"Dogs
are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
-- Roger Caras
This is my lovely little Sadie-girl. Well, some days she isn't so lovely, but she's still mine and she sure is loved.
Sadie came to us in July of 1998. If you can imagine...she was supposed to be a food dish. That's right, a food dish. I took Bryan with me to Pet Smart one Saturday with the intention of purchasing a raised food dish for Nicco. Nicco was getting on in years and I thought that would be a nice treat for him. When we arrived at Pet Smart I looked at the raised food dishes they had for sale. They seemed quite pricey at the time so I wandered around the store trying to justify to myself that the cost was worth it.
On one end of the store there were a few tables set up and cages of animals lined up down the aisle. The Pet Assistance League (P.A.L.), now known as Lionhearts, Inc., was there to promote the adoption of homeless cats and dogs. Before I knew it, I was filling out an adoption application and asking the lady about the little dog she was holding. Her name was Honey, she said. She's been adopted once before, but was returned because she is an 'escape artist'.
I don't know why, but I think I needed that little dog more than I wanted her and almost more than she needed me. My application was approved and Honey was handed over to me. Back we went to the dog dish aisle. This time, however, there was no looking at the price. I picked out set of dishes, a new collar and a new lead. Poor Nicco, he would have to settle for a new little sister instead of a new bowl.
Bryan and I brought home our new little girl. Boy was she scared. She was so timid she held off going potty for almost 24 hours. I decided I wanted to change her name. Sadie was what I chose. There were too many 'Honey's' in the house and I thought that would be too confusing for her. It took Sadie quite a long time to become comfortable with us. I spent many hours teaching her to gain confidence that none of us were going to hurt her.
This is usually what happens when the camera comes out. Timid little Sadie hides. She runs and hides when the doorbell rings. She runs and hides when someone comes to visit. Sadie does not like strange people in the house. It takes her so long to get comfortable with people. I wish I knew what she went through before she came to me.
Sadie loves to play with Tequila. Unfortunately, Tequila is not too crazy about playing with Sadie. Sadie is very protective of her yard and my (her) bedroom. She will bark at anyone she sees coming to 'invade' her territory. Too bad that includes people walking on the next street over. As long as she can see them, they're 'barkable'. She can be very jealous of Nicco, Toot or Tequila getting attention. I try to nip that in the bud.
I'm not quite sure how old Sadie is, but best guess is 2 going on 3. I celebrate her birthday as the day she was adopted. I sure love my little girl. We girls have to stay together...
Hopefully, I'll have some better pictures of Sadie soon. So, stay tuned.
"If
you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you;
that
is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
-- Mark Twain
