Sadie came to us on June 1989 from the Oakland ASPCA. My daughter Victoria decided that she had to have a puppy, so off she and her dad went one day and came home with Sadie. Her kennel tag said that she was a balck lab springer spaniel mix, but I think it more likely that she was a Lab-Shorthair mix. We never knew her exact date of birth so we gave her one that we could not forget, April 15.

Sadie was never a very well mannered puppy or dog, she chewed, barked, jumped, ran off if a door or gate was left open, but she was good with the family and kids.Her tail could send a galss or can sitting on the table sailing. She once ate the TV remote and chewed up a tube of red paint, tinting various parts of the house. She loved her tennis balls and would bring two at a time to us. Her love of yellow round things earned her a trip to the emergency vet one weekend when she ate three whole lemons and had to be given an injection to make her vomit them back up. She loved to ride in the car and pulled horribly on the leash.

When Bella came to live with us, Sadie took her role as top dog seriously. She had one certain low growl that would send Bella flat to the ground. It was really quite interesting to see. I think she helped to keep Bella in line. Sadie was not fond of cats but tolerated ours. When Bella died last July, Sadie was already old and had very poor eye sight and her ballder and bowle control were also going. She became even more depressed and her health declined even further.

When Tank came to us in September she acted like he just did not exist, no low growls, nothing. In February of 2004, we took her one last time to Dr. Bonasch.(She had a caution at the vet because she would snarl her lip and growl quite menacingly whenever Dr. Bonasch came into the exam room. Her last time there there was no lip curl, no growl, she knew and was ready.) There she went to the Rainbow Bridge to once again keep an eye on Bella, catch her tennis balls and be free of her failing body.