Shelby

Where do I begin with Shelby. Shelby in more than one way has saved me through the years, and ultimately the reason that I found the love of my life. As I sit here and write about her she lays by my side, where she has always been since day one.
I got a call from one of my college friends in Auburn one day to tell me that her boyfriend's dog had just had puppies. Knowing I was a sucker for puppies (yellow labs at that) and knowing that one of the puppies was unclaimed, I think she knew what she was doing. I went to see the litter as soon as I could, with a beer in one hand and a puppy in the other, I made my decision in that trailer park that night that this puppy was going to be mine. That's right, you read that right, I said trailer park. In Auburn, it's just another place to live, much like an apartment or a house, trailer parks are everywhere and I'm proud to be a momma to a trailer park dog, and really, it's the greatest story I can tell of my Shelby girl. Unexpected and totally my style.
I have no idea where I found $200 to pay for my new puppy, I hadn't done a lick of research on vets in Auburn, didn't have food for her or even a bowl to put water in. When I went to pick Shelby up on the night she was ready, she wouldn't come out from behind the sofa, we literally had to MOVE the sofa so I could pick her up and take her  home. I put her in the passenger seat of my car, and off we went, it was the beginning of something special!
There hasn't been a day that I wish I didn't have a dog, in fact, once I got Shelby, I think my life got a bit better. I had something other than myself to look after, and for a few years in college I forgot how to even look after me. It's almost like Shelby was an angel, not like a guardian angel or anything, but I really think she and I found each other for a reason. She made me grow up in a way, made me learn how to be responsible. I had to get home at night and up in the morning, life was about me and my dog, and I didn't want it any other way.
You just look at her and you can't help but laugh, where there is a white mask around her face now that shows her age, used to be a dark gold one that looked like she stuck her head in the mud one day and it just stained her face. She isn't your typical lab, she is tall and lean with a long nose and funny ears, but personality wise, she is all lab. She is obsessive with retrieving anything and jumping in any water that is laying around. She'll eat anything you put in front of her and sheds so bad I have mini tumbleweeds of Shelby hair all along my baseboards.
Most of my stories will be about Shelby and I, it's been a great nine years together and she has taught me a lot. As I write more and more about the lessons that my dogs have taught me, there is no doubt in my mind that you will fall in love with this yellow dog as much as I have. She is a special dog, and holds a special place in my heart and always will.