Melan"collie"

Lonely collie next door- Does the shadow across the face ruin the shot?

The shadow is all right but you have the eyes in the dead center of the frame, there has to be a more imaginative and fun way to get this.

I'm thinking you could have gotten a little lower and maybe turned the camera a tad more to the right to get that black thing all the way in the frame.

Composition advice by MB1 is good.
You might also try darkening the highlights and/or lightening the shadows so the shadow doesn't cause so much contrast.

I can get another shot down lower and include more of the hinge (the black thing). Casey sits by the fence a lot.

I will also give Frog's suggestions a try.

Gracias.