Pet Detective Work

The next day thankfully was our day off, so we were able to spend the entire day with Sadie. While the first night went better than expected, the next morning Sadie kept on barking at my husband. My husband is a dog-lover. There’s just something about him that dogs love and he bonds with them very easily. Sadie’s persistence in barking at him left us a bit bewildered. Since we were cautious and slow in our movement when approaching her, we had yet to “play” with her. But eventually my husband made the move to play with her and Sadie went wild! Her barking wasn’t trying to keep him away, she was begging for a playmate! And boy, could she go wild! He got down on the floor and played with her and there was no doubt: she liked him!

I spent part of the day doing some investigative work on Sadie’s history. I was determined to find out more about her. I was not convinced she was a Lhasa because her eyes were so big. I wanted to find out more about the spot Sadie had chewed on her mane. I mentioned in a previous post that I was told it was 2 or 3 inches, but the reality was more like 8! The only shards of evidence I possessed from Sadie’s past were 2 invoices: 1 vaccination receipt from the last owner and 1 boarding receipt from another owner. The latter receipt was from a veterinarian’s clinic in a town about an hour away. I attempted to phone the owner listed on the vet receipt I had in hand, but got the answering machine. I left word that I had Sadie and was hoping to find out more of her history. Then, I decided to call the clinic, not knowing if they would give me any info at all. Happened that I spoke with a woman who knew Sadie quite well, and most of her life at that! I soon realized that Sadie had quite the spunky reputation! The lady immediately knew who Sadie was, and when I pressed to know more of her history remarked, “Sadie’s one of those dogs who never lost her ‘puppy’!” She said Sadie was known around the office as very hyper when it came to shots and grooming. She also revealed a bit of Sadie’s history: Sadie was originally the puppy of a young couple. When the couple had a baby, it was emotionally stressful for Sadie. Since she was already close with the husband’s mother, she went to live with her. So she had the best of both worlds, a home where she was the queen without losing contact with her first parents. About the spot on Sadie’s back: it was because Sadie needed allergy medication! There was so much to learn about this complex little creature! I had been so curious about Sadie’s eyes that I just had to ask. The woman assured me she was a Lhasa, but said anytime Sadie was excited, her eyes bulged! The woman agreed to fax me all of Sadie’s medical records that day. I was thrilled!

The fax came in and was a complete record of Sadie’s medical history from a pup ‘til 6 months before. In a previous post I spoke of Sadie’s whirlwind life from March – August 1999. But I knew nothing of her original owners. And here in my hands were her medical records with her owners’ names listed. Eureka! I would start at the beginning and my plan was to hunt down every owner to find out as much as possible! I made the call to Sadie’s first owners and I spoke with a very nice lady. She was very concerned about Sadie’s well-being and I could tell she loved her. She told me that “Sadie was all we ever wanted in a dog.” After the birth of their first child, they were concerned because Sadie was depressed now that she was no longer the center of attention. They agreed the best thing for her would be to live with her mother-in-law, just as the vet’s office had told me. For the sake of clarity, we’ll call her grandma. Apparently Sadie had lived a very happy life and was a well cared for family dog. But then tragedy struck the family: Grandma’s daughter in Florida became very ill. Grandma had to make many trips back and forth to Florida, and sometimes Sadie would go. But the situation became so serious that Sadie could no longer go to FL with Grandma and since Grandpa was a truck driver, Sadie was boarded for long periods of time. Sadie was not the kind of dog that liked boarding. This upset her psyche. So, Grandma decided that the best thing for Sadie would be to live with her aged friend. Their agreement was such that if it didn’t work out, Sadie would be returned to Grandma. The woman with whom I was speaking had a quiver in her voice when she told me she had told Grandma that she didn’t want to know all the details, because she wouldn’t be able to handle it if anything happened to Sadie. I hoped I wasn’t stirring up any negative emotions, but she reassured me she was so glad to hear Sadie was in a good home. She even offered to send me Sadie’s AKC registration.

My husband & I were both sad that Sadie had lived through at least 5 bad experiences in just a few short months. He asked if I would stop making calls, now that I had found the original owner. He didn’t want to know about any of the negative things that had happened. And I agreed.

I now knew how many homes Sadie had lived in: 1) original couple 2) 1st owner’s mother 3) aged friend 4) niece of aged friend 5) camping buddy of niece 6) co-worker of camping buddy 7) co-worker of #6 8) us! That’s a lot of homes for a 6 year old dog! But I was reassured that the majority of her life was spent in a loving environment. Hopefully, she would forget about the 5 negative experiences soon, if we had anything to do with it!

House Rules . . . . Yeah, Right!

When we brought Sadie into the house she seemed to adjust quite well. We were expecting at least a little culture shock, but Sadie handled the transition like a champ. We did not observe any negative behavior whatsoever, just a little dog trying to find her way around, peering at us with those big eyes in wonder. We were in no way thinking of our home as a permanent solution; just a good place to stay for a few days while we found her the perfect family.

We had already decided that we would not allow her to beg for food nor jump on the bed. You see, Misty was actually trained to beg by my older sister; whelping, whining and carrying on quite the show with each and every meal. Misty also had her own way of playing on the bed, digging feverishly, throwing off the pillows, until she reached the sheets. She had quite the predictable nightly routine. While irresistibly cute, we didn’t think we’d be able to handle similar behavior coming from another animal.

Sadie smelled the house out, and we put her little mat and bowls in the kitchen. I prepared dinner and without even waiting for the prayer to be finished . . . Sadie was already begging! Rather than whine and howl like Misty, Sadie’s begging consisted of jumping up on her hind legs and waving at us! I had never seen a dog do that and immediately my husband and I burst into laughter! “What is this?” we thought, “she’s already so comfortable with us!” Sadie persisted asking for food throughout the meal by waving and also tapping us on the thighs. She was capturing our hearts by the minute. (I know we weren’t exactly strict, but hey…it’s our house!).

Later in the evening Sadie made her way to our room and jumped right up on the bed! We had been warned to move very slowly around her, so as not to startle her. When I approached her, rather than fear me, she rolled over so that I could rub her belly! Once more, my husband & I just looked at one another. He remarked how unusual it was that she already trusted us. It was as if she was unfazed by being uprooted from her former home mere hours before. Now she was asking for more attention. Later on . . . wouldn’t you know it? The playful routine Misty used to enjoy, Sadie repeated. It was uncanny that 2 dogs could behave so similarly.

The two things we vowed we wouldn’t allow were nixed within a few short hours! We were so relieved that Sadie felt safe, we really didn’t care.

Our First Car Ride

August 9, 1999: The day to meet Sadie had come! My husband and I were on our way to the meeting point to pick up this needy little one. We talked about what we knew of Sadie and wondered about her. In the course of conversations with Sadie’s owners over the weekend, they had revealed they’d only had Sadie for about 6 weeks. Her “mommy” had gotten her from a co-worker whose husband had not been nice to Sadie. We’re unsure of everything that occurred in that home, but that she had somehow been abused was clear. She had only lasted in that home for a couple of weeks, and the woman begged her co-worker to take Sadie because she feared her husband. That woman had acquired Sadie from a camping buddy, and Sadie’s stay in that home only lasted a couple of weeks, as well. The camping buddy’s aunt had given Sadie to her. This aunt was apparently an aged friend of the original owner, but she couldn't handle her. So the web that would be Sadie’s recent history was tangled, and it would take a bit of detective work to understand the situation fully. We would be Sadie’s 6th home in a very short time span! All her owners chief complaint was Sadie’s behavior: depression, biting her back, withdrawal, bowl aggression, and wetting the carpet. I was confident, though, that given the right home Sadie could overcome these issues! And I was determined to find her the right home. I remember feeling so nervous that I had butterflies in my stomach. When I mentioned this to my husband, he confessed that he, too, felt the same way. “What would she be like? Would she like us? Would she favor Misty, and if so, could I handle it?” So many questions were running through my mind. It was not our intention to give her a permanent home; once we rescued her we had every intention of finding her another good home. But first things first! Her life must be spared!

We arrived at the meeting spot a few moments before Sadie’s owners. Incidentally, the youth camp I was at the day Misty died I was in this town. In another twist of irony, little did we realize that Sadie had been born and spent her first weeks in her breeder’s home just under 5 minutes away! We would not find this out for 9 years. So, needless to say, this town holds a special place in my heart.

The butterflies continued with each moment we waited. Sadie’s current “mommy” told me to be on the lookout for a white car with 2 red-headed children in the back. When I saw 2 little red heads, I knew it must be them. But then….I saw this cute dog walking around in the back freely and felt so sorry for the life she was living.

We got out of the car to meet this new furry friend. She was over 10 pounds heavier than Misty (Misty was ¼ poodle), but still in many ways they favored. It only took one look into her big eyes to feel compassion for her. Speaking of eyes….they were big…very big for a Lhasa! So big that I at first was convinced she was Pekingnese. I even asked the owners about this saying, “Are you sure she’s a Lhasa?” Now, I think Pekingnese are adorable, I just wasn’t familiar with the breed. She looked cautiously at me and my husband, and was extremely gentle. We both thought that she was probably thinking, “Here I go again! How long will this last?” When her owner kissed her face and hugged her to say good-bye, I just felt in my heart that there was something special about this dog. This was no out-of-control animal. This was an animal in search of herself. In search of people to love her for who she was. And let her be herself. She put up no fight when we took her. I’m sure she had gotten used to the transfer-of-ownership routine by now. It was apparent she was sad. She needed to know she was loved and would never be abandoned again.

We had no air-bags, so she rode between my husband and I in the front seat. At one unforgettable moment of the ride, she laid down her head and sighed deeply. I remember my husband nudging me and whispering, “depressed.” We both couldn’t help but get misty-eyed for this little one. Eventually she would put her head on my lap, which surprised me. For a little dog to have endured what she had over the last few months, that she would trust me felt amazing. The butterflies still remained as we got closer to home. What would the evening hold? How would she adapt to yet another home?

What about Sadie?

Back on my phone call to the Lhasa Apso rescue committee. I called and spoke with a kindred spirit named Kathy and explained that I was heartbroken over losing Misty. I wanted to know if there were any puppies that needed a good home. WELL…..she said she thought she had the perfect candidate in mind. The only hiccup was that she was NOT a puppy. Kathy told me she was 2 years old. She also stated very playfully that this little dog named Sadie, “has problems.” I told her to tell me about them. And when she did, I could not help but smile. Sadie was possessive of her owners, wasn’t great with kids, liked hopping on people furniture, tended to experience separation anxiety, and her biggest problem of all . . . she liked food . . . A LOT! To me, those weren’t “problems,” they were part of the Lhasa experience!

Kathy explained that Sadie’s owners were on the verge of putting her to sleep because she had bitten one of their children. But in the course of our conversation, I learned that Sadie had been provoked. A stray lollipop was left on a coffee table, and Sadie could not withstand the temptation! Instinctively she went after the lollipop, but the toddler tried to stop her, and well . . . Sadie did what came naturally; she bit the child (it was not a serious injury). Because of this, Sadie literally had gone into a depression, I was told, and had chewed off “2-3 inches” of her mane. The owners were at a loss. Come to find out, they’d only owned her for a few short weeks. But more about that in another post.

I hung up with Kathy and shared the information with my husband. I was still terribly heartbroken over Misty and the thought of bringing another pup into my life sent me for an emotional roller coaster. I could not bear the thought. Since my husband had always had a dog in his life, this too was extremely difficult for him, but he felt ready to have another one. I just wasn’t ready yet. In the meantime, I called the current owners for more information and found out in fact that she was over 6 ½ years old! I thought, “NO WAY! This dog is already set in her ways and I’m not ready for another heart break any time soon!” My husband and I agreed that this wasn’t going to work for us. So he kept an eye on the paper for puppies.

We drove to a breeder’s home and looked at 2 Maltese puppies, we went to a large store and nearly bought a feisty Maltese girl, went to another store and our hearts went out to a sickly Lhasa boy, and came close to getting a little ShiTzu boy whose family was moving overseas. All of these were adorable, but on the brink of decision, I would emotionally collapse. I just didn’t feel ready. The night we saw the ShiTzu, I could not sleep. The thought of Sadie being punished for obeying her instincts kept gnawing at me and I kept wondering what would happen to her. I couldn’t get her off my mind. Little did I know, my husband felt the same way. The next day he called me from work and brought Sadie up. He said, “What about Sadie?” He suggested that since her lifeline was running short, what harm would it do to take her in for a few days and find her a good home? For the first time, I felt that was something I could do. I didn’t have to make a long-term commitment; I could just do a good deed and find this baby a loving home! So I called the owners and told them what we were willing to do. We set up a meeting spot half-way between their city and ours. So, on August 9, 1999, with butterflies in our stomachs, we set out for a road trip that would change our lives.

My First Dog, Misty & the Sadie Connection

Where do I start in telling Sadie’s story? It seems like we had Sadie for forever! In reality, we only had her since she was 6 years, 8 months old. To backtrack a bit, I must tell you of Misty, my first dog and beautiful friend of 14 years. Misty was ¾ Lhasa Apso, ¼ poodle. As a small child, I was terrified of dogs because my granny’s Alaskan Husky had playfully knocked me to the concrete and caused (minor) bruising and scratching. From the time I was about 3 to age 9, I was petrified of dogs. My parents were very wise, and knew I could not live with this fear for the rest of my life. A colleague of theirs had 2 dogs who had puppies and one day in July 1985, my family and our dear neighbor’s family took a country drive for a big “surprise.” Wouldn’t you know it? My mom had tricked me into going to see the cutest little puppies in the world! And I got to pick which one would come home with us! I saw this adorable brown and white furball and she just seemed perfect, fearful though I was! I thought we should call her Mixie. But cooler heads prevailed, and the name Misty was chosen. Our neighbors picked out a white male dog and named him Eddie. What fun it would prove to have her brother and playmate right across the street! I still remember these precious pups playing in the back of our car on the ride home. They could fit right in your hand. And I’ll never forget my mom giving Misty a bath in our kitchen sink. I looked with wonder that first day, but I was still afraid. Moment by moment, my little mind was realizing that this little creature would never hurt me!

The next morning I awoke and went to the kitchen to check on our little friend. She wiggled through the hallway to meet me and stopped between my feet for me to greet her. In that moment, all my fear disappeared. That little creature cured in less than 24 hours what had been so controlling for years! I already loved her. Little did I know that for the next 14 years I would love her more with each passing day. She was always there for me. I married in 1993 and no longer saw Misty every day. She had a special bond with my husband and it was always a joy to spend time with her. When my parents would go out of town, we loved caring for her and keeping her with us. Over the years, her health was generally good, but she did have a heart murmur and sometimes fluid would build up in her lungs. But she lived a very full and spunky life! Her personality was very sweet and she was extremely friendly to strangers and playful with friends!

In 1998, my mother called to say Misty was not doing well. I could hardly believe her, because we’d just celebrated my brother-in-law’s birthday and she was doing great. Nevertheless, Misty did not eat for 6 days. She was hospitalized and the vet told us she was experiencing kidney failure. He advised us to put her to sleep and said there was nothing he could do. I was heartbroken. My mom and I wanted to make sure the rest of the family could spend time with her over the weekend, so we told him we would bring her back on Monday. I felt like my heart was going to come out. My husband and I just cried and cried in each other’s arms. Our family developed a system of care so that Misty would not ever be left alone. My sister, who is an extremely caring person, wanted to do something special for Misty. She suggested we all have Sunday lunch together and just love on our little buddy. So we did. I took Misty outside after lunch and realized something was going on. I felt impressed to open up her mouth and when I did, to my unbelief, I discovered that part of her tongue had been cut off. She was spitting out the dead part. Thankfully, the majority was still left, which would enable her to function mostly normal. I had a mix of sadness, thinking what pain she must have endured; but yet joy that perhaps I wouldn’t be losing my little baby quite so soon! When we realized what was going on, it was as if Misty had new life breathed into her! Her eyes lit up and there was no quit in them! My little baby was going to live!

Her new vet was amazed and to this day, we do not know how the accident happened, nor why her first vet failed to discover this even though she was hospitalized! But we were so grateful to have her with us. From that moment on, we cherished every day spent with Misty. My husband and I split custody with my parents so that she was rarely alone. I would cuddle my precious friend each day and tell her, “Every day with you is a gift.”

June 1, 1999 we celebrated her 14th birthday, thanking God for the miracle of Misty! One week later, I left for youth camp where I served as a counselor. Later that day, my mother left a message for me to call her. I knew in my heart something was wrong. And it was. Unexpectedly, Misty had passed away. She just went to sleep and never awakened. She was in no pain and her kidneys were actually okay. She just went to sleep. I’m grateful she did not suffer. But still my heart was shattered to a million pieces. I felt so lost and so sad inside. Life would never be the same without my Misty.

Two months later I was surfing the internet looking for Lhasa Apso pictures. I happened upon the Lhasa Apso Rescue Association for my state. My husband suggested I call them to see if they had any puppies. So I did. And that’s when I learned about Sadie Moriah.