it was her that was eating it. Normally, chocolate would be lethal to dogs. One Halloween, she polished off Reese's mini peanut butter cups. Kathy followed the trail of unwrapped candy to where she was laying. The foil and papers weren't shredded but unwrapped she thought Rob was dropping the paper and not getting it into the wastebasket. By the time she found her, she had a belly ache. You should've heard the noise as she was trying to get the peanut butter off of the roof of her mouth! She was a great sport and a real trooper all the way up to her kidney failure on Sept 28, 2002. The vet guessed she was probably between 14 and 18 years old. Kathy & Rob had her for 7. She definitely made those 7 years in their life very full. They only wish she could talk so she could have told them about the other 7+! |
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Tripod was adopted on February 25, 2003 came from the Humane Society of Cobb County where
Kathy did volunteer work. Here is his story from Kathy: "Tripod arrived at Cobb County Humane Society (HSCC) in October of 2002 with a deformed and painful front leg. Apparently, he lived in a trailer park and was run over by a truck. The owners never took him to the vet. He was running from trailer to trailer for food and shelter. Finally, he was brought into HSCC for help. HSCC took him to their vet. Long story short, to save the leg, it would cost $2,000-$3,000 with no guarantee that it would heal or be pain free. They made the humane decision to amputate. The vet was kind enough to charge at his cost. It's been 2 months and Tripod gets around as if he never had a fourth leg. He's 51 pounds and approximately 10 months old. The popular guess is he's an Irish Wolfhound/Poodle mix. Tripod was on TV twice with no calls for adoption. Each time I would go to the center and walk/exercise him, I would feel it was such a shame to waste a great dog in a crate for the rest of his life. I brought him to my house for more extensive exercise last Monday and Saturday I adopted him. He only visits HSCC to visit his Min Pin friend, Fred, and the wonderful staff that works there. He will be a "special needs" dog as he gets older, but I believe he's worth the effort. We are working with him to get in and out of the car and use our basement steps. After some minor training classes and his Canine Good Citizenship certificate, my plans are to use him as a therapy dog in children's hospitals and nursing homes. His story and example of courage will be an inspiration to those hospitalized." Kathy decided to make March 17th his birthday. Appropriate since her maiden name is Murphy! Anyway, Tripod completed obedience classes with Kathy. The first night he really didn't want to do anything so he layed down, missing leg side up for sympathy. Didn't get any from his instructor! He has become a wonderful therapy dog - the patients loved him. Tripod made the move from Atlanta back to Ohio. He is a missed guy! |
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 Rainbow Bridge
 
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