Remembering Sadie . . .

She's been with us longer than The Things. Sadie came into our lives and our hearts twelve years ago this month. As the Lord would have it, she literally ran into our lives one day.

I was at work-downtown on a summer day. Our front door was propped open and customers leisurely wandered in and out of the store. Suddenly, this thin mutt ran in through the door. My boss was a dog owner herself and quickly grabbed a leash from the back office. She set out with the mutt and walked her all over downtown-in hopes that she could reunite the dog with her owner. Long story short, no owner showed up or ever claimed her. We did everything-ran ads in the paper, called the shelter, called the animal hospitals and pet stores in the area. No one ever claimed her.

In the meantime, she and I vehemently agreed that this dog should not go to the shelter during the process of searching for her owner. Instead, I offered to keep her with us-we had an enclosed porch at the time. She could stay on the porch and be safe until she was claimed.

Three weeks later, my boss asked me what we were going to do about this dog.

I guess, as "they" say . . . the rest is history.

Upon adopting her, we took her to the vet, learned that she was somewhere between 1-3 years of age and other than being thin, was relatively healthy. What we later discovered, however, was that this dog had some obvious signs of abuse from whoever had her before that summer day. We began the "deprogramming" process with her-teaching her that anything with a long handle didn't have to result in cowering, hairbrushes weren't weapons and that men weren't out to hurt her. I could only imagine what this dog might have experienced before she came to live with us.

We named her Sadie and became a family of three. A couple of years later, Sadie got her first younger sibling in the form of a small human.

As Cassidy navigated her way through crawling, pulling herself up and walking, Sadie endured days, weeks and months of fur pulling, tail grabbing and falling (from Cassidy) on top of her in the midst of peaceful naps. Just when the young human being had finally turned somewhat "civilized," another small human creature arrived and Sadie patiently endured more years of uncivilized behavior from the newest Thing in the house.

This dog put up with being dressed up in silly costumes, being held captive in bedrooms for pretend camp-outs and tea parties and attempts at ballroom dancing as the girls stood her on hind legs.


She learned how to play hide and seek, that the sight of her dog food in a plastic bag meant she was going to "camp" (Grandma and Grandpa's house for vacation), a blanket taken out to the car signaled being invited to take a ride, and that the appearance of young children at our table usually meant a special snack if she'd hang out underneath.

She loved a heavy snowfall, the sight of Gregg coming home after work or the girls after school and having friends or family arrive at our door. She hated storms, the 4th of July, getting her paws wet or muddy and having to endure paw washings for those muddy days. She "smiled" when life was good and huddle close if there were tears. Every dog owner says that their dog is the best, and I am no different. Sadie was the perfect dog for our family.

Yesterday, Gregg and I had the tough task of releasing our beloved Sadie from this side of Earth. As we huddled over her, the doctor asked us to tell him of our favorite memory with Sadie. We looked at each other and had no words. Finally, Gregg answered with "where do we even begin?" The doctor smiled. "I know what you mean," he said.

We will miss you, sweet Sadie. We thank you for an incredible twelve years of unconditional love! You may be gone from our home, but never from our hearts. We love you!