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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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