OK......when did this happen Mona??!!! WHERE have I been that I did'nt know you got a new Boxer pup??!!! She's beautiful! I'll bet her, Shimmer and Molly will have a blast together!! I can't give any advice on the ears...all my Boxers and Cane Corso have all had their floppy, natural ears.
Hi Cheyenne. Thanks for your compliments, but sadly, Shimmer went to live in a new home early this summer. I will copy/paste an email I sent to someone else today that asked about Shimmer too, wondering what happened to her. Hopefully it will explain to all reading, what happened with her. Also, those reading this, "Amber" is mentioned....Amber was a beautiful Anatolian Shepherd that we bought and again, we sold her to someone on a HUGE acreage to protect their cattle, where she was later killed by a pack of wolves doing her job that she was bred to do.
What happened with Shimmer...long story made as short as possible, we sold her to a nice couple out in the country with another Boxer. They will be companions for each other.
The timing was just all wrong when we got Shimmer, and things just fell into place differently than we could ever have imagined. As you know, when we got Shimmer, we already had Amber here. Amber (before we got Shimmer) had a hard time staying in the pasture with the horses until she got hung upside down in the fence and then she never left her pasture all Winter. When we brought Shimmer home the following Spring, being a puppy, Shimmer LOVED to go and play with Amber. So much so, that I think she made a stronger bond with Amber than he did with us. Then together, they started to wander...since Shimmer was smaller, she was able to easily find the low spots in the fencing, and sure enough, she would take Amber along. When Amber started wandering away again (even without Shimmer) we decided we would sell her, and that is the home she went to when she died doing her job. Yes, that was very hard for me to learn of her death. Even though she had been gone so long, it seemed like she was still "mine", and I mourned for her as I did my others when they died. Anyway, by that time, Shimmer was already older and I guess was kind of set in her ways, wanting to be out in the pasture all the time. BUT, now with Amber gone, she had no one to play with, so she would torment the horses, inviting them to play. I would see her jumping up at them...at their faces, their neck and their tail docks. There could be none of that, so she then had to live a life being tied up, and I HATE that. I hated that she could not do chores with me, as that is why I like a big dog, to be at my side. We hoped as she grew older and didn't have the winter to bother the horses (because it is so cold here that she couldn't be out as long) that maybe she would outgrow it over winter and forget about wanting to play with them, but once Spring came and the new foals, she chased them like crazy and would not let up. I was actually in the barn cleaning when my Mom hollered out to me and told me! I KNOW that is what she does, as I too had seen it often, but you keep hoping things will change. I just couldn't take the chance that she would do harm to them, so decided it was time to start looking for a home for her. We had several inquiries, and I narrowed it down to two families. I interviewed both, had them meet Shimmer to see how they all interacted with each other, and elected the one I felt would work best for Shimmer. I know each would have given her a great home, but when I decided, I just felt that this home would be the best home for Shimmer. I know how she loved to have a companion to play with and room to run, and these people already owned one Boxer, had past Boxer experience, and had lots of room in the country! I have never felt so lost. I cried and cried for days...it was all I could think about. It made be physically sick to my stomach. It is always so hard when you "lose" a dog...have to have one put to sleep, almost seemed harder to deal with in a way, as I knew my "perfect" girl was "out there" and I couldn't have her!
Even the first while after we got Abby, I still cried for giving up Shimmer. It was definately a HARD thing to do, but I do feel it was the best thing to do.
She is weighing in at right around 40 pounds, and she should be a good sized girl by the time all is said and done.
