BROOMFIELD — He`s been dead for decades, but Shep the Turnpike Dog continues to make friends.
As every Broomfield native of a certain age knows, Shep was the stray that lived at the old Broomfield toll booth after being adopted by highway workers. Travelers would bring bones or toys for Shep and donated change for his room and board.
The mutt — Shep was, his gravestone said, “part shepherd, all affection”– became a local celebrity and was adopted as an unofficial mascot by the Colorado Department of Transportation. When Shep died in 1964, he was honored with a small grave at the Wadsworth Interchange overlooking U.S. 36.
CDOT and Broomfield in October moved Shep`s grave to the Broomfield Depot Museum to make way for upcoming construction, and now another of Shep`s friends wants to restore the tombstone to its original condition.
A Longmont man is leading an effort to find photos of Shep`s grave so it can be restored or replaced with a tombstone exactly like the one placed on the grave in 1964.
Read the rest of this report, including who to contact if you have a photo of Shep, at .
