Sadie came our way from a friend who rescued her but could not keep her. She was medium, terrier-ish, energetic, and strong willed.
At the time we had one dog, Doug, a large, barrel-chested mix of undetermined parentage (possibly Great Pyrenees and Labrador), sweet and playful.
We did our best to introduce the two as recommended. With a leisurely walk, safely distanced, and parallel. But those two dogs pulled together almost immediately as if they were strong magnets. Like “where have you been all my life!”
Sadie talked with her body, very rarely with her voice. She could bowl over grown men while giving chase, and make cowering fluff of large male dogs 3 times her size. She did not suffer fools. And her warnings were subtle so often missed by humans who expect a growl to precede a snap. (Her nicknames were The Bullet and Snarla.)
In her last years she gradually lost stamina and the use of her hind legs and briefly used DIY wheels.
But I will remember the feisty, catalyst of chasing games, creek swimming, hole digging, mole finding…dog who rarely neglected a chance to perfume herself by rolling on indescribable stench.
She was in charge – ever cleaning the ears of the other dogs, and claiming any toy or treat within her grasp.
She owned the ball, the bone, the bed. (Perhaps we should have called her Your Majesty.)
Paintings featuring Sadie:
Find more information and related paintings in these portfolios: Original Dog Studies, Archived Original Dog Studies, and Rounds & Reflections.
