Echo

1998 – December 31^st, 2011

Echo became part of my life in 1999.  At the time I had Sadie (a beagle) and Loki (a Shepard mix).  I heard that they had another Shepard mix at the shelter so Loki and I went up to meet her.  We waited in the “getting acquainted” room and the shelter manager brought in the new dog.  She and Loki did NOT hit it off.  They didn’t fight, but it was obvious that they were not going to be friends and it was not going to work.  The manager said she had another dog she thought I should look at so she took the Shepard away and came back with a VERY dirty brown dog.  She and Loki bonded immediately, one look (and sniff) and they were best buds.  Then she came over to me, climbed up on my lap and started licking me.  I later learned that she had the fastest tongue in the east and she’d French you if you didn’t watch out!  I was told she was a Keeshond mix, about a year old, who had been picked up as a stray and not claimed.  Loki and I were sold.  I asked if we could take her home with us right then, and since I had adopted from them before they agreed.  After the paperwork was finished and we were ready to leave, the manager gave me a little more of the story.  It seems that the dog was terrified of people, hid in the back of her kennel run whenever anyone came near, and they suspected she had been mistreated (ya-think!) 

The first order of business when we got home was an introduction to Sadie.  Once again, the bond was instant and they were friends forever.  Next up was a bath.  Did I mention she was filthy?  After a double wash and rinse cycle, she turned out to be a gorgeous shiny black – not brown at all!  After some deliberation, I named her Echo.  She was a love bug, snuggling and cuddling whenever she could, and loving to play with Loki and Sadie.  Everything was great until… company came!  She was terrified of everyone!  She’d hide in another room and tremble when anyone else was here, but had an especially difficult time with men or more than one person at a time.  Over many years, she became friendlier with most women, loved kids, but with only a couple of exceptions, she never trusted men.

Echo saw several dogs come and go during her life here; the 2 she’s been with most recently are Rosy, who is almost 7 now and has been with Echo since she came at 7 weeks old, and Joey, who is 4 years old and has lived here just over a year.  There are so many Echo stories to tell that I could write a book, but let me just tell you a few more things about her.  When she was 5 or 6 years old she needed x-rays for a lung infection.  Aside from perfectly healthy lungs, what showed up on the x-rays was shot, bird shot probably, all through her body.  Apparently she had been shot at least twice, maybe more times, when she was just a puppy!  Now I understood why she was so afraid of gunshots and loud noises, and had such trust issues – poor baby!  It seems a miracle that after all she had been through she could still be such a loving and happy dog.  When I first got her, my vet’s had written on her chart “shy, but nice”.  After a few years, they crossed out the “shy” part!  She was clever, and could be very sneaky.  When the other dogs had a treat she wanted, she’d go to the window and bark like someone was here.  As soon as the others left their treat to check out the window she’d run back and grab it, then take it out back to bury it for later!  She was definitely a character, and brought a lot of love, light and joy to my home.  Rosy and Joey are both still waiting and looking for her to come home, and there is a big hole here now that she’s gone.