An up close and personal with Joe Ozier the author of "Shea's Lounge"

What can I say about Shea, the runaway? 

I was lucky enough to have Shea for 10 years, and she absolutely lived a good life.  I took her and Shep on my sit on top kayak, through some of Florida's most pristine waterways and some rivers with water so clean you could drink right out of it…seriously.  Shea got to live the theater life alongside Shep, the wonder dog.  At first, Shea and Shep ignored each other, and occasionally growled at each other, but Shea just kept escaping and giving me a clear sign she wanted to be somewhere else.  

I had the option of returning her within a month, and I was only three days away from that possibility.  In the months after I decided to keep her, Shea’s attention to all of the details on the wind became less and less, and into more of howling ghosts she had rather forget.  I saw her face change from happy to terrified to curious and nerve racking…I even watched her begin shivering and I was facing a dilemma because I wanted to give her comfort but I also had the curious scientist side who wanted to observe nature in the raw.  

Her thoughts were so interesting to watch as her ears and face and head tilted as if she was taking dictation from the wind, and there were many times I stared at her without her noticing, and watched her eyes dash and her ears twitch to even the farthest off sounds.  She was a master listener, unlike Shep, she could understand a calm assertive voice and she learned quickly.  She wouldn't get distracted to the point of annoyance during lessons and rehearsals I had arranged for her and Shep prior to their live audience shows.  Shea learned to be a performer and to listen and respond on cue, but Shep was keen at his commands and rarely diverted his routine within the 16- 22 performances any play or musical might run over a 3-4 week span.  I could actually see Shea pumping herself up for the audience, whining to get out and begin her shows.  Shep never really swayed much, but when he did… it was big.

Shea was always fairly present and responded to my commands. I tested her everywhere I took my dogs, Shep had gone through the drill years earlier.  I always had them off leash and yet firmly on my voice leash or what I call my extended leash, that can go as far as the dog can either see or hear me.  I had that opportunity to test in Florida because after rowing across the inter-coastal waterway from my home, I would take my dogs to a barrier island named Midnight Pass that had miles of beaches in both directions, and very few people in a mile in each direction.  I found out that Shep is quite the beach comber and having called out to him for many times to come back, Shep just kept smelling the dead fish and sometimes eating them too and continuing his lumbering adventure across the sand and the surf.  Shea in turn, would be following along with Shep and when she heard me, she would stop and sit and listen, then she saw my wave and ran back to me, trotting along in her majestic manner, never breaking out into a full on run that I saw, but Shep just kept going farther away and walking over to any of the  people’s blanket and hunted around in the bags for something to eat, and basically stomping on everything.