Spring Valley's Dark Secret, "Shona"
August 23, 1995-March 2, 2006
Shona, Spring Valley's Dark Secret, was a pure-bred,
black and tan Rhodesian Ridgeback with a distinguished pedigree. (Sire:
Ch Spring Valley's Absolut ROM, Dam: Spring Valley's Saratoga)
She was one of two black and tan pups in a litter of eight.
Her litter mates included Ch Spring Valley's Rachmaninoff
andCh Spring Valley's Abigail. The black
and tan color is a recessive trait that occurs infrequently, about
1 in 400 births. Both parents must carry the trait for the
black and tan coat color to be realized. Although many people
find the black and tan coat attractive, the color does not conform
to the breed standard. Consequently, black and tans
should not be bred. (See the article on this topic-click here.)
Other non
standard coat color variants occur and can be seen at
a site presented by Kalahari Ridgebacks. As the pictures below
show, aside from her color, Shona was in every respect a typical
Rhodesian Ridgeback. Occasionally somebody asked Shona if she
was a Doberman. She politely declined the compliment. There is
a nice comparison of Shona and a Doberman friend on the next page, along with pictures of Shona's
favorite vacation spots. Shona sometimes worked as a therapy dog
at the Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic at California State
University, East Bay.
(Note: Shona died in March 2006 after a long,
19 month battle with lymphoma. During her lifetime she contributed
DNA samples for the the study of lymphoma, ridge genetics, and
coat color genetics. If you are a Rhodesian Ridgeback owner, please
consider registering your dog with the RR Health and Genetics
survey and submitting DNA samples to research studies that are
appropriate for your dog. Click here to go to the Health
and Genetics site.)
Shona's litter mates, including another black and tan (left).
Reclining on the bed (right).
Shona and friends at the park (left). With Dinah the cat (right).
