LIVING HER BEST DOG’S LIFE

     Six years ago I saw an add for a female English Bulldog for sale. We had lost our beloved bulldog, Baby Girl, a few months before so I made the call. Two hours later I was way down in the Southern Ohio hills trying to find the farm house with the dog for sale.

     When I finally pulled back the lane I saw this sad, wet, shivering bulldog tied to a stake in the yard. It was November, windy as all get out and the rain was blowing sideways.  After I paid them, cash money as they requested, and was leaving with my new bully, the man called out to me and said her name was Elvira.

     I turned the heater on high and drove home with one hand clinching the steering wheel and the other hand gently rubbing Elvira’s belly as she shivered on the seat beside me. I got her home, got her fed and bathed and blew her dry with my hair dryer. It didn’t take long for her to settle down and fit in and love her new home. 

     But there was just one problem…that name. It just didn’t fit a bulldog. Stan and I tried every name we could think of. Ellie Mae. Daisy Mae, Suzie Q. Winny. Minny. Lu-Lu. Roxy Belle. And the list just went on and on for days. We would try them on her but she never even gave a crack of her eye in interest.

     Then one day Stan was watching the Girls College Basketball Tournament on TV and the announcer called out, “Basket by Shonie Shimmel.” And to our surprise, Elvira jumped up and danced around. All game long every time the announcer would say that name, our girl would get up and dance. And so there it was, She picked her new name…Shonie Shimmel.

     I remember telling our granddaughter, Maddie, what we had named the dog and she said, “What? Why that maw maw?” So I told her the story of the basketball game and how she had picked out her own name. I few days later Maddie called us all excited to tell us Shonie Shimmel was on TV again. We all got a good laugh out of that.

     Shonie has been with us for just over six years now. She is our baby girl and Freeddie’s best friend and partner in crime. They are both spoiled beyond belief. As you can see from the picture…Shonie is living her best dog’s life.