It is with great sadness I bid my 11 ˝ year old Berner girl, “Sadie”, aka International / Mexican / American Champion Cando’s Third Time’s A Charm, goodbye this morning.
Never have I known a sweeter, more willing dog in my life. Sadie did ANYTHING I asked of her – including training herself to show from / beside my wheelchair. Judges & spectators used to marvel at how well she showed & stacked & always asked how long it took me to train her to do that. I never trained her. It was natural. She WANTED to do it for me. She loved to show. Daughter of the amazing AM / CAN / MEX / UCI / FCI / INT. CH. Dallybeck's Echo Jackson CD, NDD, CGC, HCC, Sadie had the same elegance & grace. She had the smoothest movement I ever saw. I have a picture of Jack & Sadie together at a show where Jackson was BOB & Sadie was BOS .. I love that picture .. Sadie went down fast. She had been healthy as a horse until 3 days ago. We have had horrendous winter storms & the Vet felt that much snow had aggravated her arthritis - she was a true outside / snow dog. Her rear end quit working. We gave her a shot yesterday to reduce spinal swelling & see if we could relieve the pressure on her rear. Temporarily it helped. Overnight it got worse. Thank God for compassionate Vets. He was here at 8:30 this morning to see if there was progress. I didn’t have to call him in. There was nothing more we could do. Her rear was now buckling even with support. We let her go peacefully, talking to her & petting her as she drifted off to sleep. My voice was the last thing she heard & she wagged her tail as I spoke her name & called her my pet name “Susie Q” .. I’ll never be able to replace Sadie. She was one of a kind. Sadie brought me many good friends through dog shows & puppy homes. Her kids & grandkids still visit when they can. Sadie – I’m gonna miss you like crazy .. Candy Roper .. Bailey, the Cavalier, & her 2 pups www.callatg.com/~cando The lifespan of a dog is like the twinkle of a star in the universe. The influence of a canine companion on one's soul is forever.
