Sadie, happy lady

Sadie is a mostly shepherd, maybe a little something else, female, about 5 years old, that I pulled out of the Greene County shelter.  She has one messed up ear, probably as a result of an infection that went untreated sometime in her past.  She was surrendered by an owner who has given up at least one dog to the shelter previously, so obviously she didn't come from a great home. 

Now, she's not the youngest or prettiest girl at the dance, but I looked at her and immediately saw a smart and wise dog.  This is a dog who had been through a lot, seen a lot more, and was a survivor.  She is undoubtedly smarter than her former owner.  I first tried her out with Sparky, but she and Sparky got into it and she limped away with a wounded leg, but she never really backed down from him.  After that she moved indoors and eventually to another foster home.

Sadie undoubtedly has an alpha female streak in her.  That's why she got into it with Sparky and I could see around here that she was wanting to control the other dogs.  But, she was smart enough to realize that she was new and had come into a household with an existing hierarchy.  She was basically just biding her time, observing everything, and figuring out who was who.  When she moved to another foster home, she did assert herself and take charge.  There was no other female dog in the household so the slot was open. 

She was adopted last weekend and seems to be doing well in her new home.  She's the only dog, which will suit her just fine, and she has two new daddies to spoil her.  She has moved from Greene County to Washington, D.C., proving just how adaptable dogs are, which explains why they've become such a great companion species for us. 

This girl struck me as special, because when I looked into her eyes, I saw our late Emmylou.  It's that look of knowledge, understanding both their world and ours, in more ways than words can express, it's the look of a wise canine.