His first owner, a dog breeder named Phyllis, owned him purely because he was a prize-winning stud. When Phyllis went on vacation, her gardener let the dog (then named "Baron") out, and he ended up following Raymond home. Since no one claimed him, they gave him to Robert because it reminded him of a bulldog he had when he was a child...also named Shamsky. But when Phyllis came to claim her dog, she didn't want him anymore because the Barones had already neutered him. So Robert kept the dog. in real life, the bulldog that played Shamsky died so the character was written out of the series.