There, I’ve said it. Shadow is a wonderful dog. I know I don’t write about her very often but it’s because I just don’t ‘get’ her. She’s not really like the rest of us, in fact in some ways she’s more of a cat than a dog. She has a more aloof attitude and is not as cuddly and soft as the rest of us. Oh she’s done a good job of bringing up 22 puppies, but she did it with ‘tough love’ leaving the softer side to our Mistress, which all things considered is rather ironic. She does want our Mistress’s attention, but as with all things a cat does, it’s on her terms. When she does not get what she wants she tries to stare you out. It works with me and Ari, but it doesn’t work with our Mistress or Wilma. It does freak our Mistress out when she does it, but it has no bearing on what she does at all. If she does decide she wants to have a cuddle she utterly smothers you. A bit of an all or nothing kind of girl.
Unlike the rest of us, but very like a cat, she likes her own company and is not the least big fazed if she spends quite a bit of time on her own. She sits up on a dining chair, just like a proud cat, and watches the world go by out of the window. She does see herself as a guard cat dog, but some of that stems from her own anxieties rather than doing a job well. On the plus side she can always be relied upon to tell our Mistress there is someone at the door, long before they get as far as the bell.
She is a very dignified dog and would defend any of us to the last. She’s mellowed a bit with age, but I really wouldn’t want to cross her and how Wilma gets away with being top dog is absolutely beyond me.
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