Sassy (she's on the far right with her brother Todd on the left and sister Sophie in the middle) came into our life about five years ago shortly after our little boy Sherman passed away. She was a nine year old lost little girl in need of a new home, and here was Mackie and I with some love to share. She was shy and timid at first, but she started coming into her own after about a year here.
Mackie was reading ads in Craigslist when she ran across a listing a family added about this nine year old Miniature Schnauzer they were looking to re-home. Mackie showed me the add, and I can still see the profile picture of Sassy sitting all alone in what looked like a huge field. She was tied to a clothesline and looked lost. It broke my heart.
We talked about her and Mackie called the people. A short time later, a lady, her daughter, and Sassy showed up. The lady told us that her husband had taken a job in Everett, and they decided to rent a place that didn't accept pets. They put Sassy in the ad to see if they could re-home here. If they could not find a home for her, they were going to put her to sleep. I was stunned. I knew then and there that she would not be leaving here.She had a crate and a toy to go with her. We kept the toy and sent the crate with the lady and her daughter.
Sassy slept in a hallway closet that first night; our guess was it was similar to the crate she grew up in. This continued for the next few months and finally she started coming in the bedroom and sleeping on a bed Mackie had made up for her. It really took her another year to really grow into our family.
She was always so excited to see me when I got home from the office. She'd be wagging her butt, her tail was literally cut flat against her backside, and she'd greet me with this "rer rer" sound. She loved a treat and a walk and not necessarily in that order. Gradually, the three worked their way into their own family roles. Todd is the lover, Sophie is the brat, and Sassy was the family protector. Our neighbors attempted more times than I can count to try and get their dogs introduced to Sassy, but she would not have none of that. Any dog in the yard other than Todd and Sophie, and she was ready to fight. It was everything I could do to hang on to her. There was never a successful time where she would be calm around another dog other than her brother and sister.
Sassy ended up with three beds around the house; the bedroom had a cusiony dog-sized mattress with blanket, a double dog-sized mattress near the fireplace (her favorite), and the original hallway closet bed that she hadn't been in for quite some time.
She loved being outside in any kind of weather. She'd find a spot no matter how muddy. Plop her body down. And, then she'd rub her belly on the ground like crazy. She'd lay outside for hours. One of her favorite spots was outside the family room door where Mackie works on her pottery. Sassy could see Mackie and had full view of our yard to protect us from those pesky squirrels running along the fence tops. She'd give them a good run for their money.
I called her my little bumpy girl because of the numerous fatty tumors that she had. She had a cyst on her face when we took her in, and our vet removed it from her. Fortunately, that one never returned. We had her checked a number of times, but three weeks ago she started losing weight pretty rapidly. This time she had a two tumors growing in her stomach. Our vet said that she didn't appear to be in any pain and we brought her home.
I came home this afternoon and she gave me her little wiggle as much as she could and then she was ready to rest. She's chasing rabbits with our little Sherman tonight. We miss her terribly, but we know she's in a much better place tonight.
