Honor the Elderbulls: They'd do it for you...

Shania. Age 12. Lives in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Nicknames = Poops McGavin, Pooper Troops, Niah, and Shizzy. Has also lived in Arkansas and New Mexico. Likes playing dress up, sun bathing, mani-pedis, rolling in stinky things, going for walks, fetching sticks in the water, sleeping with 3 year old Savannah, wrestling with her BDF (best doggy friend) Memphis, car rides, sleeping in, and being with her family. Shania is growing old gracefully with a family that includes: two adults, one 3-year-old girl; two other Elderbulls (UNO and Memphis), an elderheeler (Bella), a ninja cat (Sushi), and 10 backyard laying hens of whom Shania has been known to share a snack with.

The family is expecting a second baby due on Shania’s 13th birthday in June. Shania’s mom writes:

“If there has ever been an animal that has changed my life and the way I use to view the world according to stereotypes, it’s Shania. Abandoned at an animal clinic I worked at when she was about 5 months old, no one would take her home because they were afraid of her breed. For a month and a half she lived in the kennel area of the clinic until Christmas Eve of 1999, I took her home to spend Christmas with her. The greatest gift I received that year was my parents agreeing that this was the dog for our family and allowing her to stay. I didn’t know anything about pit bulls but I committed to learning what I could about them so I could prove popular opinion wrong.

I’ve never gotten it all right with Shania but we have been right for each other from the beginning. Her presence has encouraged me, helped me get over heart breaks, patiently waited as I finished college, stood with me on my wedding day, and now shares her wise old dog heart with a 3-year-old little girl. I tell her all the time that she has to live forever because I don’t know who I will be without her. In a way, she’s my soul-mate. In the words of Willie Nelson, she’s my angel that flew too close to the ground. She’s the epitomy of aging gracefully: always enjoying today and never wishing for more tomorrow.”