Bye Bye Beautiful Girl. . .

A week ago today we said goodbye to our beautiful Sadie. Those of you who read this blog will know that Sadie and I enjoyed many a walking adventure together; we went to the top of Snowdon, we drove a vintage VW bus around the Isle of Wight, we stayed in a castle in Scotland and  walked for miles and miles and miles - she was my adventure gal pal.

Just under a year ago we found out that Sadie had an aggressive form of cancer in her front leg which had also spread to her lungs. Although she was eleven at the time we decided to give her a chance and amputated her front leg. We had no idea how long she had before the cancer in her lungs would become an issue but any extra time we could give her was worth it.

Below is the story of Sadie's last year.

Our beautiful three-legged wonder dog!

Sadie Poorly Leg.

First came the biopsy of her leg. She had been limping a while and her leg had started to swell. Me and Stu thought it was arthritis but the biopsy showed it to be cancer. She sported a blue sock for a couple of days (although it kept falling off every few hours!) and after a couple of weeks of indecision we decided that her leg was just holding her back and she would be better off without it.

Sadie Three Legs.

Sadie lost her leg the last week of July 2017. She walked out of the vets all by herself and was a trooper right from the start. It was hard work for her at first but once she built up some muscle in the right places there was no stopping her! She amazed us and the vets with how well she dealt with it and she wouldn't take any help I tried to give by putting steps and things out for her to use. We were so incredibly proud of how brave and strong she was. She was our little three-legged star!

Growing into her new body.

It took a little while for her fur to grow back, and there were a couple of weeks where we had to cover the house in towels because she an oozy cyst for a while where her stitches were, and she had to wear a donut to stop here licking her stitches which she wasn't impressed with, but soon all her stitches were out and she looked and felt like her old self again (minus a leg obviously).

New Walkies

Our old walks were too long for Sadie now as she was basically running everywhere so we found a new walk at Acton Park. She made lots of new doggy friends and found a new hobby that involved walking up and down all the little fishing jetties.

An Island Christmas.

Sadie's first milestone was making it to Christmas. We really weren't sure that she would. We spent Christmas on the Isle of Wight with the whole family including my Mum's two dogs: Shadow and Molly. Sadie got to see her doggy friends (my sister's dogs) and made two new ones in Shadow and Molly. She went to the beach and enjoyed her last Christmas dinner. It was a wonderful Christmas and we were so happy that Sadie got to celebrate it with us

Another Op.

Sadie grew another cancerous lump on her chest almost where her leg used to be. Over Christmas it grew to quite a size and was clearly causing her trouble. We decided to get it taken out so Sadie ended up looking like Frankendog again for a little while. It was a painful recovery for her but as always she took it like a champ and soon she was running and rolling around like before.

Doggy Days Out.

We wanted to make sure that whatever time Sadie had left would be fun and happy. We went for lots of days out and she made even more doggy friends. We went to see the red kites at Nant-yr-arian. We went for fish and chips at the seaside. We rode the tram to the top of the Great Orme. Her last year was filled with adventure.

Sadie's 12th Birthday!

Against all the odds Sadie made it to her 12th birthday! We spent the day at the seaside, one of Sadie's favourite places. She had a birthday sausage and later a special birthday pizza all to herself. Almost a year before when we first learned that Sadie had cancer we never believed that we would be celebrating her 12th birthday, but we were so happy that we got to. It was such a lovely day and would be our final day out together. 

Farewell Sadie.

Over the last couple of months a cough had slowly been creeping up on Sadie. Her lungs were finally losing their fight to cancer. She stopped being able to roll around on her back or sleep on the sofa, and her walks were becoming harder and harder work for her. On the 29th of June, two weeks after her 12th birthday, we decided that it was time to say goodbye. She was coughing all the time, she couldn't sleep and she wasn't happy. We spent her last day doing the things she loved. She had a gourmet dog dinner for her breakfast. We went for a walk in the park and saw some of her doggy friends. We bought her some mini scotch eggs and she scoffed the lot. The vet and nurse who put her to sleep knew her well and made her feel safe, and although it was extremely sad she was surrounded by love when she went.

Sadie was such a wonderful and special dog, with a beautiful soul. Everyone who met her loved her and she spread joy wherever she went. I will miss our walks and our adventures. I will miss seeing her tail wagging through the door when I come home. I will miss having her stare at me with her 'food' face while I'm eating. I will miss having to step over her at the top of the stairs. I will miss stroking her velvety ears. I will miss her beautiful face. Most of all - I will miss her.

Sadie was the best doggy anyone could ask for. She was our beautiful little wiggles and we will love her always.