Parsons' Prairie Farm

I’m sure you know from my most recent posts that we have a new Great Pyr puppy who has just taken over our world with his puppy cuteness!  But Kellie mentioned to me that it seemed like I was ignoring our black lab, Shadow and not giving her credit for all the wonderfulness that she brings to our lives.  So I wanted to take a minute to try to make it up to Shadow a little bit with this post.

Shadow will be 8 years old here in a few months and she is finally starting to show her age.  She was completely black, without a speck of any color for so long, that it was really noticeable when she started to grey as she got older. 

From the first day I came to know Shadow she was spunky, brave, affectionate, sweet, light on her feet and incredibly fast.  The only toy that she has ever wanted to play with is a tennis ball.  She loves to have the ball thrown to her and runs like the wind to retrieve it and bring it back.  When anyone comes to our home or the farm for the first time, Shadow will immediately size up their throwing arm, and if you measure up, she runs to get a ball. 

Shadow now suffers from arthritis which is really sad since she finally has all this space to run and fetch her tennis balls.  She does pretty well with it when she is out running and playing, she really doesn’t let anything stop her.  But she sure struggles in the evening, especially after a long day of being outdoors on the farm.  I can tell that she is hurting. 

One thing that I am most proud of is how Shadow has become a great farm dog so fast.  She has learned not to try to cross the cattle guards, has a healthy respect for barbed wire, and understands that the ponds are great for cooling off in.  She does need to work on staying out of the ponds while others are fishing.  (I do hear plenty of complaints about that).  She has chased a coyote or two right off the property and will warn us if any are around.  She has learned how to go in and out of the alpaca barns and runs and knows which alpacas are a little less dog friendly than the others.  Shadow has been great at welcoming her dog cousins, Bentley, Sami & now Harley to her farm when they visit.  She and Balto have become best friends and she has even learned to leave the chickens alone when they are out.

So Shadow, here’s to you!  The Best Farm Dog Ever!