Shiprock's Folly

At times I feel as if I am Shiprock's folly. Shiprock is my Navajo mixed breed friendotherwise known as Ship, Shipper, Rocker, Rock, Shipwreck, Shadrack, Slickrock, and on occasion, Sheetrock. I've been his experiment, his successful experiment, to his amusement and to my ultimate benefit. This is his blog.

Like most "best friends", Shipper came into my life unexpectedly. A native of the Navajo Nation, hearrived quite dramatically into my life. Found on highway 491 just outside of Shiprock New Mexico just before Thanksgiving, 1999, Shiprock was an estimated six months old, emaciated, and paralyzed with infection. My dear friend Steve, who loves dogs more than people, picked Shiprock out of the gutter, despite being deathly allergic to dogs, and brought him to Telluride.

Ship had an injury which opened the underside of his jaw exposing the inside of his mouth, rendering him incapable of swallowing water before it came dribbling out from his chin. The infection was so pungent that he was relegated to the garage and I slept out there with him for three days to keep him from crying… his first successful experiment realized. With the compassionate and capable treatment of Lisa Malloy, Shiprock would survive to become the KOTO Dog Trick winner of 2001, and a contestant for “Dogs are People Too”.

Little did Shiprock know, that this was the day he won the lottery. He entered into dog heaven. He reached the Promised Land. This is exactly what Telluride is – a dog (gone) paradise. Little did I know, that Shiprock would at a minimum save me from a possible lonely lethargic existence, and deliver me to a place where I too can sometimes truly appreciate the paradise that is Telluride. How could I know that Shiprock’s Folly would keep me sane, healthy and alive?