It was 1966. My husband John and I were going on a long needed vacation. Driving along interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, we saw a small dog run across the two lanes of traffic. She was lucky to survive it.

The way the interstate was, there was a large strip of land between the North and South bound lanes. The dog stopped along this strip, panting and looking confused.

John pulled the car over. We got out and walked toward the small dog. She just sat there, too weak to run anymore.

I scooped her up and carried her back to the car. There was nothing to her. This little pup was obviously starving. Her hair was matted and she needed a bath.

We got back onto the interstate and John asked me, “..well, now what?”

“Well, we can’t just let her starve can we?” I said.

John said he though the little dog was a Shetland sheep dog. The frail little Sheltie sat quietly on my lap as we drove. John got off at the next exit and we headed for home. So much for our vacation.

On the way home we picked up some dog food at the grocery store. I got several cans of puppy food. The first thing we had to do was get some food into this little darling.

When we got home I opened a can and plopped the contents on a plate for Shelby. I don’t know where I came up with that name. She just looked like a Shelby.

She gobbled it up! Unfortunately, it didn’t stay down. Yuck.

We decided to give her a bath and then try some food later. John got a large, metal tub out of the shed and filled it with water. I took some baby shampoo and we got busy.

Shelby seemed more than happy to have a bath. While I was scrubbing her I noticed that her ears were sore. We cleaned her up and toweled her dry. Now we had to take her to the Vet.

I called the local veterinarian and he said to bring her right in. He checked her out and said she was severely under nourished. She also had ear mites which is what was making her ears sore.

After the check up, the vet gave us some packs of food that he said would be more beneficial for Shelby. He also gave us drops for her ears.

We took her home and she ate the food. This time it stayed where it was supposed to. I put and old blanket on the kitchen floor and Shelby curled up and fell asleep. She looked so content. And she was ours.

Shelby became a member of our family. And a more loving dog you’ve never seen. She followed me everywhere! Always wanting to play. I’d throw a Frisbee and she would bring it back. One of Shelby’s favorite pastimes was chasing squirrels in the back yard.

As the years past, our love for Shelby grew more and more. She always seemed so thankful for us bringing her home that day.

One day I noticed a small patch of blood in Shelby’s bed. It wasn’t much, but it worried me. I checked her but didn’t find any blood on her. A few days later I found more blood in her bed. Now I was really concerned.

We took her to the vet and after checking her and taking a blood sample he said we would have to wait for the results of the blood test.

Two days later we got the bad news. Shelby had something called Von Willebrand disease. This disease affects humans and dogs. It’s not fatal among humans, but the vet said Shelby had very little time left.

I was crushed. I cried and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. The vet said the best thing to do was put Shelby to sleep. He said the disease would gradually get worse. I just couldn’t do that.

We took Shelby home and showered her with love. I spent all the time I could with her. Several weeks later it became apparent that Shelby’s time with us was coming to an end. Her wining and whimpering was frequent now.

On June 15, 1975, we took Shelby back to the vet. It was the single most difficult thing I have ever had to do. It was also the same week we had found her nine years earlier.

I don’t know if Shelby knew what was going on or not, but on the way to the vet, she sat on my lap and looked up at me as if to say thank you. I want to thank her too. For all the love she gave John and me. For all the fun we had with her. For the companionship she gave us for nine years.

We laid Shelby to rest in the back yard, under the shade tree where she loved to chase those squirrels.

John and I are much older now and I know that pretty soon, I’ll see my beautiful Shelby again. She’ll bark and run and jump into my arms. We’ll spend forever together.

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