Shorty Man!!

What's a Shorty Man?  Shorty was our second dog adopted from a shelter in April 2006.  His name was Shorty and don't ask me why we started calling him Shorty Man...it just fit.   I guess dogs can have nicknames just like people do.  Shorty lived a good life on a huge farm with other animals:  horses, pigs, dogs, you name it, and he lived with them.  His owner was an older gentleman who lived for his animals and worked hard to keep them happy.  Tragically, on Christmas Day 2005, Shorty's owner was killed by a drunk driver and so all the animals on the farm were left to fend for themselves.  Luckily, a shelter was contacted regarding the situation and all the animals were sent to various places in the southwest.  Shorty and several of his "brothers" were put up for adoption by a shelter at PetSmart.  Of course dog food wasn't the only thing I came home with on the day I adopted Shorty.  You see, older animals are the hardest to adopt and they usually are euthanized within a certain time period because of shelter overcrowding.  I couldn't resist bringing another dog home, especially since Hogan was the only dog we had at the time.  Hogan and Shorty didn't really get along at first; being two males they both wanted to be dominant.  They never fought, but you could tell that they stayed their distance at first.  It only took about a month for them to become friends.   They did everything together.  Although neither of them were playful dogs, they just did their own thing and got along very well.  Originally we thought Shorty was a German Shepherd/Corgi mix, but we found out years later that he was a Swedish Vallhund mix while at a dog specialty shop.  These dogs originated in Sweden over 1000 years ago.  Shorty’s personality just blossomed over the years.  He was just a funny dog. While going for walks, he would actually pull and drag garbage bags from other people’s garbage and try to bring it home with him.   He loved getting baths in the backyard.  While drying off, he would run along the side of our house and rub his body on the stucco the whole way.  Then he’d turn around and rub the other side the same way.  When he was done, there would be hair marks along the wall of the house.  Shorty was very kind to anyone he was with, especially children.  He would let kids pet and touch him and he just stood there.    Unfortunately, we became aware of some health problems during his years with us.  He had Tachycardia where the heart beats faster than normal and dogs with this usually don’t live very long unless it can be controlled.  He saw a cardiologist and an internist to control his health issues. He was on daily medications and his heart was stabilized.  Further in his years, he needed B12 shots, diarrhea medicines, and he developed a type of vertigo.  He did well on all the pills he took, but after New Year’s Day 2013, he took a turn for the worse.  He didn’t want to eat, he slept most of the day, and he just looked at me with those eyes and said “it’s time to go”.   On January 4, 2013, he fell over in the backyard and I knew it was time.  Sadly, he was euthanized on that day.  He loved going to the vet, so it wasn’t stressful for him.  I was with him the whole time telling him what a good boy he was and j sat on the floor petting him after he had passed.  I sit here crying while writing this and miss him dearly.  He slept on the floor next to my bed every night, and when I would wake up, I’d feel his little heart beat and thank goodness he made it another day.  And so this blog is a tribute to Shorty who blessed us with his presence every day of his life.