I met Shannon 6 years ago at the Hanover Dog Park.  
One day, about six months after her Huckleberry and my Rascal became friends there ( with her Buttercup and my Calvin watching), Shannon came to the park saying she was looking for me, and needed some companionship, as she had just been with a kitten who had died.  That's when I began to know a bit more of who Shannon is.  And when I knew she had opened herself up to be friends with a woman old enough to be her mother.

I soon saw that Shannon was generous.  When she saw a cool toy at Tractor Supply, she would donate one to the Dog Park. When she saw the park needed water buckets, she bought the best kind.  She designed the first t-shirt for a dog park fund raiser.  She was even generous in giving Rascal credit for teaching Huckleberry how to climb the A-frame at the park.

Later, she and Mike became our dog sitters.
She would send our dogs home from Camp Lobe with hoodie jackets she had snagged from the children's section of the thrift store and, one time, a handmade crocheted collar cover in green with an orange flower: hilariously garish against our Sassy's red fur.  Sassy later outgrew it,  and recently, when a horse guy from Doswell was going out to Texas right after the hurricane to help with the animals out there,  I included Shannon's green and orange collar with the more practical things sent.  Maybe some rescued hurricane dog is sporting that collar now.

Back to thrift stores: Shannon was a most talented thrift store shopper, going to Goodwill on the day when the extra discounts were taken.  Occasionally she had a miss, but most of the time her style and willowy frame made her outfits look sharp.

One time Shannon reached out to Steve and I directly to help with a kitten rescue.  There was a kitten who had ridden 40+ miles under the hood of a truck, and ended up about 5 miles from us.  Shannon called us that night and elicited our help, trusting we would go.   I wondered for a minute if we would be stuck with the kitten, as sometimes happens in rescue.  Then I remembered That it was Shannon asking us,  I trusted Shannon, so off we went.  Sure enough, the next day, after work, Shannon arrived in her office clothes.  We had been unable to befriend the kitten: it had stayed  under the furniture when we went into the room where we had made her a bed and fed her.   Shannon went in, knelt down, put her hand under the chest into the dust bunnies and the kitten went to her.  Within five minutes the kitten was cuddling against Shannon, and that day Shannon had already named her Dora and match-made her furever home.  That kitten Dora just seemed to know she was safe in Shannon's care.

Shannon's body wasn't the biggest or strongest in these recent years on the outside.  But on the  inside, if you consider integrity, compassion, kindness, generosity and love to be part of strength, then Shannon's strength of character makes her a giant.

Shannon's family, and especially Mike, deserve to be proud of their girl. If there is a heaven, I know Shannon is there.

Shannon came to my home in Powhatan a couple of years ago to pick up many humane cat rescue traps for herself and her rescue group. I donated them to her
because I found her to be a sincere and dedicated rescuer who loves animals.
I am a rescuer and animal lover as well and wish her much happiness and glory with God and her animals in a better place. We will meet again I am sure.

Phil Martin,  Powhatan, Va.

I met Shannon in 2003, when we were both new lab specialists at VCU.  Her kindness and sense of humor were the first things I noticed about her. As I got to know her, I found that we shared a love of animals. I so admired her dedication to animal rescue. I was amazed at Shannon's unique artistic talent, which she shared so generously with others. I cherish the handmade Christmas ornament she gave me which has my name and the names of my beloved dogs. I think of her and smile every year when I hang it on my tree.  Another thing I admired about Shannon, was her ability to take a difficult situation and create meaning and value of it, or in spite of it. I saw her do this with many challenges over the years.I'm so sorry she's no longer with us. I hope for peace and healing for her family.

As President of Woody Funeral Home, I extend our deepest sympathy from all our staff for your loss. We are committed to providing the utmost care to you at this time and throughout the days to come. Our purpose is to assist and serve you in a manner that exceeds your expectations. We pledge to strive to merit the trust you have reposed in us.

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Shannon Niehaus Lobe

28 mai 1977 – 27 septembre 2017

Woody Funeral Home - Parham

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