Shani came as a bit of a surprise. I was not really looking for a second dog but, when Yomi’s litter with Grant was born, there was the most lovely red and white puppy. She was safely spoken for (not by me), so I enjoyed watching the litter pictures. Then I got a call from Cathi, asking if I would like to have Shani! Next thing I knew, here she was. From the time I got her, at eight weeks, Shani has been a remarkable dog – almost impossibly smart and easy to teach. She is also wonderful with people, especially anyone disabled; she’ll voluntarily put her head on a complete stranger's knee and wait patiently while they pat her head. She attends to her own affairs most of each day but, in the evenings, she comes to “talk” to me – she has a whole repertoire of sounds – and will often keep it up until I do something to entertain her. Since she likes the interaction, that usually means some form of training. At almost 7, she still seems like a puppy – very active and very, very cute. In fact, if there was a champion of cute, Shani would be one of the top contenders. |
