Oh Sheta!
She's going on nine months old now. She's still a baby. But I tell her she's a big girl. Yea, right. Ok, she's big in stature. Big in size. She has big feet. I mean paws. A big mouth. And I do mean what you think I mean. Sheta lets me know what she wants, what she is thinking, whether she does it quietly, softly or loudly. She is some kind of dog!
When I thought to myself that I would enhance my life with a Sheprador, never did I imagine how my life would become enhanced. Sheta is undoubtedly super-intelligent, that goes hand-in-hand with her breeding. Let's face it. Half Australian Shepherd and half Lab makes for one heck of a smart cookie. I love having conversations with her! She turns her head this way and that, her eyes twinkle at me, her ears perk up and she sits and listens. Who knows if she understands? I know she comprehends my tone of voice. That's what is really important.
She has become my constant companion, never leaving my side. Sometimes, I must shut my bedroom door for privacy...lol. And I explain to her that she must guard the house. That is her job. It is an important job. Believe me, she takes it quite seriously. She is an excellent watchdog. She notifies me immediately if she hears anything at all. She will only keep barking if the noises she hears are foreign to her and do not stop. That is what you want in a good guard dog.
She is loving, strong-willed, affectionate, cunning, assertive, intelligent, playful, fun, stubborn, funny...the list could go on. She's not a dog for everyone. She's not a dog for the meek at heart. But Sheta...oh Sheta...you're a dog for me!
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Posted: 10/13/2009 12:34:36 AM
Getting Permission For Sesheta...My Therapy Dog
Now that I'm single again, I live on the first floor of a house. It's not an apartment, so I don't consider it too small for a dog. Upstairs lives another couple. They have a Jack Russell and another type of terrier.
The first sentence out of my mouth when my landlady answered her phone about this rental was, "Do you take cats?" You see, I have Little Gray, my familiar. She is without a doubt, the Queen of the household. (thought that was my position, but I lost it when I brought her home...)
I realize many people must get rid of their pets when they are forced to re-locate into a rental and that is sad. I, however, am extremely stubborn. Not only does Gray mean the world to me, I could never imagine her feelings being hurt by giving her up. It's me and The Gray forever.
I was lucky. My landlady believed that pets were spiritually good for people and accepted her. (Whew!) Then she told me if I wanted a dog, that was ok too. (eyebrow raised silently) "Really..." I questioned, hesitantly. "Well," she said, "Upstairs is my daughter and her fiancee. They have two little dogs. I wouldn't mind if you found a small dog." I smiled. hehehe....
I have only owned dogs since I was 21 years old. And here is the order of dogs. A Samoyed named Yehnsei, a shepherd mix named Bo, a terrier resembling a pot-bellied pig named Minnie, a chow-chow mix named Chow, a Belgian Malinois named Sabbath, a Bichon Frise named Sir Lancelot, a Bichon Havanese named Baba, a white German Shepherd named Thor and now a Sheprador named Sesheta.
The only one under 10 lbs. was the Frise. Next under 20 lbs. was the Havanese. After that were the mid-sizers. And of course, then the big dogs. Except for Thor, who was the gargantuan. His name says it all. At 7 months, he weighed in at 101 lbs.
So when she said "small", inwardly I cringed. My cat is bigger than small. The Frise dogs were sweet, yes. But I am a Shepherd type of woman. lol Then about two months later, when I announce I am ready to get a dog, she changes her mind.
Tells me the woman before me had a dog. And nearly trashed the place. Not only with the dog, but in general. I tell her, "I'm not that woman. Do you even smell my cat? Tell me where the litter box is?" (Offensive move I think) She answers, "I've never smelled it. You keep a very clean house. I don't know." And she agrees if I can convince her husband to let me have a dog, I'm in.
I then ask him later what did the former tenant do that was so horrible. And it was horrible. This woman should have been reported to the Humane Society. She would tie the dog to the railing outside and leave him there. Go out for two days and leave the dog crated. Things like that. Once I reassured him that I was not that kind of person, he agreed.Although with reluctance.
Even though I've had a dog since I was an adult, now I needed a dog. One, for protection. I live alone, in the boonies. In my town, there are two streets. I kid you not. Two, I am disabled. By the law, disabled. So I knew my rights in obtaining a dog for myself. If need be, I could take this to court. (didn't really want to do that)
I brought Sesheeta home. A few days later, I saw my landlady. She took one look and said, "I thought you were getting a little dog..." I said, "My cat didn't want a little dog. They're no fun. Besides, a little dog can't protect me. I live alone. And a little dog can't help me up if I fall. (I get seizures sometimes)" She rolled her eyes. Mine were twinkling.
I found out later that she had been talking to her daughter and the fiance about my dog. She remarked that "Kerry got a dog!" The two of them had mated their two, and had 6 puppies running around. The fiance looked at her and said, "So? We have 8! She only has 1." And with that she laughed and didn't say anything more.
So I thanked my neighbor upstairs for protecting Sesheta. And besides, The Disability Act allows me to have a Therapy Dog under its guidelines. I've checked the laws out. I'm disabled by the law, my landlady is aware of this, and is aware of the law also. But oh how she tries to take the law into her own hands.
Pets are wonderful companions. Dogs are wonderful for Therapy Companions. My Sesheta is working out just fine.
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Posted: 7/12/2009 7:13:44 AM
Sesheeta Meets Her (Human) Siblings
I was going to visit my children today. We were to meet at my daughter and her fiancee's house. I had warned my daughter that I was bringing Sesheeta. All of my children are adults now, and have always been raised with animals. You name it, we've probably had the species.
I'm a Cancer and a very nurturing Earth mother, so their childhood was very important to me. I wanted them to have a very open, loving atmosphere. Gerbils loose in my son's room? No biggie. Louie the Lizard getting his tank cleaned outside while someone had to watch the 3' thing? Then he almost got away? I said almost. Parrots leading the parade like the pied piper of animals up the staircase? Oh yes. Quite common.
So when I told her we were coming together, little did I expect her reaction. "I have carpeting, you know." she tells me, "Outside she goes." If she could have seen the look on my face! I have never housed one of my dogs outside in my entire life. Much less in the summertime let them sit outside.
I respond, "Sesheeta is quite attached to me. She's only a baby. (smirk) She's housebroken anyway."
As soon as I arrived, my youngest son (23) was waiting outside. He and I walked Sesheeta a bit. It was a long ride and she did wonderfully. I had her seatbelted in the car for safety, no problem. My son questioned that. I told him it was the law. He wasn't aware of it. He told me he saw many people with loose dogs. I told him how unfortunate.
When we went inside, we were quickly shuffled out back. LOL I was told the yard was fenced in, and safe. My daughter(28) was watching her...and went to the middle of the yard. I saw a glint in her eye. She mumbled something about "you would think she wants to play....".
I walked Sesheeta over to her and told my daughter that she likes to wrestle. So she started to play-wrestle with her. Then she went in the house and came back out with surprise! Dog treats!
I think my children were skeptical of all the lavish attention I had been giving to this new member of my family. All of my emails, photos, etc. had been about Sesheeta. Could they have been jealous? After all, now Mom has a new baby!
All in all, the psychological behaviors were quite interesting to watch. When Sesheeta jumped on the couch for pictures, she was told OFF! Funny how when it's property bought with their money, it suddenly has meaning, doesn't it? The same with the idea that this was Mom's dog. Since they are adults and no longer live with Mom, they wouldn't know Sesheeta very well. Which means Sesheeta would be loyal to Mom only. Twisted the tables. Part of the passages. Part of their growing up.
I'm just glad I have Sesheeta now. Oh yes, I'm glad I have three "grown" children, too. lol....
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Posted: 7/6/2009 1:37:23 AM
