To my dear little Shadow,
It still feels like just yesterday when I first saw you - so handsome, your eyes full of hope. There was no doubt about it, I would not be leaving the shelter without you. When we left, you jumped right in the car and sat straight up in the middle of the back seat, so excited about all the wonderful days to come. It was the best Valentine's Day I ever had and I had found you - the little, furry love of my life. You didn't have a name, at least for the first couple of days. Not that we didn't try, but nothing seemed to suit you. I wanted to give you a name like Jack or Max but you had better ideas. So you mimicked my every move, following just inches from me everywhere I went. You knew your name was Shadow, you tried to tell me but I wasn't listening closely enough. So you patiently waited until you made sure I finally understood what you were trying to say. The minute the name left my lips there was no doubt, you were my little Shadow and you wagged your tail like crazy, congratulating me on finally figuring it out.
You taught me what it was to love and care for someone other than myself and I showed you that most humans are very nice even though the person you had been with before had hurt you very much. You became our little warrior, so proud and protective - telling everyone and everything that this was your family and you better have good intentions or you'll have to deal with me. You developed such a sense of humor and relished in clowning around with dad who seemed to love to put things on your head. You would just smile the biggest smile and wag that fluffy tail, asking "did I make you smile, did I?" Looking back now, it is almost like you knew you had to live a lifetime in just a few short years. You never ever wanted to leave our sides always pushing your head up under our hands and looking at us with those soulful eyes. Man, you sure knew how to play us! You would run with pure joy and abandon through the woods and streams, diving through bushes and leaping from rocks. You knew what it was to be truly free. And you relished in being a brother. Never leaving Sage's side, melting his grumpy facade and becoming his bonded buddy.
There are still days that this just doesn't seem real. There is no possible way you could be gone from us. But the real truth is that you are still here, we feel your spirit with us everywhere and someday we'll all be together again. You will always and forever be our little Shadow and not a day will go by when we won't think about you. I want to say thank you for all the incredible joy you brought to our lives and though I could fill a thousand books and still never be close to finishing, here are a few of my favorites.
Thank you for always doing your little cookie dance (ok, let's be honest, you did it for any kind of food or walks or car rides or pretty much anything), but it was so full of pure joy and excitement and delighted us every time.
Thank you for showing us true love.
Thank you for being so silly.
Thank you for being our protector.
Thank you for teaching Max how to be like you (he absolutely idolized you) and letting a small, overeager pup tag along with you on your adventures in the woods.
Thank you for taking care of Sage.
Thank you teaching us all your wisdom about life.
Thank you for still watching out for the pups - I know that's you! They suddenly get all attentive to an empty corner with their tails going like mad.
Thank you for letting us be a part of your life. We are the luckiest family in the world.
I miss you so much every day little one and love you with every ounce of my heart!
Love, Momma
