Shep Memorial

In the summer of 1936, while tending his flock, a Montana sheepherder, whose name has been lost to history, became ill and was rushed to St. Clare Hospital in Fort Benton. The man’s older male sheep dog followed him into town and patiently waited outside the hospital’s doors for his return. While the canine stood vigil outside the hospital, a nun who operated a soup kitchen in town graciously provided him with food. Sadly, after a few days in the hospital, the sheepherder died. Upon hearing the news of the fate of their loved one, his family living back east requested that his body be shipped to them for burial. The loyal dog looked on as his owner’s casket was loaded onto a railroad car at the town’s Great Northern Railway station. When the train pulled out of the station, the canine whimpered and, with his head hanging, followed the train down the tracks for a short distance.

For the next five and a half years, the dog, who became known as Shep, patiently waited at the train station for his owner’s return. Four trains arrived at the Fort Benton Great Northern Railway station daily and the canine made sure to greet each one, hoping to be reunited with his owner. Railroad employees provided the dog with shelter, food, and loving affection. As the years passed, Shep’s celebrity spread and people began to travel to Fort Benton just to catch a glimpse of the ever-faithful canine. Some even attempted to adopt him. Shep’s incredible story was even featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

By 1942, time had taken a physical toll on Shep. An older dog when he first arrived in Fort Benton five and a half years earlier, he had become almost completely deaf and arthritis severely limited his mobility. One cold winter day in January of that year, the canine emerged from underneath the station’s platform to greet the arriving mid-morning train. As he customarily did, Shep stood with his front paws on one of the rails, trying to sense the slight vibration that would indicate that a train was coming soon. When the train pulled into the station, though, the elderly dog was slow to react. When he attempted to leap out of the way of the oncoming locomotive, he slipped on the icy iron rail and fell to the ground. Unable to slow down in time, the train struck Shep, killing him. In the wake of the tragedy, residents of Fort Benton held a funeral for the ever-faithful canine and buried him on a hillside overlooking the town and train station. The Great Northern Railway sponsored an obelisk and a painted wooden cutout of Shep that was installed at the gravesite. 

Locals kept Shep’s memory alive throughout the years and marked the fiftieth anniversary of his death in 1992. On the heels of the occasion, they organized a committee to erect a memorial to Shep. After raising the necessary amount of money, the committee hired renowned Montana sculptor Bob Scriver to design it. Dedicated in June 1994 on a site in town overlooking the Missouri River, the memorial consists of a larger-than-life-sized bronze sculpture of the famous canine on a rough granite boulder, which serves as a pedestal. The sculpture depicts Shep standing with his front paws on a rail. With his head and tail up, he stares down the tracks eagerly awaiting the arrival of a train that he hopes carries his owner.  

Buyer, Bob. "Montana -- Dogged Devotion Crowns A Town's 'Levee of Fame.'" Seattle Times, December 25, 1994 <https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19941225&slug=1949195>.

Miniclier, Kit. "Faithful dog Shep honored in rites 50 years after death." Denver Post, January 15, 1992 <http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DP&p_theme=dp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB1DA896D99ADF5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM>.

Shirley, Gayle C. Amazing Animals of Montana: Incredible True Stories. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2005.

"The Story of Shep." Fort Benton: The Birthplace of Montana. Web. 4 March 2021 <http://www.fortbenton.com/shep.html#>.