Posted on 08/28/2015 1:26:13 PM PDT by blueunicorn6
I have seen some nice statues. I have seen the Abraham Lincoln statue in Washington, D.C. I have seen the "Follow Me!" statue at Fort Benning, Georgia. My favorite statue of all is much smaller than these two statues. My favorite statue is "Old Shep" at Fort Benton, Montana.
It is a bronze statue of a dog. Old Shep wasn't a champion show dog. I guess you could call him a "Heinz 57" breed. He was a bigger dog as was common for a shepherd's dog on the high-plains desert of Montana in the 1930s. His job was helping his shepherd, and sometimes that meant mixing it up with coyotes. And coyotes are dirty fighters. It would be smart to have a dog that was big enough to take on them rascals. My guess is that Old Shep could whip more than his weight in coyotes.
It was not an easy job taking care of sheep on the plains of Montana in the 1930s. Besides coyotes, you faced a climate that was deadly. Flash floods and lightning and the wind. The constant wind.
But man had dog, and dog had man. They were a team. A team against everything that nature could throw at them and the sheep they watched over.
But, one day, the man side of the team got sick. The shepherd became ill and went to town for medical aid.
He died there a few days later.
No one was sure when the dog-half of the team came to Fort Benton. They noticed Old Shep pacing back-and-forth by the train when they loaded the casket containing the shepherd onto the train. The body of the shepherd was going back East to be received by his kin.
Old Shep watched his partner leave.
And he waited there for years for him to come back.
Now, he didn't wait there because the shepherd had given him an easy life. Old Shep had few comforts on the great, wide prairie. It was work, and damn hard work. No days off and the grub wasn't what you would call "fancy".
But Old Shep had what he needed, and what he needed was somebody who needed him.
That's why he greeted the four trains that stopped daily at Fort Benton. He was loyal to the man. He was loyal to HIS man. Some tried to adopt him. Old Shep was famous, you know. But Old Shep was loyal to his man. He waited under the train station. If you see the movie clips of him, you'll see that like all of us, he looked worn-out as he got old.
I'll leave it to you to go to Fort Benton and read more about Old Shep. I can't believe that they had that Richard Gere movie about a Japanese dog when we have Old Shep right here in our country. I guess Richard Gere wouldn't look as good dressed up like a sheep herder.
Old Shep is my favorite statue. During the hard times of the 1930s, a dog captured the hearts of our nation and taught us a valuable lesson in loyalty.
Dogs rule.
Yes they do!!!
Beautiful story. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Thanks for posting.
Hachi was a kinder, gentler version of Old Shep...and still a heartbreaker.
A good, or great, loyal dog story will tear out your heart no matter which bad actor participates in the telling...
Just saying...
My 18 year old red heeler has not left my side one minute of one day or night for 17 years except for two of my hospital stays. She wouldn’t eat, drink, or sleep until I got home to recover.
I had never heard of this dog. I am glad he got his own statue as it is fitting!
Have a good time!
I have four, and long story/short, they kept me from eating a bullet.
People ask me what kind the are... I say they are dam good ones.
BigBoy, a blonde husky/lab mix with a fancy pink nose.
LittleBoy, lab mix... dang fool.
BabyGirl, BigBoy’s sister... her purdy.
Mr Fred, fat beagle.
Woof!
Then you've probably seen this:
The only reason I’m taking Bowser is because the Wedding is 3 hours away on the lake Michigan shore and I’m not sure I’ll be home till the next morning.
Ours was in a park in Madison WI. Then the reception at the family farm in Sun Prarie.
Some of those are true.
Definitely a big dog in a small body. Mine gets along well with other dogs. He comes when I call which is the only obedience I’ve required of him.
I have one. Photo of him on my homepage here. I get asked all the time what kind of dog is he? I say I don’t know, he won’t tell me.
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