Shep (American dog)

Shep was the name given to a herding dog that appeared at the Great Northern Railroad station one day in 1936 in Fort Benton, Montana. The dog first appeared at the station when a casket was being loaded on a train heading to the eastern USA. When the train left, the dog kept coming back to the station for every incoming train after that.

It took station employees some time to realize that the body in the casket was probably Shep's master, and Shep was showing up for each incoming train to see if his master would be getting off. [cite news |author=Miniclier, Kit |title=Faithful dog Shep honored in rites 50 years after death |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DP&p_theme=dp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB1DA896D99ADF5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |work=The Denver Post |publisher=Newsbank |date=January 15, 1992 |pages=1B] The station employees took care of Shep and he lived in and around the station, becoming well-known to everyone who passed through.

A few years into his time at the station, Shep and his story was featured in "Ripley's Believe It or Not!".cite book |last=Shirley |first=Gayle C. |title=Amazing Animals of Montana |year= |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=0762738553 |pages=43-44 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=nxW7OBJqBh4C&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=%22Shep%22+%22Ripley%27s%22+%22Believe+it+or+not%22&source=web&ots=JzsPDwa0IR&sig=6eCcGDGgFc_NLARC86ZFbaQyhU4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result#PPA44,M1]

Shep kept this daily vigil for almost six years until his death on January 12, 1942 when he was run over by the next train he was waiting for. It is believed that his front paws were on one of the rails and he simply did not hear the train until it was too late, and he slipped on ice. The train's engineer could not stop the train in time.

A few days later, Shep's funeral was attended by nearly everyone in Fort Benton. "Eulogy on the Dog", though written for another dog, was read at the funeral. His grave was placed on a hillside overlooking the town, where it remains to this day.

A bronze sculpture of Shep, with his front paws on a rail, was unveiled in Fort Benton in 1994. [cite news |author=Koehler, Darrel |title=MONTANA MONUMENT RECOUNTS STORY OF FAITHFUL SHEEP DOG'S VIGIL |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=GF&s_site=grandforks&p_multi=GF&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EE780CEF7EE981A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |work=Grand Forks Herald |publisher=Newsbank |date=April 22, 1998 |pages=5 ] [cite news |author=Buyer, Bob |title=Montana -- Dogged Devotion Crowns A Town's `Levee Of Fame' |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19941225&slug=1949195 |work=The Seattle Times |date=December 25, 1994 |accessdate=2008-10-07]

References

External links

* [http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/4367 Forever Faithful]
* [http://www.milwinkennel.com/poems/FaithfulFriend.htm Eulogy on the Dog]
* [http://www.fortbenton.com/shep/index.htm The Story of Shep]