In Loving Memory Of Shadow

Shadow was adopted and returned to the rescue when his owner passed away. When Shadow came back to the rescue, he had a large 3 lb Splenic growth which resulted in having to perform a Splenectomy. After consulting with our vet, a surgery was scheduled to remove the tumor, which without a doubt, saved his life.While at the rescue, Shadow was a volunteer favorite, a sweet loving boy with an infectious smile. The day he was adopted by an amazing family who opened their hearts and home to a senior dog, was one of the happiest and most memorable days for us here at the rescue.Our hearts are heavy to bring you the news that on December 7th at the age of 16, Shadow passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family.  We received a beautiful letter from Kurt and Nicolette that we wanted to share with you in tribute to their beloved boy."California GSP Rescue, Goodbye sweet sweet Shadow (December 7, 2015) It is with great sadness and heartache that Shadow left us to go and play ball in doggie heaven. He says goodbye to all and to keep smiling. He brought so much love and joy into our home. Nothing ever bothered him, he was just the happiest dog with a big smile plastered all over his face.We brought Shadow home from the CA GSP rescue in December of 2012 at age 13 so he was close to 16 when he passed away.  When we brought him home he was a little overweight and still weak from his Surgery.  Through good exercise and diet he went from struggling up steps to jumping up 2 or 3 at a time...and many times jump down those steps as well, Shadow would not back down from a race with his gsp brother (Poin)Dexter a 6 year old GSP.  They always had good races and play battles, usually with the much younger Dexter jumping over him and running circles around him...but together they were a great team on squirrel patrol!It was always fun with good old Shadow, also known as; Shads to the Pads, Shadsy Padsy, and Paddles Pops. We remember when we first brought him home, he would get up at 5am and pick up one squeaky toy and go from one side of our bed to the other trying to wake us up (we were pretending to sleep). When that didn't work he would find a louder squeaky toy and repeat...and on and on….he continued this until he had tested every toy in the house for maximum squeakage, yes he found not only the loudest squeaky, but one with ten of those squeakers in it, then he proceeded to perfect the art of getting as many to squeak at one time as possible (I think he could get six at a time)...this went on everyday until we had to hide it….sooooo cute.Shadow has had a few trips to the vet over the years, he wasn't keeping food down well for awhile, and he tested for anemia and had some negative liver function...he also saw his doctor for eating the christmas chocolate once (not too much) and eating our dog sitters panty hose.  Yes, the entire garment! This wasn't known until it started coming out.  For the liver and stomach issues we put him on a special diet, which was better than our own, and he got stronger and faster and happier every day.  In April of this year he began to lose control of his back legs, and showed a bit of anxiety.  We put him on medication to ease the arthritis, and after a month or so, he was up to his old antics...though we knew he was still slowing down.  In the end tumors took over strong and fast and all his organs were failing and he was suffering. We had early Birthday and Christmas with extra love to celebrate his life.We'll miss him dearly, think of him constantly, and thank our lucky stars he chose us to spend his final years with.PLEASE find it in your heart to adopt a senior dog, we will again for sure.<3 <3 <3Kurt and Nicolette"Please visit our Facebook Page throughout the day, as we will be sharing photos in memory of Shadow.