For the Love of Sadie, Part 1
When we lose a beloved animal companion, the grief can be unimaginable. To those who don’t understand, no amount of explanation can suffice, but for those of us who understand the depth and purity of a connection to an animal companion, none is needed. This is my story of a connection that cannot be broken, no matter time, space, or dimension.
In 2012, I met Bob. He lived on Cape Cod, and that was a 90 minute ride from where I lived, so I was sure it would be nothing more than banter and flirting online that wouldn’t go anywhere. I was surprised when things started to go in the direction of an actual relationship. The first time I went to his house, I met Sadie. He had just adopted her only 4 months prior. She was about 3 or 4 years old, which was an estimation by the rescue where she was surrendered by her ‘family’ who cited the reason as being something along the lines of not getting along with their chihuahua. Shortly after Bob adopted her, Sadie was attacked by a neighborhood dog while out for her walk, which left her with a huge scar from the other dog’s bite.
Sadie was a white pit mix, with one brindle ear and one that had black spots. One of her eyes was encircled with a pretty black marking that looked almost like eyeliner and eyeshadow. She had the prettiest white eyelashes and that fabulous pittie smile. She was quiet, and very interested in me when I walked through the door for the first time. At first, I walked past her and ignored her, as I’ve come to understand that this was the best way to introduce yourself to a dog. She moved her ears back and patiently wagged her tail, waiting for a sign that it was okay for her to greet me. I spoke to her gently, and let her sniffer go to work! I’m not even sure if I pet her that night. I wanted her to be comfortable with me, and I made it a point to watch her reactions to things like Bob running around the kitchen making dinner, her response to commands and her overall temperament. I could tell she was a gentle, loving soul.
One weekend, I decided to drive down early. Bob was working so I stopped by to get his key and drove to the house. When I arrived, I let Sadie out of her crate, and for the first time, I was alone with her. I didn’t know how she would react to me, but she seemed happy to see me. I put her leash on and walked her, then brought her back inside and allowed her to do her thing. I popped on the couch and searched Netflix for something interesting. Suddenly Sadie came over to the couch, pacing a bit, wagging her tail and making whining sounds. I started to talk to her, asking her what she wanted, and the most amazing thing happened- she began to respond back with her sounds. I knew she was actually trying to talk to me, so I started to make my voice higher pitched to see if she would match it with her sounds, and she did. Then she started licking my hand, and shoving her head underneath it to let me know she wanted me to pet her. From that moment on, Sadie and I were lovingly connected beyond words, quite literally. This was only the beginning.
Confessions of a Spirit Messenger 