I had never been so grateful for Sadie. She had been such a blessing to so many lives. While we were the ones who “rescued” her, in so many ways she was the giving one. We could have never asked for more than her. I know in my heart I did everything I could to save her life. I had never tried so hard with anything in all my years. Though she died, I could not feel like I failed, because I know the giver and taker of life’s breath. It was her time. We’d done all we could do. Now it was time to let her go, hard as it may be.
{The next day we would receive the lab reports back. They showed that her bone marrow was failing to produce new Red Blood Cells. This was the cause of death. Sadie’s WBC had actually returned to normal for the first time since Feb. 29, and only the 2nd time since at least Feb. 4. I was so relieved that she had actually beat the infection. But all of this confirmed that Sadie had been battling a leukemic form of lymphoma. There was nothing more we could have done.}
Since her dental surgery in December, I had literally watched my girl ‘round the clock. I had been in “survival mode” for these last months, and my concept of time was on a different scale. We had not gone out to eat, save for holidays, since January. I had attended no social functions since December. I’m not even sure I had gone grocery shopping since January. The only places I went were absolute necessities. She had not been by herself since Feb. 17, and that was for a mere ½ hour. I would not have had it any other way. I know I did everything I could to make my baby’s life more comfortable and attend to her every need. She had always been there for me, and I could do no less for her.
We were so thankful that my sister-in-law and her friend had been there. I don’t know what we would have done otherwise. Our friend called all our students to let them know there’d be no class that evening. Our sister made arrangements to bury Sadie in the family plot at a local pet cemetery. They were so strong for us, though I know how very dearly they loved our girl, too. To say Sadie loved them is a major understatement.
It was not easy to say good-bye, but there’s a place I can go to visit and remember, as often as I need. I’m grateful for hundreds of photos that I can gaze upon, smile, laugh, cry and remember whenever I need to. We kept thanking God for our Sadie, thanking him for blessing us with her precious life. She had been exactly what we needed. She was so “right” for us. So many aspects of her life were miracles: the way she came to be with us, her survival of squamous cell carcinoma in ’04, even the fact that she held on to hope as long as she did throughout this illness. We were so grateful that for the most part, she didn’t realize she was even sick. I can’t fully say how those memories from only a few nights before when she barked and carried on have made my heart smile over the months. There will never be another Sadie. I’m glad we cherished her while we had the chance.
Since her dental surgery in December, I had literally watched my girl ‘round the clock. I had been in “survival mode” for these last months, and my concept of time was on a different scale. We had not gone out to eat, save for holidays, since January. I had attended no social functions since December. I’m not even sure I had gone grocery shopping since January. The only places I went were absolute necessities. She had not been by herself since Feb. 17, and that was for a mere ½ hour. I would not have had it any other way. I know I did everything I could to make my baby’s life more comfortable and attend to her every need. She had always been there for me, and I could do no less for her.
We were so thankful that my sister-in-law and her friend had been there. I don’t know what we would have done otherwise. Our friend called all our students to let them know there’d be no class that evening. Our sister made arrangements to bury Sadie in the family plot at a local pet cemetery. They were so strong for us, though I know how very dearly they loved our girl, too. To say Sadie loved them is a major understatement.
It was not easy to say good-bye, but there’s a place I can go to visit and remember, as often as I need. I’m grateful for hundreds of photos that I can gaze upon, smile, laugh, cry and remember whenever I need to. We kept thanking God for our Sadie, thanking him for blessing us with her precious life. She had been exactly what we needed. She was so “right” for us. So many aspects of her life were miracles: the way she came to be with us, her survival of squamous cell carcinoma in ’04, even the fact that she held on to hope as long as she did throughout this illness. We were so grateful that for the most part, she didn’t realize she was even sick. I can’t fully say how those memories from only a few nights before when she barked and carried on have made my heart smile over the months. There will never be another Sadie. I’m glad we cherished her while we had the chance.
