Shorty Stanton

  Shorty Stanton passed away yesterday morning and we are all feeling so sad for the loss and so sorry for Bah-Bah.  My dad has always been a lover of animals.  I often tell the twins that when I was a kid, we had a HUGE array of animals that Bah-Bah took care of:  cows, chickens, roosters, rabbits, a lamb, pigs, dogs and cats, a pony, and even wild turkeys!  My mother was NOT a fan of all of these animals but my dad just loved it.  I can remember one dog in particular from my childhood that my dad simply adored.  His name was John and went everywhere with my dad.

 After my mom died, my dad thought it might be good for him to have a dog as a companion.  A neighbor told my dad about Shorty and I think it was love at first sight.  Shorty NEVER left my dad's side.  The few times I convinced my dad to go somewhere with us for an extended stay, we had to have a baby-sitter for Shorty because my dad could not bring himself to put him in his cage.  Shorty rode a lot of miles with my dad in his truck.  Wherever you saw my dad, you saw Shorty.

 Shorty even slept with my dad.  My dad lovingly tells the story that Shorty always knew when it was bedtime as he would start to make his way out to the bedroom.  My dad even had a little staircase built for Shorty to run up into the bed on.  Shorty would fuss about for a little bit and when he was finally satisfied, would flop down and go right to sleep.

 Shorty definitely helped my dad during these last 6 years after losing my mom.  He was an amazing dog that was just the right fit for man like my father.  He was my dad's "Little Boy" and will be sorely missed.