Dogs are a girls' best friend

Megan Keany
November 25, 2008
Dogs are a girls’ best friend

There is a saying that dog is man’s best friend, and Shanah Fahey is a true believer of that.
When Shanah was 20 years old, she was visiting her friend Brittany in Richmond for a weekend of summer fun. She had really wanted a puppy and when she found out she was living in an apartment for her junior year of college, she had an even bigger motive.
“I’m a very impulsive person. When I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it… which can be good and can be bad,” says Shanah.
With her long blonde hair and acrylic nails, Shanah looks like she belongs in Los Angeles at the Playboy Mansion, but she is actually aspiring to go to law school and currently has a job working for a senator in Virginia.
Shanah is a charitable person and always helps others in need, so it is no surprise that she went to the SPCA in Richmond to look for a dog to adopt. Her childhood friend Brittany joined her on the search. As they walked through the putrid hallways lined with cages they saw many dogs, looking miserable as if they were in an orphanage or jail.
The animal shelter was deafening from the loud barks of the dogs. “You just feel so bad for them and their living conditions. My heart ached for all of them and I wish that I could’ve taken all the animals home that day,” Shanah recalls.
She could only choose one dog and when Shanah got to Adyson’s cage, she remembers her sweet eyes and beautiful golden coat. Adyson was 3 months old and in Shanah’s opinion, the cutest dog in the shelter.
“It was love at first sight,” Shanah says.
Although she had wanted a dog, buying Adyson was a spur of the moment thing. “My mom and dad weren’t very happy and cut me of financially for a few weeks,” Shanah says.
Now, 3 years later Shanah’s parents love the 60 pound German Shepard, lab mix and refer to her as their “grand-dog.” Shanah believes that if Adyson could speak she would call them “Mimi” and “Popi.”
Shanah’s parents not only love Adyson, but are grateful because the dog saved Shanah and her boyfriends’ lives last year from a fire.
On October 8, 2007 Shanah was living in an apartment with her boyfriend James and Adyson when at 4:30 a.m. the dog jumped on the bed and woke the couple up.
“It was very unusual because Adyson was potty-trained and I wondered what she could possibly want so early in the morning,” Shanah says of the incident.
Shanah tried to quiet Adyson but to no avail. She walked from the bedroom into the living room and saw that their sliding glass door which connected to a porch was glowing an eerie orange and red color.
“My stomach dropped and I ran in the room to get my boyfriend James,” Shanah says.
The couple and Adyson exited the apartment just in time. Moments after they got out, the glass door imploded and their apartment burned to the ground. The couple lost everything.
Shanah and James feel as though Adyson had an instinct that something was wrong.
“She saved our lives,” Shanah says.
If Adyson hadn’t woken Shanah and James on that early fall morning, who knows what would’ve happened. “It was scary because the fire started on the porch outside, so no alarms went off,” Shanah says.
Although Shanah used to have nightmares from the fire and slept with a nightlight, she isn’t scared anymore, but says that Adyson is.
“My sister lit a candle the other day you could tell Adyson was nervous. It is so sad because she is so innocent and doesn’t know.”
The bond between Adyson and Shanah has become closer because of the fire and Shanah says her favorite part of having Adyson, who she commonly refers to as “Addypoo,” is that she loves her unconditionally and sleeps with her at night which makes Shanah feel safe.
Whenever Shanah is sad, Adyson will sit on her lap and lick her face.
“She is my best friend. I tell her everything and she tells me everything too, like when she warned me about the fire. I am so glad to have Adyson in my life.”
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