Joe and I have been married thirty-one years. Joe got our first family dog about six months before we were married, and I can probably count the number of years we’ve been without a dog since then on one hand. Once we moved to California the question wasn’t “did we have a dog?”, but rather, “how many dogs did we have?” People were forever dropping off their unwanted dogs in our town. The joke among our friends was that there was a billboard out on the I-10 freeway that had our address on it and said, “Drop all unwanted dogs off here!” We have lost count of how many strays we took in during those eight years, but there were many of them – and, as a result, we became very good friends with our veterinarian!
As we went from just one dog to several (at the same time), it seemed that each of the boys always had “their” dog. We never intended for it to be that way, but it just seemed to happen. To their credit, both of the boys are extremely good with dogs and expect them to be very well behaved and trained. The problem is that Joe and I don’t always expect the same of the dogs and end up spoiling them just a bit.
During the past ten years we have enjoyed having just our Labradors (as opposed to every other mutt that turns its big ole’ eyes up at us looking for some extra love). We had three labs when we moved to Michigan; Shadow, a black lab mix; Max, a big ole’ yellow lab; and Lucy, a chocolate lab who always wanted to have you throw the ball for her! A month before we moved to Oregon, Shadow was diagnosed with bone cancer and never made the move.
We enjoyed, loved, and doted on Max and Lucy for about two years, and then we were given the opportunity to have a six week old black lab. She was the runt of the litter and just needed a good home. I gave in with much reluctance, but Joe and TJ were thrilled and absolutely love our Sadie Dakota. Joe insisted she be named Sadie because it means “Princess,” and a princess this dog IS!
If Sadie became anybody’s dog, she was most certainly TJ’s. He LOVES that little dog! She is his “Sadie Girl.” So, every now and then when he calls home we put the phone up to her ear so that he can talk to her. Her ears perk up and she cocks her head and then she takes off running through the house looking for her TJ.
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| TJ and his Sadie Girl |
One of my favorite memories since TJ enlisted was his first visit home. He had been away just about six months. We knew that he missed Sadie because he would always ask about her whenever he got to call home. His biggest concern was how spoiled she would be. Sadie began barking from “her room” when she heard the front door open. When we released her from her room, she raced into the living room to find her TJ! It wasn’t even a bark but it was more of a squeal as she danced around him and up on him as much as she could. He just stood there and laughed with the exuberant welcome home she gave him. There was no question that she had missed him as much as he missed her!
The visits have become further apart, but TJ’s love for this little dog has never dimmed. I am thankful that while he serves our country so far away, he carries with him the memories of a silly little black lab that wears a bandana and will be ready to do her “welcome home” dance when she sees him walk through that front door again.
Your Sadie Girl is waiting for you, TJ.
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