"Wil" is our oldest Border Collie and an excellent worker who is still going strong at 14 years of age.  However, sometimes if he is asked to do something that is not high on his list, he will give you a look like, "....you've got to be kidding!" and then goes back about his business (he is older and wiser now, you know).  He still loves to swim, but his favorite thing is to go fishing with you and keep track of the caught fish and then watch them being released.  He just loves to watch the fish swim off!

    "Sweep", a Border Collie, is one of the best working dogs living here on the farm.  She has a very busy life consisting of rounding up the chickens every night so they can be locked up in their house, and if we need to round up some of the larger hoofed stock, Sweep and two of the other Border Collies will gladly bring them in.  We also have several blind and deaf dogs; we can tell Sweep exactly which dog is needed, by name and she will bring that dog right over.  Some of her favorite things to do are play ball, do agility, and swim.  She loves the water and has a great time swimming in the creek and lake.  You might not believe this, but Sweep is also a TV fanatic!
    She loves Animal Planet and RFDTV. Whenever cattle or sheep come on the screen, she actually touches the screen with her nose and tries to "herd" the animals...it is quite a sight to see!

    "Hank" is the biggest Border Collie.  He can sometimes be a little dog aggressive, but as long as you are with him, he is fine and loves to go on runs through the fields with the rest of the pack.  When we are playing ball in the pasture, he is very fast and is always one of the first to get to the ball.  That is his favorite pass time next to riding in the truck when hay is being thrown out.  On hot summer days, he loves to go swimming, and herding is always very high on his list of favorite activities.  He is just a big sweet boy who loves to give hugs and kisses.

    "Sadie" is a little mix that came here hours before being killed.  She was kept on a short chain in a yard and crated the rest of the time; she had one of the worst animal aggression problems I've ever worked with...very sad! However, Sadie is doing great now and has doubled in size just by bulking up with muscle. You never see her without a toy. She is like a bullet chasing after a ball, one of her favorite things, along with her dog cookies and rawhides. She loves to go with you when you are out on the tractor, or mending fences. She is so cute when she sleeps; most of the time she is on her back with all four feet up in the air.

    "Nathaniel" is an American Cocker Spaniel who is blind and deaf. I don't think any other dog has touched my heart like Nathaniel has. When he first came to the farm I thought to myself, "What have I done?". This little guy was so dirty, matted, and was so full of fight. He had been abused, and I think I can safely say a victim of torture. He would not let you hold him without a fight. He would bite, growl, scratch and scream and try his best get away from you. The vet had to put him under to examine his eyes. We couldn't tell if he was born with an eye condition, or if someone had poked his eyes out. We did find out he was born blind, and deaf. He was teased and beaten for him to have such a violent reaction to the human touch!. He has come such a long way, and will put a smile on your face. He will bark at a stranger, spin at their feet and in a few minutes knowing he will not be harmed will be in their lap. He is a true lap dog, and will go to the toy box find something good, and back to the couch. He has learned to track and he knows his way to the barn to find you. If he gets confused he will stop, sit and wait for someone to come and get him. Another one of his favorite places to be is on the grooming table. He will climb up the steps, get on the table lay down, kick out all four legs, and wait to be brushed. Nathaniel will have to have surgery on his eyes at some point in his life.

"Pooh" is a precocious Jack Russell. He was going to be killed because no one could control him. I find him to be so much fun; he is sure to make you laugh.  He is very good, with the exception of chasing a chicken or two when he just forgets his manners.  He loves to play ball, but isn't a good swimmer, so he stands on the shore and voices his opinion while the other dogs swim. He loves to ride in the truck, and is the first one to run and greet visitors. His main passion is his tennis ball, and he will take it from any of the other dogs in order to bring it back for you to throw again. His day ends with him falling asleep on my pillow.  

    "Hanna" is one of the sweetest Border Collies you could ever meet. She has no idea that she is a working dog. Hanna is a born couch potato who hates to get dirty. She loves to go on walks, as long as you don't dare ask her to go in the lake and get her feet wet and muddy. If she gets overly excited, she does have seizures from time to time, but basically, she just wants to be next to me...I think that is when she is the happiest (that and getting her dog cookies!).

    "White Dog" was brought here by a rescue group. She was taken from a place where she was used for breeding. That is a horrible thought since she is blind and deaf and those faults where being bred into her puppies. I don't think you could find a sweeter lady. She is getting ready to have surgery to remove a few tumors. "White Dog" is a senior lady now, so her time is spent walking around and enjoying the day, finding a soft place to soak up the sun.  Although sleeping is very high on her list, I think eating is her favorite past time of all.

    "Jade Dallas" is a greyhound who came from a racing track on the east coast.  He has adjusted to farm life very well and is a joy to have around.  He is a very kind boy who never uses his speed to chase other animals, but he does take one look at the long driveway and pretends he is back on the track again!       Consequently, when he plays in the creek, he has to be on a long leash, but he really loves to run free in the large fenced-in yards near the house, chasing a ball or just running with the rest of the pack.   On the flip side of all this energy is Jade Dallas' other favorite activity.....sleeping!  Jade will also need dental work in the future. 

    "Dixie" A Great Dane is a very sad case. Dixie is Bailey's sister they both came from a puppy mill in Missouri. The breeder kept all their Danes in a pen together, therefore there wasn't enough food around for all the dogs. Dixie is a very shy dog and wouldn't fight for her share. She had sores all over her very thin body from malnutrition, her nails where so long they turned under. The sadness in her eyes would make me cry, to think of such kind soul to of suffered so much pain. It took over a year for her to come up to a stranger. Dixie would get as far away from humans as physically possible. Now if she approves she will come up to be patted. She still stays to herself most of the time on a very comfy dog bed in the bedroom. I think her favorite things are to bask in the sun and soak up the rays. Then there is food... She seldom wags her tail but, at feeding time she bounces all over the place. Dixie doesn't like to play or swim, or ride in the truck. I think she thinks if she gets in the truck she will be taken away. But, she does like to go for long walks and run in the pasture. Dixie is a very, very, sweet girl!

    "Spike" is our miracle boy!  He was a stray who was hit by a car on a large Missouri interstate.  Good Samaritans pulled him off the highway and state troopers took him to a local veterinarian.  He had multiple fractures of his legs, pelvis, and jaw, in addition to a partially severed tongue and many deep cuts.  After several surgeries, his rear leg had to be amputated.  He was named Spike because of all the pins which had to be inserted, but he has made a full recovery.  Every day he looks at you and just smiles with a "thank you" in his eyes.  He is very energetic and  watching him running and jumping, you would never know he only has three legs.  He is also very vocal and has to be watched for dog-aggression, but with people he is a joy to be around. 

  "Tedi" is a Great Pyrenees who has hip dysphasia. Most of the time she gets along fine, as long as she is on her medications.  Her nickname is "Huggy Bear" because that is just what she is, a big old bear! Louie, an African Gray Parrot is always calling for, "Huggy woof, woof"; I think Tedi is one of Louie's best pals.  Tedi likes to find the highest point on the hill and keep an eye out for any predators. One of her favorite things is to find the softest dog bed in the house and catch a long nap. Of course, she is very fond of her dog cookies, and rawhides too.

    "Knee-Hi" is a red and white Border Collie who thinks she is everyone's mother.  At night she goes from one dog to the next, cleaning faces, making over each of them like a fussy mother.  She loves to run, especially through the woods, and is another dog who thinks swimming, playing ball and riding in the truck are the greatest activities ever.  When she came to the farm as a young dog, she had a mysteriously broken jaw, but she has always been my accident prone dog.  If something is going  to happen, it surely will happen to Knee-High.  If fact, she recently underwent a very serious surgery to repair a large rip under her flank this summer, and had to be confined for about three weeks wearing an L-Collar.  But, as always, she made the best of it, and remained very happy.

Pi is a long haired Dachshund who came from a puppy mill, and when she was no longer producing puppies, she was no longer wanted. 
 
She has been here for several months and the one thing I can say about Pi is, "She is so cute!"  I ask her all the time, "...just how cute are you,?" and she will tell you very fast just how cute she is; she will also tell you when it is feeding time that you just aren't fast enough...
 
However, she does have breathing problems so she isn't very active, but when anyone visits, she is always the one that gets picked up and carried around; she just loves people!
 

Toby is a Jack Russell Beagle mix. He was no longer wanted by his family, and had been passed from home to home. He couldn't find a family that liked him or that he liked, so about a year ago he came to live here.  He absolutely is thriving as a farm dog!
 
He loves everyone and we all think he is very special. Sometimes he thinks he is a Border Collie and helps put the chickens up in the evenings. His favorite activities are swimming and chasing squirrels; he also loves riding in the truck.
 
It's hard to believe it took so long for him to find the right home because he is so sweet and loving and you can't help but smile when you see him sleeping with all four of his feet sticking up in the air.

Sophie is a Jack Russell who came from a puppy mill where she spent 8 or 9 years of her life. The vet that spayed her said her uterus looked like hamburger because of the many litters she was forced to bear.
 
Although she was adopted by a nice family, they just couldn't handle her. After living most of her life un-socialized in a cage, she just didn't have the skills necessary to live with a family.  She was due to be euthanized because no one would come forth to adopt her, so she came to live on the farm about 9 months ago.  Now I'm not saying her adjustment has been easy, but it definitely has been fun!
 
She loves to swim in the creek and that is very good exercise for her since her rear legs are deformed from years of standing on wire. She also loves to go for rides in the truck. She is very shy, but she has become my shadow and loves to jump up onto the back of the couch (it has a window view and she also considers it her napping place).

Sparkle Lee is a boxer mix who has been waiting for over a year to come and live with us on the farm; luckily she spent the previous year in a loving foster home. She was rescued by (LAWS), a group in Leavenworth Kansas dedicated to saving animals from euthanasia. They tried to adopt Sparkle into a family home, but her medical issues arising from only having one kidney were a problem.
 
However, Sparkle is a happy and very well socialized girl who doesn't know an animal or human stranger!   She finds the farm very interesting, but still isn't quite sure of the horses.  She absolutely loves the other dogs, especially Sadie (probably because they both go to sleep thinking about chasing balls).  She has learned to swim, even though she wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but now Sparkle is one of the first to jump in the creek and make a big splash. Although she has only been here a few weeks, I'm sure she is very happy to call The Shannon Foundation home.
 

Abby II is a Chow mix who came to live on the farm because her loving family could no longer care for her due to her severe medical problems.  We ran many tests, and with the help of Dr. Bruce, we have been able to keep her thriving for the year she has been here. Since her liver has started to repair itself, you would have a hard time telling she has any health issues.
 
Although she loves to be a farm dog, she has never really warmed up to any of the other dogs, however, she has fallen in love with a Llama named Meryln!  She doesn't want him out of her sight, and I think Merlyn feels the same about her since he will lay down right next to her.  Also, Abby's family, even though they live in another state, still drive many hours to spend the day with her.