The Story of Shadow and Angel

In 2003 when Jeff moved to Los Angeles, he and his buddies moved into this large house where another kid about his age was already living. It was his family home, he had grown up in the house but his parents had separated and each had left town and he stayed in the house and rented out rooms to these boys. His parents had left rather suddenly I think because they left all their furniture, 2 dogs and a bird. Then the kid moved out leaving Jefff and his roommates with these pets. There was Shadow, a large german shepherd. A very playful solid black dog. He looked scary but he was sweet and loved to play ball all the time. He never tired of playing with his ball.

He probably weighed about 80 lbs. He was huge. Then there was Angel, she was a german shepherd mix and she looked almost like a wolf or a coyote. She was smaller than Shadow and a shy, quiet dog who just seemed to "tolerate" Shadow. Then there was the bird. He was a cockateal and he stayed in a cage outside all the time. The temperature in Southern California is always nice, and he was covered by a little porch in his cage if it rained. After a couple of years, someone left the cage door open and the bird flew away...never to be seen again!!!

Jeff lived in that house for about 5 years. The owner finally came forward and announced that he was going to sell the house. By this time, the house really felt like home to Jeff and his buddies. They were going to have to do something with these dogs. At this house, there was a huge yard and they were both outside dogs. They kept an old sofa in a covered breezeway kinda thing and the dogs slept on that old sofa, rarely coming in the house. There was no way Jeff would abandon the dogs. He was determined to take care of them.

Jeff felt like he could probably handle Angel in an apartment, but there was no way Shadow could live in an apartment. He was just too wild and rambunctious!! After much searching, Jeff found a german shepherd rescue place that agreed to take Shadow. What a relief!! After about 2 weeks, they notified him that they had found home for Shadow. Jeff moved into an apartment with his friend and Angel. That was about 2 years ago. They now live in an upstairs apartment and Angel is a big problem. She is old and has arthritis and can't go up and down the stairs very well at all. In fact, sometimes she can't even stand up by herself. Jeff will stand her up and carry her downstairs so she can go to the bathroom. She can't be left alone because she tries to go to the bathroom and makes a huge mess. Jeff said that he is bathing her every single day. I have been telling Jeff that it is time to simply put Angel down. We don't know how old she is but she has to be really old. It is hard for Jeff to let go. Hard for him to have her put down. I have been telling him it is time to do it for several months. The situation has gotten so desperate that Jeff has called every rescue place in Los Angeles, trying to find someone that could take care of Angel. When they find out her condition, the answer is always the same....put her down!! Finally, one place agreed to come see Angel and take a pic of her and see if they could place her. When the very compassionate lady saw Angel, she said the same thing to Jeff. You have to put her down. She guessed that Angel was at least 15 years old. She isn't very responsive to people at this point and her nature is to be shy anyway. As hard as this is, Jeff has made an appointment with a vet to have Angle euthanized on Friday, tomorrow!!

Jeff is spending these last days with her, petting her and giving her treats.

We can always say "death is a part of life", but when it comes time to let someone go, it is very difficult and hard to realize that it is the best thing for them!! RIP ANGEL...

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