Three Kids and a Dog: Goodbye My Sweet Sadie Girl

It has been a rough year with Sadie and we knew she was growing tired as it became more difficult for her to walk. She couldn't really do the stairs anymore either (and we have a lot of those in our house) - even just the few she'd navigated before. We had to make adjustments to our lives and hers.

Sadie's Last Family Photo Shoot Pic

We brought her upstairs to sleep every night by using a sling and hoisting it over our shoulders to get all 110lbs of her up there. Why not just let her sleep downstairs? Well, she's a Bernese Mountain Dog and they love to be with their people so I said, someday she will not be here with us and we won't get to bring her upstairs to sleep with us so I am going to do all that I can to get her up here while she's still with us.

We still brought her outside four times a day. Her walks got shorter. Tom built a cart off our back deck with an automatic pulley system to get her back inside safely. She went to all of her appointments - acupuncture, laser, massage - and they did help a bit. We tried to switch up her medications to see if anything would improve her strength. They didn't and some made her pee more or gave her diarrhea (that was fun) so we went back to the tried and true meds. I took her for a ride almost every day in my car. She loved going for rides and I kept it up. We ran errands, went to Starbucks and went to her "spa appointments" which were her laser and acupuncture sessions.

Life went on and we went on vacations (not too many because we hated leaving her) and her boarding facility would call us with updates and make accommodations for her special needs. We were lucky to have them so we could get away for Christmas last year, Spring Break and our niece's wedding in Italy this summer, and then finally this Christmas.

We knew her time was limited as she was not doing well the week before we left. She was struggling to walk more and I had some very hard conversations with her vet. She just seemed so tired. Tired of making her legs try to work when they wouldn't. Her body had failed her and she would fall down unless we were holding her. She had a skin infection that took her down and affected her quite a bit in the end but we were finally able to get a quick acting shot approved and she rallied a bit. I thought we could get through the holidays and this trip and we'd have a little more time together and then we'd say goodbye.

Sadly, her boarding facility called me early one morning while we were in Hawaii to let us know that they were taking her to her vet. Her breathing was labored and they were concerned. So off they went. They brought her in and took her back. Examined her and the vet called me and told me that her oxygen levels were very low - like 77% when they were giving her oxygen and they think 95% is the lowest they like to see. They thought she may have pneumonia. She would need 24 hour care and a feeding tube, and needed to be transferred to VCA Aurora if so. VCA Aurora. Not a bad place but that's where Adler passed away. I couldn't send her there. And I couldn't do it just to keep her alive. She couldn't get air and she was suffering. I needed to let my baby go and I wasn't there. That's the hardest part of all this. If I thought for one second that I could get on a flight and make it back to be there, I would have but I could not let her suffer one more minute.

I am eternally grateful to the manager of her boarding facility who stayed with her in her final moments on this earth and to her vet. I hope she is up there running, yes running, with Adler.

Adler was my heart dog but Sadie was the one who saved me after we lost Adler. She was a lot of work even as a puppy but she was the sweetest dog and so stoic too. What she endured in her lifetime, I hope no other dog has to endure. But now she is free.

Goodbye my sweet Sadie girl. I'll love you forever.