Bailey is a good dog.  He gets a bad rep mostly because he is misunderstood.  Bailey was the 2001 Christmas puppy and everyone loved him.   He ran away a couple months later, my parents thinking that they should replace Baiely took me to get another “replacement” golden retriever from our amish friends.  I named him Shadow.   The following day after replacing Bailey,  we received a call from a neighbor telling us she had found our puppy.  Now instead of one golden, we were blessed with two golden retriever puppies.

For the first few months (2002) Bailey and Shadow were the best of friends.  They would run, play, probably hug.  But then the testosterone kicked in.  They quickly became enemies.  To the point where they could not be in the same room without growling every second.

Fast forward seven years.  Its January 2009, not much has changed. We still play musical dogs on a daily basis.  Shadow and Bailey cant be in the same room together.  Bailey lost the battle over time.  Since he was my dog and I was gone for a few semesters at school unable to take him with me, he was cast outdoors (brought in at night to sleep) but for the most part Bailey was shunned from Ashworth society.  Shadow over time developed a close bond to my father, who now follows him around the house (like his shadow).

You would think that we would have chopped off their manhood by now. I mean it would make sense.  But in my family, we like to do everything the hard way.

Bailey is way more fun than Shadow.  He chases his tail, jumps, can turn his head upside down when balancing on his back legs, makes a ridiculous breathing sound, has huge paws like a tiger. We call him circus dog. Shadow is his complete opposite.  He will lay still for hours without moving, when you pet him he wont make one sudden jerk, never gets excited or shows emotion unless Bailey is in the room or my father has left him alone.

So there you have it, thats my take on the Bailey v. Shadow feud.  If you ask me, Bailey always gets the short end of the stick. He never gets to sit at the dinner table like Shadow does.   He never gets to stay in the family company during the day like Shadow does, he’s always kicked out the door or shoved in my room.  He never gets to eat indoors, always eats his food outside.  Its doggy discrimination I tell you.  Should have returned Shadow to the amish when i had the chance.