Sadie

Well, Sadie has proved once again that she is one lucky dog. Or is it unlucky? The reason I say that is that she seems to have been a bit accident prone over the years, but also comes out none the worse for wear each time. Last week she tangled with a car and came out of it with a couple of scrapes. She was out front with Big Bear while he finished up some work in the yard, saw something (cat) across the street and darted into the street just as a car was going by. She hit the car rather than the car hitting her or it would have been a lot worse. She has a skinned spot under her chin and one on her left leg and was undoubtedly a bit bruised and sore. I took her into the vet and he checked her over, gave me some cream for the scrapes and an anti-inflammatory/pain reliever. $91.50 later we went home and she stayed pretty quiet for the next two days. By the end of the second day she was back to her normal prancing step, jumping up to follow me with no problem at all. Big Bear says she's not going out front with him any more unless I'm out there to watch her.

She turned 11 years old this month and shows no signs of arthritis or any other health problems. She's as nimble and springy as ever and does not seem to show many signs of aging other then gray hair and a little less energy. She has been a little quieter this past year, but that has been due to her missing our other dog and wanting to stay in the house with me. She's been like my shadow since Cody died. He was not quite 7 and became quite ill (vet thinks it might have been cancer). Even before that though he had been having problems with his joints and stiffness. Part of the difference probably lies with their size and breed. Cody was a 100 lb. yellow lab while Sadie is a 50 lb. mixed breed. Her mother was a lab/rottweiler mix and I figure that dad must have been a border collie because she looks and acts a lot more like a border collie then either a lab or a rottweiler. The only thing she seems to have gotten from mom is the big deep bark and the all black color. She's a bit stubborn too, I was able to teach Cody not to go past the curb, but Sadie doesn't always want to adhere to that (obviously). Cody's ball could go rolling into the street and he would stop at the curb and wait for one of us to go get it. :o) Big Bear just loved it because he could wash the car, mow the lawn, etc. and Cody would just follow along dropping the ball at his feet.