PIPER'S Page
Hello, I'm Piper Erlandson. Thanks for stopping by my new page.
I'm a poster boy for Sheltie Rescue and we can really use your help.
I’m only 18 months old but I’ve had a
pretty adventurous life so far. I was only about ten weeks old when I was
bought by a family who live near Washington
from the Jade Mist sheltie kennel where I was born, in Davidsonville, MD.
However, here's a great snapshot of my mom, Legend's Barline Summer Girl.
She's beautiful, isn't she, a real showgirl.
I couldn't make it in showbiz, however. I flunked my physical, but I fooled them in the end.
When my first family took me to the vet to be "fixed" they discovered that my second one
had descended and I was all boy. Unfortunately that didn't last, so they took both of them off.
So now I just have to bear up under the strain of being nothing more than an object of adoration.
Life can tough sometimes!
I don't have any baby pictures because after I lived with the family for a year
they decided that they didn’t want me any more. Lucky for me, they didn’t just
dump me
out in the street or off in the country somewhere.
They were good enough to take me to Carol Guth, the nice lady who runs Sheltie
Haven-Sheltie Rescue in Adamstown, MD, near Frederick, in January, 2004.
It was there that my new family found me, on March 21. It was
mutual, love at first sight. They tell me every day how lucky they are
that I’ve come to live with them. They tell me that God and
Mr. Laddie, who died just one month earlier, worked that out together.
I try very hard to be a good boy. I’ve been to obedience class – the first in
the family
to win a diploma. I’ve learned to “sit” and "stay" on command; it was easy.
My dad tells me that I am so smart.
Yo, Mrs. Robinson, look at me!
Cuddle Bug and Kissy Face
My dad calls me "cuddle bug" a lot, too, because I sit on his lap to watch TV.
He scoops me up for hugs and kisses [and treats] all the time and he gets up
very early to take
me outside for the necessities so I won’t have any more accidents in the house.
After breakfast
we take our first walk. I've gotten to meet lots of new dogs and their people.
We walk a lot and my dad
says I have given him more exercise than he has had in years. That’s good
because I want
to be with him for a long time.
He calls me Dr. Piper because he says I have healed a terrible wound in his
heart that
opened when Mr.Laddie died. I'm so glad that I could help him.
When the pet cemetery called to tell us that Laddie's grave marker had been
installed, dad and I went to inspect it. He played the bagpipes and I paid my
respects
to my predecessor, the Sheltie God.
It was a very emotional moment because I know how much my dad loved
Mr. Laddie and how they miss each other. But I'm making my own place in dad's
heart
and he says I'm his new little baby. I know that I have very big paw prints to
fill.
I'm Resting
This is one of my pillows, a going-away present from Ms. Guth
I decided recently that I should sleep with mom and dad, instead
of spending just a few minutes on their bed before I go to my own bed.
Dad put me in my bed but I hopped back on theirs, twice.
Okay, they said, you can stay. So I did.
I even bring my toys, just in case they say "play."
Sometimes I just like to catch a few ZZZZS when the
old folks are watching TV. Nice of them to give me a
new bed upstairs.
You understand, of course, that I will never be a spoiled dog, BUT
It's Good To Be The King
My dad says I'm sweet enough to melt, so he makes me
wear this stupid raincoat. But the snow tastes good, even though he
keeps telling me to make yellow snow, not eat it.
We've had a hot, hot summer
so what's a guy to do when he wants a cool drink?
Who said dog hydrants only had one use?
**********
Carol Howell held a Festivus Sheltius, called the Shetland Sheepdog Jamboree,
at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis and invited Dad and me. There were about 70
shelties there, all from Jade Mist Kennel. We had a great time running and playing.
There were lots of treats and whatever I could grab under the table.
My brother was supposed to attend but his family was involved in rescue work
in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. Maybe he and some of my three sisters will
show up next year.
So there you have my story for now. If something interesting happens I will be
sure to
tell you all about it.
One neat thing did happen. Dad decided that I should be immortalized on canvas so he had my portrait painted to hang in the living room. It's a pretty good likeness I think.
Meanwhile, there are always other shelties who are looking for new
homes with good people who will love and care for them.
If you are looking for a beautiful, intelligent, loving dog and are willing
to return that
commitment to the dog, you will never do better than by adding a Shetland
Sheepdog to your family.
It could be the very best thing you ever do.
There are Sheltie Rescue Sites all across the country, four of them in
Maryland.
Here are computer links to them:
http://www.geocities.com/sheltie_haven/ Adamstown, MD
http://www.ncsr-md.org/ (Northern Chesapeake Sheltie Rescue)
http://www.sscgb.org/ (Greater Baltimore Sheltie Rescue)
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Park/7485/ (Southern Maryland)
These links reach regional and national Sheltie Rescue sites:
http://www.geocities.com/thesheltiepage/roster.html
http://members.aol.com/nataw/rescue.html (Central Illinois)
Your Sheltie is no ordinary dog; inside that
perfect little body beats the heart of:
Scotland's Littlest Warrior
The Shetland Sheepdog
He is your friend, your
partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
-unknown -
*****************
It is said that you can measure the worth of a human by the
look in the eyes of his dog. If only all of us could be the people
our dogs think we are.
"You look at me with eyes of love;
You never hold a grudge...
You think I'm far too wonderful
To Criticize or Judge.
"Eyes of Love," the Danbury Mint
Mr. Laddie, The Sheltie God
http://www.boberl.com/boberl/index.htm/mrladdie.html
Sheltie background courtesy of Natalie, Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue
"Piper's Waltz" courtesy of Bagpipes At Best
Last revised 29 Sept 2005