Tribute

So, I'm up. It's 5am and I've been awake now for 3 hours.

I felt compelled to be up just in case Koty needed me for anything. I came downstairs at 3:40 to check on Koty, Sadie and my husband who slept in a little bed near Koty all night. We are slightly fond of our boy, Koty...

Anyway, Koty was okay, had been a bit restless, so I gave him some more pain meds and he's sleeping nicely right now. Our girl, Sadie, is zonked out. She's a good sleeper lately.

I felt that I needed to write some more about Lady, Koty and Sadie. Lady, my anxious, neurotic, horrible, wonderful dog that I adopted when she was 6 years old was the other love of my life. Koty and Lady were inseparable literally from the first day they met.

There were a dozen or more dogs playing in Salem Common the day Lady and I met Koty and my husband. Koty and Lady literally took one look at each other and that was that. Instant, true love. From that day forward, Lady always tried to get into this certain house that we'd walk by on our daily walks. Turns out? That's where my husband and Koty lived. I didn't know it, but Lady did.

I started dating my husband not too long after, and then we all moved in together shortly after we started dating. I'm afraid it was a pretty adorable love story.

Here are Lady and Koty:










Inseparable is what they were. And they fought over bones and Lady kicked Koty's ass! She was all Alpha dog and poor little Koty who was 5 years Lady's junior didn't stand a chance!! He loved her and followed her and did whatever she wanted. They were quite the pair.

Well, Lady got old and got cancer. It riddled her little body and she got so very sick at the end. The vet saw her ultrasound after she stopped eating, and they didn't tell us, but they had given her maybe 5-7 days to live. I'm glad we didn't know that at the time. I would have been more devastated than I already was.

She was diagnosed in May of 2007 and she died on December 8th of that year. She held on for nearly 7 months for us. For my husband, who she WORSHIPPED, for me, who loved her more than my own life and, of course, for Koty who worshipped and loved Lady.

She was a good good girl and gave us so much. And she was the world's most unruly, loud, barky, obnoxious, mean dog who even bit other dogs! A terrible, rotten dog that was the best best girl. I miss her so much even now that I'm crying for her. I ache to be with her again.

And now Koty will go to her. And they can play and be together again and I'm thankful that she is waiting for him and that they will be reunited. It will either be today or tomorrow. Koty will have to let us know.

So, that was the Lady and Koty love affair that ended on December 8th, just one week shy of Lady's 14th birthday. Koty was utterly devastated and not himself after Lady died. We knew we needed to get him a friend despite the fact that we were not ready to have another dog...But Koty needed someone.

Three months to the day after Lady died, we got Sadie. Sadie is the most loving, sweet, adorable, giving little thing. She is beautiful in every way from her soul to her beautiful face and body. She came from a f*cking pet hoarder in Tennessee that utterly neglected all of their 50 dogs. These people should rot in hell for what they do to these animals.

In any case, Sadie came to us via Petfinder.com. They had pictures of her on there and we took one look and it was instantaneous. Both my husband and I knew she was ours. The weirdest thing was that she looked exactly like Koty and her real name before she came to us? Was Lady.

Good Lord.

So, she was in foster care in Pennsylvania and I communicated with her foster mom, Jill, several times. We picked Sadie up on the side of the road, in the pouring rain, as Jill and her husband had nicely agreed to transport Sadie to Foxboro so we could get her.

Sadie was utterly unresponsive. Totally confused. She was dull, had no personality whatsoever and we were just so confused by this seemingly lovely animal that was lost lost lost in her own head.

It took a couple months, but Sadie warmed to Koty and to us. She loves her food, she LOVES her momma...Oh, my goodness, how she moans and groans and squeaks with happiness every morning when I awaken her! She finally loves her daddy and we gradually saw Sadie come out of her shell!

I got her so happy at times that she would fall on the ground, upside down and wiggle back and forth, wagging madly with this wild, wild look in her eyes! Oh, she loves me so!! And she adores other dogs...Our neighbor had this legendary dog, Stout, and Stout was a stud and a half. That dog was something. And Lady ADORED Stout and then, in turn, Sadie did! She would yip and run in circles, madly flirting with Stout every time she saw him! It was adorable!

We have so many friends and neighbors who are great dog people and some of Sadie's other favorites include Jake, Callie, Kao the chihuahua, Freida, Dudley and a host of other cute doggies. Sadie has now been with us for nearly 4 years. It'll be 4 years in March of next year. I do hope she makes it that long...

Sadie is in tough shape, too. Riddled with arthritis in her neck, spine and back legs. She's got dementia, has lost most of her incisors from chewing through cans to get to food when she was young...She has terrible, weak muscles from years of no exercise and poor nutrition. BUT, we have given her a wonderful life. She survived a terrible ruptured spleen that almost took her away from us last May, but she is doing well now. She still loves her life. And we love her.

Sadie and Koty took a while to become friends, but they really are. She visited him over and over yesterday, and lay next to him - touching him - several times yesterday. She knows something is not right.

Here are Sadie and Koty in the last two years:








That last picture is so wonderful. The softness captures Sadie and Koty perfectly. They are lovely, soft and gentle dogs.

We took Koty to the beach last night at sunset for his final foray into the ocean - the place he loves to be the most on earth.

Say a prayer for us today and be well. Go pet your dogs and cats and give them a hug. They deserve everything.

Many thanks to my wonderful friends and relatives who have come to say goodbye and who have offered the nicest, kindest words to us during this terrible, difficult time. We love all of you very, very much.