Today we say goodbye to Shelby Marie Grunwell, a.k.a. the Greatest Dog to Ever Live, who passed away by euthanasia at about 2:20pm Eastern this afternoon.
She came to our family by way of Canine Collective, a wonderful organization out of Plain City, OH that rescues dogs from high-kill shelters and puts them with loving homes. While we had originally visited the group’s weekly event at a local Petsmart in order to start the adoption process for a chocolate lab named Cocoa, Shelby picked me out, stood on her hind legs, and perched on my arm as if to say “hey there, Steve, I’m the one you want!”
That was just shy of fourteen years ago.
Before coming to us, Shelby had been with a family that neglected her, resulting in an embedded collar. Her previous owner then attempted to remove the collar himself, causing Shelby to be taken away and have surgery on her neck.
Despite this traumatic past, the only evidence of this abuse was scarring beneath her fur and perhaps an elevated amount of wheezing.
One of my all-time favorite photos of Shelby, taken around 2012
While she was most-identified as a black lab, she also had a coat like a Chesapeake Bay retriever, white toes, and a white chest. As she aged, her dark black coat with hints of brown gave way to a grayed, salt-and-pepper patina.
Regardless of her breed, she was 100% good girl.
Veterinarians estimated her to be two years old when we adopted her in November of 2010, so we placed her birthday on November 8th. That put Shelby just shy of her sixteenth birthday when she passed.
Shelby loved going for walks, chasing other dogs at the dog park, barking at motorcycles, and stealing peanut butter toast and sandwiches from the counter. She was an avid napper, but also enjoyed resting, snoozing, and catching some Zs. Shelby could also regularly be seen in the background of my video calls and under the kitchen table, keeping the floor free of crumbs.
She is survived by her loving family, including her frenemy, Taco (the cat).
In lieu of flowers, please pet your furry friends and give them extra treats (they deserve it).
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