Many people consider their pets a part of the family. Shelby, the golden Labrador, was very much a part of the Richter family and inspired her owner, Jeannette, to publish Shelby’s life story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Dog’s Life.
Shelby came to the Richter family as a puppy from the neighbouring farm. For Jeannette’s daughter, Nicole, the connection to her new puppy was instant. The same couldn’t be said for Jeannette.
“Shelby was a farm dog and the first dog I ever had. I was a cat person, but she was a very good dog. She was very calm and social and she never ran onto the highway,” Richter said.
Shelby eventually grew on Richter and became “her dog” after Nicole moved away to university. The pair spent many more years together on the farm until Shelby’s health began to deteriorate with old age. Richter struggled with the decision to put her beloved dog down and was wracked with even more guilt when Shelby disappeared.
“When Shelby went missing, I thought she had been killed by coyotes. I was glad that she came back because I would’ve wondered forever (what had happened to her).”
When Shelby returned a few days later, disoriented and covered in canola flowers, Richter finally made the decision to have Shelby put down. Jeannette, Nicole, and their husbands all made the trip to the veterinary clinic with Shelby and were with her in her final moments.
Shelby’s death is where Richter’s story takes a joyous turn. Richter writes that Nicole and her husband had been struggling to conceive and had attended their last appointment at a fertility clinic the same afternoon that Shelby was put down. Nicole phoned her mother a few weeks later and announced with joy that she was pregnant. The family would later welcome twin girls, “just like Shelby,” Richter writes. The news and arrival of her granddaughters dampened the sting of grief for Richter, turning a period of mourning into a period of joy and excitement. Still, Shelby was missed for years after her death.
“It took me a long time to get over my first dog and to decide if I wanted another one,” Richter said. Five years after Shelby died, Richter decided that she missed having a pet’s companionship and rescued Ruby, a border collie beagle cross, three years ago.
Richter’s decision to submit Shelby’s story to Chicken Soup for the Soul was simple. She felt it was the type of positive and uplifting story that the books feature and “because I love my dogs so much.”
