Isn't she beautiful? She looks so much like Susie and she's doing great!
She is what I imagine Shannon would have been like had Shan never been mistreated. The man who owned Shannon for the first five years of her life was mean, I had friends of his tell me after I got her that he would hit her and kick her. He was very short tempered with animals and children. As I had said before, I never knew he had her until he came into work one day (he was my employer) and said he would put his dog to sleep the next day if he couldn't get rid of her. That was how I got Shannon. She was incredibly sweet and got past alot of it, even acquired a "queen of the world" personality, but she was never able to learn new things because she got so nervous when she was unsure or insecure. And she never played with toys, only food and bones (although it took her about six months to learn to play or bark at all after I got her).
Star is wonderful! She is very much like Shan. She has the same wicked sense of humor with the other dogs, stealing bones from them and staring at them just to annoy them. She loves to ride in the car and will go anywhere with me. She has gotten past her nervous aggression with people, although she can still be very "take charge" if she feels like she should. She is a really good frisbee dog. And is so great with the kids. She listens well to our 8 y/o son and is our younger son's best buddy. He's almost three and insists that she be with him anytime he's outside and she is more than happy to oblige. She has a thing for carrying around our socks. The funny part is that she doesn't like for them to hang out of her mouth, so she has a way of folding them when she picks them up. Then she just walks around with them, mostly in the morning when she wants us to get up. And whenever anyone comes home, she has to pick up whatever is handy. She never chews anything up, just carries.
It takes her about five minutes to learn anything new and she responds in a heartbeat when called or whistled to. Although I believe her version of the family hierarchy is me, her, then everyone else. She loves to ooze up on my husband, Dave, when he's sitting on the couch, stare at him and "fuss" at him quietly. He gets annoyed, but it's really funny! She's a talker, the growly purring that only ES seem to do. Shannon did that, especially when she was excited.
All in all, Star is like an edgier version of Shannon. Very much like Shannon would have been with a "normal" life. I absolutely adore her! Thank you again for such a wonderful girl!!
Debra