Shiner arrived on the scene in February of 1990, when Rebel retired. His arrival into our lives was unique in that I didn't have to go to Leader Dog to get him. Art Fleming, one of the Leader Dog trainers, brought Shiner out to me here, and worked with us here for a week. That process was interesting by itself, since under normal circumstances people learn to use their new dogs in a class of around 20 students or so, and in a strange environment. This was where we lived and worked, and was the three of us working by ourselves.
Shiner was a hit from the start. He was extremely calm and well mannered. Especially at the start, he gave the impression of watching everything calmly, and not passing judgment on anything until he'd had time to see what was going to happen. In the beginning, I think he wasn't sure what to make of us. All of a sudden, here he was, in this strange house, with these wierd people. He wagged at us, but slowly at first. This changed in a hurry.
I have to say here that Shiner was my best dog so far. He was incredibly well behaved and rarely did anything to warrant the "BAD DOG" scolding. Part of this was that I was older and more mature when I got Shiner, and that maturity helped me to disipline and control him.
We had loads of very good times with Shiner. He worked very well, and rarely made mistakes. He, like Otto, was a purebred Lab. We think that he might have had a trace of Golden Retriever in his heritage a few generations back, because his fur was much softer than other Labs, and his tail had a little of the feathering that Goldens have.
One of the funniest stories about Shiner had to do with our cat, Digit. They got along great, but sometimes Digit got a little enthusiastic about playing with Shiner. Shiner retired to Sharon and Ted's in January of 1993 where he is spending his remaining years being spoiled and living a dog's life.
Sadly, Shiner passed away suddenly on April 30, 1998. He apparently had some liver problems, and it was discovered after he died that he had a large tumor on his spleen that probably contributed to his death. He died in his sleep, and he didn't seem to be suffering. We will all miss him very much.