Maggie
16) Maggie was the cutest little thing. She was a very small, dark ("mahogany") sable-and-white Sheltie with a very sweet face. She came to us in late summer 2005 at the age of 9. She had lived with her "mom" from puppyhood, but "mom" remarried and her new husband refused to let Maggie continue to live in the house! Rather than allowing Maggie to suffer being expelled from the house, this thoughtful woman relinquished Maggie to us. She was a fantastic cuddler. She loved nothing better than curling up next to us in bed or lying on one of our stomachs while we watched TV. In mid-2006, we discovered that Maggie had a growth in one lung, which was surgically removed. As her health deteriorated, we became convinced that she should be placed into hospice care and stay with us for the remainder of her life. Unfortunately, on January 6, 2007, while visiting our vets for a routine checkup, Maggie went into cardiac arrest and, in spite of our vets' heroic efforts, she could not be revived. Her lung problems had led to congestive heart failure and she died without suffering. We miss her terribly, as she had become such an important part of our lives, but we know that she's just across the Rainbow Bridge with all of her old friends, suffering no more.

Teardrop
17) Teardrop came to us from a former Sheltie breeder in a nearby state who is a senior who had an accident that left her unable to give her Shelties the standard of care that she wanted to give them. Teardrop was only 4 and a half years old (October 2006), was very sweet, and only wanted for her life to return to "normal" as soon as possible. Teardrop was fostered by two foster moms until we found just the right foster home for her — along with her sister Pearl. Her foster mom was extremely protective of her two charges and was extra careful, knowing that Teardrop was a "runner". A freak event happened in late January, 2007, when Teardrop yanked a leash (attached to a choke collar) out of her foster mom's hand as a friend opened the gate to the fully-fenced yard. Teardrop slipped through the gate and disappeared down the street. While her foster mom searched for her, we received a phone call from a caring motorist who had witnessed Teardrop being hit by a car; that motorist stayed with Teardrop until her last breath left and she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Teardrop's foster mom was devastated, as are we. This darling girl was loved so much and will be missed terribly.

Lulu
18) Lulu came to us in May 2006 at about 8 or 9 years old. She was released to us by her family of about four years (for reasons we don't fully understand). She was very intelligent and learned quickly how to please her people; she liked men and women equally, too. Lulu only wanted to bond with somebody who would give her the love that she deserves. In August, 2006, we began noticing changes in Lulu's body and learned that she had very serious heart disease and were told that she was very unlikely to live more than a few more weeks. We pampered and spoiled this lovely girl completely rotten until we learned that she also had very serious, final stage kidney failure. On January 24, 2007, we released her to cross the Rainbow Bridge and join all of her old buddies. She leaves a very huge hole in our hearts! We miss you, Lulu! Be at peace, little girl.

Dilly
19) Dilly came to us as a senior in October 2006 from a former Sheltie breeder in a nearby state who is a senior who had an accident that left her unable to give her Shelties the standard of care that she wanted to give them. When Dilly arrived here, she seemed to be in reasonable condition. What we soon learned was that she had spondylosis, a degenerative spinal disorder also known as spinal arthritis, as well as very severe arthritis in her other joints. It soon became apparent that Dilly was not really adoptable because of those problems, plus an extremely sensitive stomach, so we placed her into hospice care. In May 2007, Dilly was in very obvious pain that we couldn't adequately control with medication, and was unable to stand up (and barely able to walk once standing), and almost unable to go potty without being held. We made that horrid decision that hurts so much, but knew that we had to think about Dilly and her quality of life. With great pain in our hearts, we held loving, caring, gentle Dilly in our arms as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge to once again live and play free of pain.

Tzar (sometimes spelled Czar)
20) Czar was the sweetest, gentlest senior Sheltie you could ever want to meet – his name is not a good fit with his true personality. If he thinks that you might want to hurt him he'll turn his head and open his mouth as though he's going to bite you, but he doesn't complete the movement and has never bitten anyone. However, this behavior suggests that Czar may have been roughly treated. Czar's bark doesn't seem have an "off button". Because he's a bit deaf, you'll need to help him understand that it's time to stop barking by walking up to him, to which he responds quickly. Whenever other dogs would start playing, he ran around with them, barking as though he were a referee! After being with us for about two years, Tzar began to deteriorate...and then a cancer attacked the right size of his face. It grew to be over 1/2 the size of his head, so we knew that we had to be sure that he wasn't suffering. After living with the tumor for about a month, it was obvious that we needed to say goodbye. Tzar's at the Rainbow Bridge now, no doubt trying to avoid Sly, who always growled at poor old Tzar.