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Meet Shadow
(Our First Beagle)
(October 1976 --September 1, 1991)
Meet Shadow: Shadow was our first Beagle. My husband and I acquired Shadow through a pet store in one of our local malls. We got him as a Christmas gift for our two sons. At the time they were ages seven and three and one half. You cannot imagine the look of joy on their faces when my husband walked into the house with Shadow hidden beneath his coat. "What's that noise?" he said to our two sons. "Let me see, let me see daddy." And daddy uncovered the best gift ever!
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This is one of the last photos taken of Shadow. As you can see, he is much larger. His colors are very different also. Shadow was with us for fifteen years. He was not an exceptionally bright dog but he was pleasant. Basically, Shadow was my very first experience in dealing with and training a dog. I was also dealing with our first home and two small children. So much of this was new to me. Guess what I am saying is, I learned as I went; and yes, made mistakes in judgement along the way. For example: When basking in the sun, after awhile he would seek a cool spot,and as I have learned through the years, the natural tendency for a dog is to dig down to cooler soil. If I saw him digging I would reprimand him and say, No! Shadow! But of course, two minutes later he would try to dig another hole. So I took it upon myself to build him a wooden dog house thinking to give him shade since he like the out of doors so very much. Thing is, he never liked it and would not use it. It is just speculation on my part, but I don't think dogs like to be in an enclosed space with no avenue for escape except one way out. I think it makes them feel vulnerable and trapped. Ultimately the best solution was to call him into the house, which wasn't too much cooler that outside because back then, we did not have central air conditioning. But at least he was in the shade.
When I look back, I think one of the main difficulties I had in raising him was not so much that he could not be trained but that our children could not. I could spend days and weeks getting him to obey certain commands, and in the blink of an eye our sons would undo it all. I am here talking about minor things like, no pets allowed on the couch or Shadow is not to eat people food, especially while we are seated at the dinner table. Turn our heads, and there was Shadow sitting where he should not or eating what he shouldn't. But, say, what the hay, kids will be kids and animals will be animals.
At least I got him house broken without any difficulty, although I must say, the boxed in method that we used back then seems rather crude compared to today's cage method. My husband had built a small wooden enclosure. It was about six foot square and about 18" in height. It was good enough for a small pup but didn't last too long because he soon found his way over the top
Looking back, the main problem with Shadow was an undiagnosed arthritic condition. I say this because it was very difficult to touch or to pet Shadow; especially in certain parts of his body. Oh, he wouldn't bite or snap or anything like that. He was too mild mannered for that sort of thing. Rather, he would shy away from us by moving to another place. We just took this to mean he wanted to be alone, but we never knew why until the last 6 months of his life when we found out he had a very serious case of arthritis. Ironically, it was within the last 6 months of his life that he became close to me. And I mean that literally, because he wouldn't leave my side. Wherever I sat, sure enough Shadow would lay right across my feet. As if to say, "Hello, I am here. Remembmer me!" And we have Shadow. We have! Shadow, born in October of '76 and died Labor Day weekend, September 1991 at the grand old age of 15.
