A Tribute to Shad

Shad & his mom, Ariel (Ari)

My best friend passed on just over two weeks ago. Now many people would say, "He was just a dog!" but that isn't quite true. What IS true, is that he WAS a dog - but not "just a dog"! I always was aware that he wasn't human - but he was very much a person! He went through the darkest and saddest times of my life with me, and I will be forever grateful to him for that! 


Shad was one of the most intelligent and wise dogs I've ever met, and he was a great communicator, for all that he rarely made a sound. He was always quick to 'tell' me what he wanted - which was usually to go where ever I went (which he often did) and to eat whatever I did (which generally didn't happen!). His greatest wish was to be by my side - he slept beside my bed most of his life, until the last year, when he could no longer make it up the stairs. He would sleep on the bed during the coldest nights of winter, but generally found it too warm - when he did, he preferred to take his half from the middle, usually laying length-wise across the width of the bed! 


He was that rare Siberian Husky who was reliable off-lead. No squirrel or rabbit was safe - unless I was there to call him off! Cats were, however, another matter! He really liked cats (although he pretended to merely tolerate them!) - and all the cats who hung around my home LOVED him - they learned to trust him before they did me! He was trained for conformation, obedience and agility as a young dog - he earned some points in the show ring, as well as a leg toward his Companion Dog title - but was smart enough to know that the heeling pattern was really stupid! I could just hear him say, "But WHY should I heel?!? You're just going to walk, turn, go fast, go slow, turn around, and end up back here! Where's the sense in that!?" He was also my main leader for my sled team. 


Shad, I will miss you until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge - love you, always!

Wheel - Gabby & Roller

Lead - Shad & Chi

(Shad, Chi and Gabby all were Ari's kids)

Sutula's Shadow Dancer, CGC --- March 21, 1997 - July 30, 2011