On the Trail of Shadows

She descended from royalty and displayed a regal countenance along with her fun uninhibited side. She held her head high in public while with me and danced with joyous abandon in private.

Her jet black hair reflected rainbows in each strand while in the sun. She would focus her attention with anyone with penetrating brown eyes.

I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and she returned that love ten-fold. Love which I did not deserve. We were together too short of a time and I'm reminded of her often, sometimes with regret and sometimes with happiness.

Sadie was our first dog, a cocker spaniel and lab mix, "rescued" from a family that really didn't treat her well. She found a welcomed place in our family instead.

She was a proud dog, if dogs have that trait. She held her head high during car rides and walks as if she wanted everyone to see who she was and who she was with. She loved tracking rabbits, mice and squirrels, although she never could catch a squirrel. She took pride in chasing them off, holding her head high in another victory as protector of the realm back yard while the squirrel chattered away in that ash tree.

On her final walk, she defiantly held her head high refusing to lay down as she fell asleep for her rest. Pride still in her character as she went home.

Gone before we bought the acreage, I'm convinced she would have never wanted to leave. In the twilight I she her shadow, nose to the ground, tracking a rabbit back to its nest. Once, on a hot day of cutting weeds, I saw the tall grass part with a black and white spaniel/lab dog coming towards me. Her head held high as her stub of a tail wagged furiously. When I stepped forward, the vision drifted as mist into the wind.

I was probably overheated for this mirage. I miss Sadie and I do sometimes see her in the corner of my eye following a rabbit trail and then vanishes when I look her way.

She was a good dog, better than I deserved.