I considered myself a cat person until I met Sadie. Sadie was a dog-cat, the best of both. She was up for endless cuddles and was the best sleeping buddy. She thought going on a walk was the greatest thing ever, and she was like the Little Engine that Could, keeping going for miles and miles. She did cool circus tricks, such as walking on her hind legs or spinning in a circle before sitting to earn a treat. She patiently allowed children to walk and pet her, but her piercing bark was scary. She was my friend for nine years.
We rescued Sadie from a shelter when she was about one. She was a nervous pup then, she was afraid of men and she shook in the car all the way home, but she and I bonded on the hour long drive during which I had her cuddled on my lap. And although she was my dog, she was happy to share her love.
She passed away recently from an enlarged heart, it was pressing on her trachea which made it hard for her to breathe and caused her lungs to fill with fluid. “Of course she did” Emily said, “her heart was too big.”
Every dog owner thinks their dog is the cleverest, but Sadie was up there with Lassie. A couple of years ago when I could still stand a little, I was in the shower and T was downstairs in his office. I pulled myself up from the shower stool, went to step out of over the metal strip boarding the shower base and lost my balance. I slipped backwards and got trapped on my back with my neck pressed against the tiled wall and my legs stuck outside the shower pan. I was wet, scared and cold. I shouted for T, but after a while it became clear he couldn’t hear me. However, Sadie had.
Upon hearing my yelling Sadie came running into the bathroom at lightening speed. I told her to “go get daddy”. She ran off, but came running back in a few minutes later alone. I sent her back a couple more times and soon she returned, T behind her. She’d rescued me. T had seen her come and go back and forth into the office and realized she was alerting him something was wrong.
It’s been two weeks since we put Sadie to sleep. The only good thing about the experience was that because I was in my wheelchair and the vet’s table was too high for me to see her when she was lying on it, I was able to cuddle her during the whole procedure. The vet worked on his knees. Sadie left me as she arrived, snuggled on my lap.
See You on the Other Side, Sadie