Right after we got Sophie, we realized that her fears were not allowing her to enjoy life as a young dog should, probably because she was never allowed to run free, play, and just be a dog. The best lessons dogs learn are from other dogs, because they communicate on a purely intuitive level (rather than an intellectual one, like we do, which can send very mixed signals to dogs), and because they instinctively take their cues from other pack members ("is it safe?" "should I be alarmed?"). She was also having severe separation anxiety, and at that time we were crating her for her own protection and the protection of our house as she was a bit of a nervous chewer.
We decided that she needed a sister, a dog of a different personality type that she could learn with and who would keep her company, and who would encourage her to play and explore.
We saw Sadie (then called Sage) on The Milo Foundation's website. She was listed as a 7 month old puppy, believed to be half Daschund and half Australian Cattle Dog. We loved her curious expression and beautiful merle coloring and contacted the rescue center, who put us in touch with the foster family immediately.
When animals are in foster homes, they usually do a lot better than ones that are kept in kennels. They learn how to socialize, and are usually part of an animal family, so they learn to find their place within a group. Plus they get to sleep on couches, go to the park, and all of the other things that pups love to do!
The most important criteria on our list was that Sophie approved any new addition to the family. So we packed her up in the car and drove over to Oakland on a Saturday afternoon, hoping for the best.
Sophie was scared of the new neighborhood, scared to go up the steps of the building, but as soon as she got into the foster parents' home, she was fine. Living with the very nice young couple were Sage, and another foster dog, Louie. They seemed great in the house, but we wanted to make sure that once they were in the yard, they played nicely together.
It was an immediate fit. Sage was the perfect combination of energy and respectful submission. She was obviously intelligent and knew a few tricks, and Sophie responded very well to her. We knew that she was the right dog for us, and could not wait to take her home.
Luckily, we didn't have to. Normally, you have to go through the application procedure and home check in order to adopt a dog (and rightfully so), but the fosters also believed that we were a great fit and called Milo to see if we could take Sage home with us that day. They already had our application on file, so with the fosters' recommendation we were able to pay by phone and she was ours! It was a very happy day for all, especially Sophie. We were confident that due to Sage's respectful nature, she would do well with our two cats, Simon and Hugo, as well.
We wanted to change Sage's name, but one thing I always do with a rescue animal is try to choose something somewhat related to the original name. When I was growing up, my grandmother had a beautiful grey Persian cat named Sadie who lived to be about 20, and was the apple of my grandmother's eye. Sadie's best friend was Pamela, a black Persian cat that didn't love other people, but certainly loved my grandmother and Sadie. So that is how Sage became Sadie.
Here is what Sadie and Sophie looked like in their first week together at home:
Life today for these two is as one unit: Sadie & Sophie, Sophie & Sadie. They sleep together, play together, groom each other, and eat side by side. If Sophie wanders off in the park, which she tends to do, I just have to say to Sadie "Where's Sophie?" and she rounds her up for me. They are truly "sisters" in every sense of the word. We soon learned Sadie came with her own set of anxieties - nervous, pacing energy (especially at night), and a tendency to nip and be mouthy when excited. True to her Cattledog roots, she is very cautious of new people and new situations, and takes it takes awhile to earn her trust. But once that trust is earned, she is an amazingly loyal and joyful dog. Her entire body wags when you walk through the door, and she is hilarious to watch when she throws her bone in the air and catches it in her mouth. Sophie proved to be a calming force for her as well, so it really was, and is, a two-way relationship. Now I can't imagine one without the other.
How wonderful to know that you have a partner as you go through life's many adventures.
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