Shadow was a Lab/Great Dane cross who was born in Ontario in about 1997. When he was a young pup his owner moved with him to Vanderhoof BC, where he was chained outside for 5 yrs. The only time he was let off his chain, was for a couple of days every summer when a forestry student came to stay with the family. He and Shadow bonded, and this young man would take him into the bush while he studied. Every summer he'd pull up in his truck, and Shadow would go crazy with joy at the sight of him, often losing control of his bowels while in the back of the truck due to his excitement.

During one of these visits in the summer of 2001, Shadow's owner told the forestry student that he was planning to shoot Shadow because he was useless for hunting. This young man convinced Shadow's owner to sell him for $100, and Shadow was brought down to North Vancouver. Though well meaning, the young man also brought Shadow's much-too-small dog house, believing that Shadow would miss it because he was used to it. But poor Shadow sat by the back door to their house, whining to be let inside with their family, 2 terriers and the cat. They finally gave in, and Shadow was the perfect gentleman. He never messed inside, was not destructive, had no separation anxiety, he was good with the dogs, and he ignored the cat. Things were fine for a few months, but the young family soon realized that Shadow needed a home to call his own. They said he was far too large to be taken along traveling and visiting people's homes with the 2 terriers, like the family was used to doing. They contacted Animal Advocates to find him a home.

About this same time, my beloved dog Kody died of cancer at only 7 yrs old. I was still grieving when I came across Shadow's photo on the AAS web site. I called Judy to ask about him, and she said she was concerned because nobody wanted an extra large, 5 yr old, black, recently neutered, male dog, and that they were the hardest to find homes for. My husband, son and I went to visit Shadow the next day and it was love at first site. He was the identical size to Kody so that didn't bother us at all, and we officially adopted him Jan 2, 2002. It was bitter sweet though, as we had to watch a heartbroken Shadow lie by the front door, waiting for his "rescuer" to come back. For several days he'd run to the window when a pick-up truck drove by, thinking it was him.

Shadow settled in with our family, and we discovered he had some fear aggression issues, and he'd cower too easily if anyone raised a voice. He'd obviously been abused. He was also terrified of insects, and I'd often find him hiding in the dark bathroom if there was a fly in the house. I guess being chained he couldn't escape horseflies and wasps, and this fear never got any better in the 7 yrs we had him. It took a few months before he'd go into the fenced yard to do his business, and he'd race back to make sure I hadn't closed the door. We never had to leash him, he always stayed close and he had fabulous recall. In fact, he was terrible on leash, and I had such a bad case of "rescue-itis" (as one trainer put it) that I never broke him of the pulling habit. I just went to all the places where he could run free.

Shadow's fear aggression really only showed itself inside our home, and at the vet's office. He was fine, so long as nobody approached him where he felt cornered, but we had two "incidents" early on that would set the ground rules for the rest of Shadow's life. He was trained not to approach the front door when someone arrived, and any time someone new came over, I'd put him in my bedroom behind a baby gate. That became his "safe zone" and he was fine with it.

Shadow was outwardly in amazing physical condition (we always fed him a raw diet), but the arthritis in his hips and spine was severe. He'd grown crooked from being inside his too-small-doghouse for so many years, and x-rays even showed his organs had shifted to an unnatural position.

Despite this, the lab in him was obsessed with chasing balls and swimming, and he'd do it all day long if we let him. He would launch himself into the air like he had springs beneath him, then plunge into any body of water. He knew the "S" word, in fact he knew so many words I resorted to spelling things out around him, til he figured that out too! He was so in tune with me, that if I even thought inside my head that it was time for a walk, or a car ride, he'd bolt up from his bed and come to find me. As he aged and throwing balls became out of the question, we would hide them in the forest so that he could search without having to run. He loved that too, and would NOT quit until he'd found the ball and returned it to my feet. It took years to get him to actually drop the ball without my asking, as he much preferred to shove it, all slobbery, into my stomach where I could take it from his mouth. He was such a big, silly, goofy boy!

Shadow was rarely alone these past 7 yrs, as I work from home and due to his fear issues, we chose not to travel. Being snowed in for 3 weeks at Christmas turned into another blessing, as Shadow had the whole family 24/7. We knew several months ago that his time was coming, as he'd started tripping and falling over while on walks. On Sunday morning he staggered into my bedroom dragging his hind end, likely an attack of vestibular disease. He cuddled and slept calmly with my husband and I for 4 hours until the vet arrived, and he was quietly put to sleep in his "safe zone". It was how I'd always wanted it, away from the scary vet's office, and surrounded by the people who loved him so much.