Forever Faithful - Old Shep

If a dog is given more than one life, I believe he'd choose the same master over and over again, no matter how kind or how cruel that master can be...

Stupidity? No. It is because of faith. The simple faith of a dog that his master will love him and will accept him over and over again... Faith that even a cruel master will learn the value of love and friendship... Faith that unconditional love is not uncommon to every living thing... And faith that no matter how long it will take, he and his master will be together again...

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Fort Benton is a prairie Atlantis. The approach is a vast flat, treeless expanse in all directions, yet you don't see it where the map says it should be. Instead, Ft. Benton is submerged beneath the amber waves, in a deep cut made by the wide Missouri. Once you get off the highway and descend, it appears as an oasis, with full growth trees, well-kept buildings, and lots of statuary. It is the current home of the "Smithsonian Buffalo" -- including Hornaday's Bull and tragic Sandy, the feisty bison; Montana's official Lewis & Clark Memorial; the remnants of the old Fort Benton; and the 30,000 sq. ft. Museum of the Great Northern Plains.

But Ft. Benton is best known for -- and most proud of -- Old Shep, its "forever faithful" sheep dog.

During the summer of 1936 a sheepherder fell ill while tending his flock and was brought to the St. Clare Hospital in Fort Benton, Montana. A nondescript sheep dog had followed the herder into town and soon set up a vigil at the hospital's door. A kind hearted nun who ran the hospital kitchen fed the dog during those few days before the man died. The herder's family in the East requested that his body be sent back home. On that August day the undertaker put the body on the east-bound train for shipment to his waiting relatives. As the gurney was rolled out onto the platform, a big gaunt shepherd dog with watchful eyes appeared out of nowhere and watched nervously as his master was put on board and taken away. The dog was prevented from boarding the train, and soon thereafter came to be known as "Old Shep" (old shepherd). Attendants later recalled the dog whining as the door slammed shut and the engine slowly started to pull away from the station, then head down, turning and trotting down the tracks. No one remembers the name of the herder.

But everyone remembers Shep. Because for the next five and a half years, Shep maintained a vigil at the station, greeting the four trains that arrived each day, waiting for his master to return. Day after day, meeting four trains daily, Shep became a fixture on the platform. He eyed each passenger hopefully, and was often chased off as a mongrel but never completely discouraged. Neither the heat of summer days nor the bitter Montana winter days prevented Shep from meeting the next train.

Old Shep's story exemplifies the devotion and faithfulness of dogs everywhere. Shep's story was carried in newspapers throughout the country and overseas. It appeared in the "London Daily Express," and "The New York Times". Two and a half years into the watch, Old Shep was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not, and became a Depression-era sensation. Fan mail poured in. School children sent Christmas gifts. Rail travelers took long detours off the mainline, just to stop in Ft. Benton and see this devoted dog meet their train. As Shep's fame spread, people came from everywhere to see him, to photograph him, and to try and make friends and possibly adopt him.

All of the attention was somewhat unwelcome; after checking the train he often retired quickly to get away from those who came to see him. Most people missed the point that Shep was a one-man dog. Food, shelter and attention were then provided by the railroad employees but the bond he had formed with the herder many years before was simply the most important thing in his life.

Eventually, tragedy struck. Throughout his vigil the long nights under the platform and the cold winter had taken their toll. On January 12, 1942, little more than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, stiff-legged and hard of hearing, Shep failed to hear old 235 as it rolled into the station at 10:17 that cold winter morning. He turned to look when the engine was almost upon him, moved to get out of the way, and slipped on the icy rails. Shep's long vigil had ended. Shep "rejoined his best friend."

Occurring in the shadow of the Great Depression and the advent of World War II, this story took on an added significance for those who mourned the departure of loved ones and hoped for their safe return. Shep was so famous that at the time of his death, the wire services of "Associated Press" and "United Press International" carried his obituary along with the war news. Shep's funeral was held two days later. He was laid to rest on the bluff overlooking the station where his long wait had been in vain. The sights and sounds of the singing rails and the whistles around the bend are all gone now, also passing with time. No passenger trains pull into the station today, but Shep still maintains his lonely vigil atop the wind-swept bluff overlooking the abandoned depot.

In Memory of Shep:
The Great Northern Railroad put up a simple obelisk, with a painted wooden cutout of Shep next to it. Just beneath, white stones spelled out SHEP. Lights illuminated the display at night, and conductors pointed it out to their passengers. Eventually, though, the passenger line stopped coming through Ft. Benton, the lights went out, and the grave fell into disrepair.

But a new generation of Shep fans, perhaps motivated by a Paul Harvey mention in 1988, repaired and refurbished the grave. The Shep cutout is now painted steel, and lights are back up. The site is well-maintained by the Kiwanis Key Club and Ft. Benton Community Improvement Society, and a small parking area and walking trail have been added behind the monument, so that a grave site visit is easy. In town, The Museum of the Upper Missouri shows off Shep's collar and dog bowl. It is one of many places that sells Shep coins.

In 1994, the town unveiled a larger than life Shep bronze, both front feet on a train rail, down at one end of its historic levee (Lewis and Clark are on the other end). The money was raised by selling miniatures of the statue, as well as memorial bricks which were placed in a thirty-foot octagon beneath it. "Mutt Mitts" are available next to the statue for all those still building bonds with their own dogs.

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- Lanie -

Sources: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/4367
a song dedicated to Shep: http://deestory.homestead.com/shep.html