DUSTY
Melody and Dusty
This is a tribute to our Shetland Sheepdog, Dusty.
He was born on June 2, 1999. My daughter, Melody, and I got him on my 44th birthday on August 5, 1999. I wanted a blue
merle Sheltie(referring to their blue-gray color) ever since the first time I saw one. We've had many Shelties over the last 35 years, but all of
them were sables or tri-colors.
He was so cute as a puppy. He was smaller than our cat, Misty; but he soon began to get bigger.
The two of them would play hide and seek, and sometimes they would appear to be boxing,
pawing at each other. But they never tried to hurt each other.
Dusty had several toys that he loved to play with - pieces of rope for tug of war, bones to chew
on, balls to chase. But his favorite was a silly-looking rabbit, which was yellow with pink polka
dots. If you told him to find his bunny, he knew exactly what you were saying, and he would
search until he found it. He often carried it around with him, and would fall asleep with his head
resting on it.
He had strange tastes in food. He would often beg for table food, and we would usually
accommodate him. He liked fresh vegetables, especially broccoli. He would eat it raw, cooked,
frozen, plain or with sauces. He would even eat raw onion. We never had to worry if food dropped
onto the floor - he was a canine vacuum cleaner, and would instantly eat anything that fell.
He was very affectionate. He loved people, and would follow us around just to be close. He
rarely met a stranger - he was friendly with almost everyone he came in contact with. But yet, he
was still a good watchdog and protector, and would challenge strangers until we made it known that
they were OK.
He loved to go outdoors. Being a housedog, he really enjoyed outings, and sometimes resisted
coming back inside. He loved to run - watching him was a joy. His long silky fur would fly in the
wind, and he looked so proud and beautiful in full motion. And if he was in pursuit of something, he
could fly - I have never seen another Sheltie that could run that fast. It was his love of the out of
doors and running that led to his death.
On December 21, 2000, we let him outside to use the bathroom. He had been out about 10 minutes
when we got up to go check on him. Darkness had just fallen. Before we could get to the door, there was
a knock. It was my closest neighbor - she was crying. She told me that she was driving by the
house and Dusty was running along side her car on the grass when suddenly he darted out into the
road in front of her. We rushed up the road to find him lying on the side of the road, bleeding from his
mouth. He was still alive, so I put him in the car and made an attempt to get him to an emergency
vet clinic 50 miles away. But he took his last breath about 5 minutes later. I pulled over and held
him and cried.
He was a wonderful companion and friend - so beautiful, intelligent and loving. There will always
be a huge void in our lives without him.
To you, Dusty - may you be always free and happy wherever you are�..
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