Last Night I Had a Dream
For the last 12 years or so my family has been blessed to have a special friend, named Sadie. Sadie is a beautiful yellow lab. She is nearly completely white, with a little burnt orange around the snout and ears. Sadie was also the sweetest soul I've ever encountered. Everyone likes her. Family, friends, strangers. Once I was having the house painted. I came home from work early one day to find the painters all sitting on my lawn taking turns sharing their lunches with sadie.
Sadie was a constant companion to the kids. She was always up for a walk. She would fetch sticks out of the water until your arm was sore from throwing them. She and the kids would return, happily tracking mud through the house. Whenever one of my daughters had a bad day, you'd find Sadie at their side for the evening, like she could just sense it. If the kids argued among themselves, or with their parents, Sadie remained entirely neutral. She loved both sides. She made it into the Christmas card picture every year. Sadie even photo bombed a prom picture. She "helped" my eldest move into her freshman dorm. People will scoff, but a wonderful dog really does become a member of your family
The kids grew up and went off to school. Sadie remained here to cushion the blow for my wife. Wherever Theresa was, Sadie was. Gardening, walking, reading. She also lead the official welcoming committee for returning children on breaks and holidays. She got a little grizzled around the snout, but otherwise she was always the same.
About a month or go Sadie stopped finishing the food in her dish. Anybody who has ever known a Lab knows that this is trouble. Off we went to the vet. There were exams, blood tests, xrays. We were hoping for an easy fix. But we were in agreement that we would not put the dog through anything extreme that was only going to extend her suffering. The word was that there was some sort of malignancy somewhere, and that there really wasn't much to do. But, she wasn't in pain, so we went on.
We tried new dog food. That worked for a few days. Then we went to table scraps, again, it worked for a short time. After a while she would only eat pieces of lunch meat hand fed to her in tiny bits. Her weight fell, and her energy lagged. Long walks became a cherished memory.
By Thursday, Sadie was unsteady on her feet. She shook, had episodes of labored breathing. On Sunday morning she stopped drinking. Her fur was matted and her eyes sunken and sad. Still, every entrance into her room was met with a tail wag. It just broke your heart to see. I knew that I would be calling the vet Monday morning to have her put down. The time had come.
I went to bed Sunday at about 9. Later I went down to the mud room to check on Sadie. She was laying on her dog bed. A young, curly haired child was laying next to her, petting her. Sadie saw me, and lifted her head. But, she looked different. Sadie's fur was shiny, her eyes were bright. She looked healthy and young. The child whispered something in her ear, and Sadie wagged her tail.
Even in the midst of it I knew that I was dreaming. I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes I was, of course, in my bed. I went down stairs this morning and my Sadie was gone. It's going to be a hard day today. I'll be digging a grave in the yard. But, I will be thinking of how she looked in my dream.

Last edited by Goose (5/16/2016 5:02 am)