For those of you who follow the Narnia Chronicles you may recall a little lady who at the time was 10 month old. She was a cutie patootie Australian Cattle dog…who went by the name of…PENNY.

Which bring to mind the all too familiar greeting:

Now all these months later, it’s beyond fantastic to introduce you to this weeks Pet of the Week…

Sheldon Collins Dornak.

Are you ready? Get set, here he is.

Perfection.

Dog Name: Sheldon

Guardian’s Name: Kevin Collins and Jason Dornink

Dog Age: 1 year old

Dog Breed: Australian Shepard Mix

Siblings: I had an older sister Silky, a husky that died before I came to live with Kevin and Jason.

Classes attended/attending: Beginning Obedience

Rescue or Shelter Name My Guardians found me at: Hinsdale Humane Society

1. How I picked my family: They came to the humane society and we saw each other, however another family was interested in me, but I convinced the adoption counselors to talk that family out of adopting me so that I could go with Kevin and Jason.

This was the day I first met Kevin and Jason. They took me for a walk after they told the adoption counselor to start the paperwork.

2. When I grow up I want to be : a magician, I have been practicing my escape tricks and they are getting really good.

3. If you asked my family they would say I am: Challenging, yet adorable

Relaxing with Kevin before he has to
leave for work, or I’m trying to keep him
home.

4. My nickname is: Houdini because I escaped out of my crate twice and also broke out of the basement while my dad’s were at work.

I do not like be left home alone and when
I couldn’t escape my crate I pushed the
tray out so my paws would go to the
floor, so I could move around the room.

5. I look really cute when I: cuddle up with either one of my daddies.

6. The biggest mess I ever made was: When Kevin and Jason came home from a Super Bowl party. I had a couch cushion torn up throughout the house, I chewed on a picture frame, left a remote control in pieces, and pulled parts of the plants apart.

7. The first thing I ate I wasn’t supposed to: a back scratcher made of wood.

Relaxing with Jason on a Lazy Saturday
afternoon.

Don’t even think about taking my toy

8. The one time I was a hero was: When I came to live with Kevin and Jason, because they were really sad at the loss of my big sister Silky, a husky, that I never got to meet.

This is my other spot when I’m not sleeping on the ottoman.

9. The reason I love coming to Narnia for classes is: The trainers have the best treats, better than what I get at home.

10. I am really good at: Escaping out of my crate or opening the basement door.

11. I am sometimes afraid of: Being left alone, Kevin and Jason are the fifth place I have lived including the shelter and I am only a little over a year old.

Hanging on the couch with Jason

12. The one thing I can’t resist is: picture frames or remote controls.

13. My toughest challenge so far has been: understanding why every other dog won’t play with me.

This is right after I got to my new home
after going to the vet.

14. If I spoke my voice would sound just like (name of person) Jim Parsons and the first thing I would say is:

Working on my Dos Equis Pose.

My favorite place to sleep is: On the ottoman.

My favorite holiday is: Anyone that will allow people to come around and pet me.

My best friend is: Kevin and Jason

Yes? Do you want something?

My favorite treat: The ones the trainers have at Narnia

My favorite toy: It’s a toss between my rope bone and my squeaky chicken

My favorite television show is: The Big Bang Theory

My favorite season of the year is: I have only lived with Kevin and Jason during the winter and I can tell you I do not like the cold.

Its rough being me.

My favorite trip was when we went to: Any time I get to go Aunt Staci’s house. I get to play with my cousins, Rascal who is a

Jack Russell Pug and Figment who is a Boston Terrier Mix

My favorite quote is: “You’re in my spot”

My favorite playtime activity: Tug of war

One of my favorite things to do, play tug
of war.

My favorite canine movie is: I can’t sit still long enough to watch a movie. I get that from my Daddy Jason.

Please share something that you learned from your dog and what they have meant to your family.

We have only had Sheldon for a month, but his older sister was with us for 11 years and he has

filled the hole that was there when she left us. We realized how much we needed a dog in our

lives and he has become our best buddy in the month that he has lived with us.

If the dog is a rescue/shelter dog, please share any of his/her past story.

Sheldon’s was originally owned by a young couple that named him Banjo. They then had a baby and moved to a place where they could not have a dog. They sent him to live with one of their parents, but they could not handle puppy energy and so they gave him to their uncle who cared for him for a while. He then moved back into the home with the young couple that originally owned him for a short time before they realized they couldn’t care for him, so they took him to the Humane Society. When we went to adopt him, another family was interested in him, until they heard his history and they were afraid they would not be able to handle him. When we heard the history, we immediately thought of his older sister who was also a rescue. We were her third home and while she did know how to behave right away, but with training and attention she became a great dog. We realized that we could do the same for Sheldon.

How/Why the dog’s name was chosen:

The adoption counselor described him as being really smart, but needed to learn better manners. We stopped at the pet store on the way home because we needed a new collar, toys, and treats. While looking at the collars we saw one that said Bazinga and immediately thought of the name Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. If you are not familiar with the Big Bang Theory, Sheldon is one of the characters that is extremely smart, but does not always know how to act properly.

What is the most important point you learned about your relationship with your dog did you learn from your class time at Narnia?

Our last dog was trained by an old school methodology with a choke collar and it has been really fun taking a class where you learn to think like the dog and find out what motivates them to do good, instead of punishing them when they do something wrong.

What is it about their particular breed that you are fond of?

We are very fond of his playfulness as well as his mischievousness. It is fun to think about what you might come home to find him doing or have done, such as breaking out of the basement or his crate.