Goodbye Shaman my little buddy

I wrote about him last December when he was named #1 Rough Collie for CKC herding in Canada (arena trials) - this is the link (with some great photos of Shaman):

Earlier today while waiting for the appointed time and sitting with Shaman I wrote the note below to my friends. Sitting here now, the house seems very, very quiet. He certainly had a presence. Thanks to those of you who have already written to say sorry. He was quite a boy. Here he is last winter playing with a toy.

Nothing builds character or demonstrates love like nursing a sick and dying dog for a few days. It is so hard to let them go but we know when it is the right time, and what is best for them. Still, it takes awhile to let it sink in that they are gone.

My note from earlier today explains it all:

For the past day I have been sitting with Shaman who is quietly slipping away.
This afternoon I am taking him in to our vet Ken, and I know I will be too
broken up to write something later. I just wanted you all to know about Shaman
because you know him, and because it is pretty hard to be alone in a new place
when something like this happens. Shaman was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in
June 2007. That night the emergency vet suggested putting him to sleep but he
was already rallying so I said “I don’t think it is his time,” and I took him
home. Since then he has had small bleeds (that is what I call them), but a few
months later he earned the last leg on his HI CKC herding title under dear Bob
Vest, and miraculously that made him the #1 CKC herding collie (arena trials) in
Canada. Not only that, but he has mentored young Caden my GSD puppy for the past
year, and has made a big move to Alberta – where he came from! We now live only
20 minutes from where he was born and Nancy has been able to see him again.

Last week he was really sick and I made “the appointment” for him, but
by the afternoon, he had rallied yet again. He is the toughest, most resilient
dog I have ever had. Since yesterday I have sat with him, helping him out a few
times while he tottered around, and now he is lying in his favourite place – up
on the couch – head on a pillow. I am giving him water and just patting him and
kissing him and telling him how wonderful he is and how much I have learned with
him – even though he has been a hard dog sometimes with his bad boy attitude. He
and Thorn never really liked each other, but Shaman has fulfilled his karmic
lesson by befriending Caden with kindness – and the two of them have been great
buddies. Caden has been hovering around and licking Shaman too. It is pretty
interesting to watch.

Shaman finished his CH quickly with some great wins over specials under
specialty judges. His first win was to go Best of Breed over specials at his
first show at the tender age f 6 months under Virginia Lyne. I remember running
to the ring and on the way, he grabbed a pylon and carried it in the ring with
him (!) causing quite a laugh. That was how he was – always full of himself and
bigger than life. He earned his TD on his first attempt under tracking icon
Ilene Newman, but herding was to become his thing. If not for Shaman I am not
even sure I would be in Alberta because he was the dog who really got me hooked
on herding. I flew here in 2005 with him, for my first clinic with Scott Glen –
my life seemed to take a turn after that clinic…and here I am. Shaman did earn a
HIT in 2005 and that made me very proud. But mostly he was a dog who tried so
hard, and always came through for me. He forgave my inexperience and together we
learned and became a team

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