Sadie joined our family pack almost six years ago. Actually, we got her two weeks after moving into the house we are in now so really, she is very much a part of this house and we don't really know what it's like not having her here living with us in this house. Maybe she is the reason we have stayed for so long. We told our girls once we were in a house, we would get a dog. The day came when we saw a dog that was up for adoption at the Newberg Kennel and we decided to go take a look. We we got there and saw the dog up close, we knew she wasn't the one. We asked the lady if we could take a look at the other dogs. As we looked, we just didn't see any dogs that we felt would work for us until we came to the very last cage where we found a dog who was extremely happy to see us. I asked the lady if we could see this dog and she told us we didn't want her because she tended to bite when she was excited. We didn't care and still wanted to see her. Sure enough, as soon as she opened the cage, "Tish" as they called her, tried to grab my hand with her mouth. She didn't bite, she just grazed it out of her excitement. After spending some time with Tish ,we knew she was the one. The lady wasn't thrilled about us taking her because (I believe) she knew how sweet Tish was and she had actually been taking Tish home on the weekends.
The first thing we did was change her name to Sadie and took her to the Vet to get her shots The Vet thought she was about 2 years old, but didn't know for sure. Sadie was totally potty trained and never had an accident in our house until the day she passed. Those first few days, I was happy to have a dog, but never expected to become so attached to her.
Sadie was tough. We always referred to her as a "street dog" because she didn't have a great life before we adopted her. She was tough though. Our first Christmas with her, we came home to find that she had eaten an whole bag of chocolate. We didn't know chocolate was bad for dogs until we called the Vet late on a Saturday night and had to have her stomach pumped. The Vet counted 30+ wrappers. A year later, Sadie found some rat poison in the garage (we honestly didn't know a whole lot about dogs I guess, but were quick to learn). We called the Vet again, on a weekend, late at night (hello dog insurance) and took her in. After giving her a massage dose of vitamin K, she broke out in hives all over her body. The girls had to go get benedryl for her. I wish I had taken a picture of her. Hives all over a dog was a first for me to see. Sadie also went through various surgeries for small tumors on her leg and chest. We all, including the Vet, just thought they were benign things, but now I wonder if they were cancerous. Either way, she made it through each time including in March when we came home to find her unable to walk. After taking her to the Vet who didn't know what was wrong with her, we decided to keep her there over night. The next morning she was back on her feet. It took her a good week to get back to herself, but she never really was the same Sadie.
Sadie LOVED Liam, Ash and Katie. Liam was the one who Sadie always decided to "snuggle" with while he was watching TV. She never did that with me. I think she had been abused by a man before we got her and Liam was the gentle one who loved her and who she trusted. She also loved to "clean" Liam after he mowed the lawn. Liam would be sitting outside and out comes Sadie who decided Liam needed a "Sadie bath" to clean that sweat off of him. Liam hated this, but tolerated it and Sadie was persistent. Sadie loved Ashley. Anytime Ash came home from college, Sadie would kiss her endlessly until Ash had to tell her no. Sadie loved to run into Ashley's room to find a shoe to cuddle with. Sadie could alway get a kiss on her ears from Ash. Sadie also loved Katie...even when it was bath time and Sadie refused to get into the tub. Katie would have to physically pick Sadie up and put her in the tub. I know Sadie hated bathes, but I think she loved the attention from Katie. Sadie also loved to listen to Katie play guitar. Funny enough, this last month whenever we took Sadie with us in the Jeep and she would get a little nervous, I would play Katie's CD and Sadie would lie down and relax.
Sadie loved her extended family. Just saying the word "grandma" or "grandpa" would put Sadie into a frenzy. She always knew there was a treat or really good scratch with any of them. She also got a Christmas present from them each year. The one she got from Grandma Carol this year is still alive and she played with it up to the end. I'm going to keep it for now and put it with the rest of her toys. She also loved her Uncle Dave and Aunt Fi. She knew they loved her For some reason, when she was around Grandpa or Uncle Dave, Sadie was just a puppy who wanted to sit on their lap and not a 65 pound dog. Again, I think she knew they loved her.
Sadie hate bathes. She hated rain. She hated the vacuum. She hated when we left her at home. She hated when she couldn't find a shoe to carry around. She hated going to Wilco to get a bath and her nails cut. Not a long list, but....
Sadie loved getting a "doggy dish" from Dairy Queen. She loved getting her morning treat from me. She loved going "bye bye" on Saturday and Sunday morning. She loved when we came home and would do her Sadie wiggle. She loved all of us being outside on a summer night. She loved when the girls came home from college for the weekend. She loved when Ashley would make her go outside and then hide treats around the house for her (she always found them!). She loved lying on the bed with Liam and I on Saturday mornings and would cuddle right between us so her head was on the pillow. She loved chasing birds and running along our fence yard barking at our neighbors dogs. She loved when family or friends came over, She loved when I gave her leftovers from dinner. She loved when Katie would lay on the floor to watch TV so she could lie down close to her. She loves walks. She loved barking when someone came to the door so they knew she was there and was not going to let anyone in who shouldn't come in, and she loved us without a doubt.
As I said earlier, Sadie hadn't been herself the past month. She still followed me everywhere, but did a lot of sleeping and wanted to be in quiet places around the house. Just this past weekend Ashley graduated from college and both the girls moved back home. Sadie couldn't have been happier She was her normal, happy Sadie self Monday morning I got up for work and she met me at the door like she always did. She followed me into the kitchen like she always did and then she disappeared. I dropped a chip on the floor while making Liam's lunch and called her name, but she didn't come. I took it to her, but she didn't want it. I then got her treat and tried to give it to her, but she didn't want it. I thought maybe she was just having tummy problems, so I got my coffee and read the paper. When Liam came out to get a towel, Sadie didn't move. Usually she would get up, grab a shoe and walk around so happy to see him. I went to her and tried to get her to stand up, but she couldn't and just kept looking away from me. I got the girls up and we tried everything. She eventually did get up to move to a different place, but that was it. I knew something was wrong, but thought maybe she had had a seizure or something. She then had a bowel movement while lying there, but got up to go outside. Once outside, she laid down in the rain. Sadie hates rain. Katie took her to the Vet so I could go to work and asked her to call me. About an hour later, Katie called and the Vet wanted to take an X-ray of her abdomen. We waited another hour and finally Liam called. The Vet said Sadie had a tumor on her liver and was pretty large and that he was more then 90% certain it was cancer. The Vet said he could try to remove it, but it would cost a lot and there would be no guarantees that Sadie would make it through. He then told Liam she was bleeding internally and that really, the best thing would be to put her down. So, on Monday, May 4 around 1:00 pm, Liam and Katie were with Sadie as they put her to sleep. They loved her, told her how much we loved her and said she went very peacefully.
I couldn't go, and feel guilty about that, but I think Sadie knew she was dying and waited until the girls were back home before letting go. I think she knew how hard this would be on me and thats why she wouldn't even look at me before she went to the Vet. In the end, she was trying to make it easier on me because she knew how much I loved her.
Sadie was a gift to us. She brought us joy, laughter and love and even though she was 9 or 10, in my heart she was a puppy and I had really hoped to have her around for a while longer. I think this is why its' so hard for me. It just happened so fast with no warning. No time to prepare. I was not ready for all of the pain and tears, but I'm still glad we made the choice we made. I want to remember Sadie happy and running around and not Sadie home sick always wondering if today is the day she dies.
And to my sweet Sadie: I'm so sorry for what happened to you. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you were put to sleep, but I know you knew I loved you. I miss you terribly and can't ever see myself overcoming this pain, but everyone tells me I will and soon my memories of you will be happy ones with no pain and tears. Thank you for always watching over me. Making sure I was OK. Being there for me to take care of when your sisters went to college. I will never, ever forget you puppy. Please don't forget me. I hope your having the time of your life running around with Charmer. I hope your OK. I hope your not scared and looking for me. I hope that when I see you again it will seem to you like you were only gone from us for a second and you will run to me with your Sadie wiggle, full of kisses and we will be together again. I love you puppy.
321-784-1468 Tech Support
