Night two without Sydney... It feels like a member of the family is gone. Will I ever get used to her not being here? We spent 17 years together and the memories have been coming in waves...
- The first time I saw Sydney at the Houston Humane Society. She was sitting with her back to me as I looked in her cage. Her name at that time was "Princess" and she had been given away because her family had too many pets. I called her name and she just stayed in place staring at the back wall. Finally, she turned her head to look at me as if to say, "What? You're just going to walk away like everybody else." I called her again while patting my leg and she slowly walked over to the gate. She looked so sad and I just KNEW. I told my grandmother, grandfather, and cousin who were with me, "Stay here while I go get a worker. This is the one." The Society told me that her brother who came in with her had been adopted by the Hearing Dogs Association to be trained to assist hearing impaired people, but that "Princess" wasn't adopted because she didn't have any personality. Boy, were they wrong! God just knew that I needed a furry friend for the next 17 years...
- I brought her home, placed her on a blanket, and sat down on the floor with her for a long time. She didn't really want to sniff around and seemed a little scared. I sat on the floor the rest of the night with a least one hand on her at all times. I was trying to bond with her and let her know that I was going to be taking care of her. It worked.
- The one and only time Sydney went to the beach she LOVED it! She chased the birds until her little paws were shredded from the shells. It was so much fun watching her run and play.
- She never did anything wrong... E-V-E-R! Never chewed up anything; never got into the garbage; never misbehaved. Always a good girl.
- She never learned to fetch or even sit! But when she was younger, we would play hide and seek, and she loved it!
- One time, she had a tumor grow right on the top of her head. It was pretty large and solid, and it would sometimes bleed when she scratched it. I worked at a church at the time, and I remember asking the children of several staff members if they would pray for Sydney's tumor to go away. I was DEAD SERIOUS and knew that God heard the prayers of little children! They prayed, and it did go away! It was a testimony that God answers all kinds of prayers!
- Syd never got used to be around kids. Some dogs like children, others tolerate them. Sydney definitely tolerated them. I think they scared her. (Sorry, Sophie!)
- The time she had parvo... giving her ice cubes made from gatorade... telling her that everything was going to be okay...
- The time her bowels telescoped after I gave her a leftover piece of steak from The Outback Steakhouse. (Word to the wise: NEVER give your dog meat!) She couldn't jump up on the bed with her stitches, so I slept next to her on the floor... The vet said that he had done all he could do for her. By the grace of God, she finally started to get well and pulled through.
- The times when it was just she and I...
sniff...
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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