Shadow's Photos

A Little Bit About Shadow

Breed: Toy Poodle

Gender: Male

Favorite Treat: Pork Chop Bone

Favorite Pastime: Going for a ride or walk

Messages From Friends

Leave a Message

We got Shadow as a young adult of 9 years old. Her pervious owners needed to find her a new home. I had been fond of my daughters toy poodles and thought I would like one, but wouldn't pay the high price they wanted for them. So when the opportunity came for a free one I took it. My roommate was not that excited over her at first but grew to love her too. At 6 lbs she looked pretty scrawny. She immediately attached herself to me and was my dog. She is the first and only dog I've really had for any period of time. She was spoiled and she knew it. She loved to go for walks when she was able to walk. And after she couldn't walk on her own she loved the stroller walks too. Shadow also loved to go for bike rides. I had a basket big enough that she fit into and she would just sit there while we rode around the park we live in.
Shadow wasn't a vicious dog but she thought she was our protector. Shadow changed a little two years before her death. She wasn't as much my dog as she originally started out to be. She started staying by my roommates side more often. To our surprise we found our my roommate has cancer. We know Shadow knew before us that my roommate was sick. Now my roommate had started Chemo treatments and of course they made her sick. One day I was walking on my treadmill wearing headphones in a room with the door closed, so I heard nothing but loud music. Until Shadow, came to the door and continued to bark to get my attention. Because my roommate needed me and I couldn't hear her cries for help.
By the time we got Shadow she already had tumors on her belly and unfortunately we couldn't afford to have them removed. But we gave her a happy life and the best we could do for her for the 6 years she was part of our family.
On the day My Shadow Died - She had been getting sicker and sicker every day from the tumors. One of them had grown to the size of a baseball. She had trouble walking and a lot of the time she couldn't lay down comfortably to rest. Her tumor has been seeping every day for probably two weeks. Then every day after she would go outside for her morning duty I would changed her bandages. She knew I was trying to help her and she would lie, so still, on her back and let me do whatever needed to be done. She doesn't walk much now unless it's for food, or to potty. She even kind of lays down beside her water bowl when she needs a drink. But today when I took her outside she couldn't find the strength to move away from her own potty. Her legs gave out and she sat right down in it. I cleaned her up and then she did this cough I had never heard before. After that she was sitting watching me in the kitchen, I'm sure thinking she was going to get fed, when all of a sudden she started choking and just fell on her face. I went in and picked her up, holding her in my arms, like you would hold a baby. I sat in my rocking chair with Shadow in my arms talking to her, tears rolling down my face. She just laid her head on my chest. It was like she couldn't see me but could feel my heart beat and was comforted by it. My roommate knowing the end was near called in my kids. Not wanting Shadow to suffer any more we made the trip to the vet's as a family. On our trip to the vet, every once in awhile Shadow would lift her head. Then she would lay it back onto my chest. I held her the entire time and even after she was gone for awhile. And I continued to talk to her. I told Shadow to go to heaven and find my mom and dad. That they would keep her company until I got there. It was so hard to leave her there even knowing there was no life left in her little body. I wanted to take her home. But we had her cremated, and she sits upon our mantel.
Many times after Shadows' passing I would think I would see her lying on a rug. Or I would look to see if she was waiting for me to walk in from work. But I would be sad to know she wasn't there. As I'm sure many know this feeling I have, it's like the feeling of loosing a child. Because that is what she was. Shadow was my baby. Shadow was definitely a very special dog. I think of her often, love and still miss her more than I thought possible.
 

© 2025 Roxie Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy