Welcome Home, My Sweetie Sadie!

By Skywing Knights // December 1, 2022

Hey all!

I have a very exciting announcement today! I’ve added someone to my family recently! Introducing my sweet little girl – Sadie!

Still a little puppy, Sadie is a Standard Golden Doodle (F1) and will grow to be between 50 to 75 pounds (unless her parents were mammoths, which they weren’t, I swear!). I’ve already been working on teaching her many commands, including Sit, Down, Touch, Stay, Come, Up, Off, Side, and Shake. We also started leash training and some puppy socialization. My goal is to be able to train her extremely well so that I can travel with her for road trips and thus go to a lot of places with a lot of people together and she won’t be distracted (ie. pulling all the time to meet people).

A Volun-Told Dog Sitting Mandate

I’ve always wanted a dog, but for the longest time, that just seemed like a far off dream. I’d grown up with dogs and over the years I determined that I didn’t want to just willy-nilly get a dog one day. I wanted to get one when I could provide one a good home and the attention they deserve. To me, it was the most fair thing that I could do for an animal that would be such a big part of my life and I didn’t want to risk having to give them up for a better home. (That’s another reason why I’m already working so hard to train her. I want to keep her forever and am not about to risk losing her!)

As some of you know, I recently moved and am now in a place where I could have a dog, but I wasn’t planning on getting a dog due to some external factors. Then my sister asked me if I could watch her dog for a week while she went on vacation. She has a little mutt (mostly Chihuahua though) and I said yes. So for a week, I took care of her little dog, who was, to my surprise, a real darling (she’d been a little stand-offish to me in the past).

The day her mom came back arrived though. As such, I had to bring her to a middle man so that my sister could have her dog back as soon as she got off the plane that evening. I said goodbye. And then I went home, where the house was quiet and there were no sounds of little paws.

I ended up going to bed and looking up at my ceiling. There was a distinct lack of a little warm body curled up next to me. (Because that’s what my sister’s dog did at night. She’d bury herself under my blankets and lie down right next to me). And to my surprise, I just started to cry because I felt really lonely.

My parents’ Golden Doodle when he was a puppy – too cute! How could I not also want a Doodle? <3

The Best Family and Friends I Could Ask For

Soon after, my parents spoke to me and in an authoritarian type of way almost, they said, “Alright – what kind of dog do you want?”

I stared back and answered, “Well, a Great Dane, but my place is too small for one.”

“Okay, then what kind do you want?”

I immediately answered, “If I can’t have a Dane, I want a Doodle, I want a Golden Doodle, like [your dog].”

The first picture I saw of Sadie. <3

I was then sent a number of links of Golden Doodle puppies by my parents and told to go pick one up. Finding a few puppies of interest, the only thing left was convincing my roommate that a dog would be a good idea. And to my surprise, when I asked her about it, she said she was okay with it (she’s not a big fan of dogs). When I asked her why, she said, “Well, you just seemed so much happier with a dog.”

When I first met my parents’ Great Dane puppy years ago. ‘Twas love at first sight!

And in that moment, I felt a monumental amount of relief and gratitude for my roommate. She really has a heart of gold and I’m so glad I can call her a soul sister. (And just saying, her heart matches her external beauty too. I was privileged to do a few photoshoots with her, including one at National Harbor!) But let’s get back on track. So that weekend, we went and we met two little puppies being taken care of by a sweet family up in Pennsylvania. And one of those puppies, I would take home.

She was so so little!! <3

The Waiting Game

The days leading up to picking a puppy became miserably long. I just couldn’t wait. I was so nervous and kind of couldn’t believe it was actually happening. So when I arrived, I could feel the nervousness and excitement coursing through me when out came two little puppies. I held them both and felt a hint of fear – I could only take one home. Who was the one I should take and how would I know?

I’d woken up early for this and prayed the day before and that morning to know and have that confirmation of which puppy would be the one. I wasn’t sure if I expected much. I think I mostly just expected to go and spend an hour deciding. But to my surprise though, the second time I held the puppy who would become my Sadie, I felt an overwhelming feeling of love come over me, hitting me like a mound of bricks. I started to cry and said, “This one, I think she’s the one. I’ll take her.”

I signed the papers, paid the family, gave my car keys to my roommate, and we began to drive away. At first my little puppy was nervous and clearly freaked out, but soon she calmed down and just laid there in on my chest. As I looked out the windows and at her, there were moments of on and off crying. I’d finally gotten a dog, but rather, it felt like I’d finally gotten my little girl. She was already so special and precious to me and now, all she needed was a name.

Her Name

My roommate and I went back and forth a number of times. But sometime in the first hour, we narrowed it down to Stella, Sasha, and Sadie. Then it was between Sasha and Sadie. At first I leaned towards Sasha, but… the fate of Attack on Titan’s Sasha didn’t exactly sit well with me when it came to the little one in my lap. And as I calmed her, I kept saying ‘you’re such a sweetie…’ Then the rhyme came, “Sweetie Sadie”. And that was it, she was my little Sadie.

We stopped several times on the way home (one of which was by a Sheetz – I love Sheetz!) before finally arriving and introducing her to her new home (particularly the kitchen), where we discovered she loved playing with a little squeaky ball – it was the cutest thing!

She was so confused here. She had no idea how happy she made me that day… and how much I wanted to give her all the love in the world for it.

I frankly can’t remember the whole day after we got home – I can only remember what I felt primarily. For most of the afternoon, I spent time with her until I had to take a shower. I turned the water on and stood there as the water rushed over me and I remember thinking that I really couldn’t believe it. Downstairs, I had a little puppy who was my own. I started to cry again, I was so grateful to my Heavenly Father for bringing the two of us together. Not only that, but I loved her already, so incredibly much, it just didn’t seem possible. I could only hope she’d come to love me as much as I loved her.

A New Precious Part of My Life

It also made me think a lot about my own parents and really, all parents. I’m single. I’ve never given birth. I’m no human being’s ‘mom’. I’ve only just now become a ‘dog mom’. But oh my gosh, if I was feeling this way and all I did was ‘pick her’ and ‘bring her home’, I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for new parents after 9 months of carrying a child and then giving birth. If I was a new mom, if I was just handed my new baby boy or girl after giving birth, I don’t think I’d be able to let go. I don’t think I’d ever want to let that baby go.

In that sense, it was also a very humbling day and one that filled me with adoration and admiration for parents around the world who love their children so deeply. Children need parents and parents who give of themselves to these wonderful little babies, I honestly never thought that would be ‘easy’. And, considering a new puppy is a bit like a newborn baby in that they don’t always sleep through the night, it’s not like I think it would ever physically be easy…

But I think for true parents, whether by blood or by ink, giving your heart must be the easiest thing to do. It’s the thing you feel you must do instinctively and that instinct must be a divine gift within every parent. Because there they are and there you are. And I can only imagine that they just become your world in that moment. The hard thing would be to deny them your heart, because they must, the moment you meet them, become your everything. At least, that’s my speculation.

My dad once said to his mother at the time of my birth (I was the oldest), “You know, I think I understand something now. I love you, mom, but I will never be able to love you as much as you love me.”

Her first trip to Home Depot!! <3

My Sweetie Sadie

Since picking Sadie up, she’s been a doll. After a week, she began sleeping through the night mostly (I can’t express how happy that makes me). Though she does wake earlier in the morning than I do (a great alarm clock I suppose, haha) and sometimes once in the middle of the night. This is partly why I was, at least during August, not as active on here unfortunately. Sleep, I need sleep…. With time though, she’ll be able to go for longer though without needing to use the bathroom.

I continue to work with her on training commands, partly as I said before, so that she can eventually travel via car with me and go to public places, but also so that if danger ever arose, she’d listen to my warnings and commands to keep her safe. Right now, the big one we’re working on is ‘Come’, which is a little hard with so many distractions around, but she’s getting there. We’re also working on leash training… but she loves rolling in the grass though! So that puts a bit of a halt on our plans every time we go out in the neighborhood. But in the backyard I think she’s slowly getting it. In other words, I have a very smart little girl!

As early as I could, I took her to the vet and got her another round of shots (vaccines). With those, we were able to begin puppy socialization training too – and she’s been great when it comes to meeting new people since then. I kind of can’t wait for her to meet my parents’ dogs when the time comes – I want to see their reaction (even if at that point they’ll know I’m a ‘traitor’)!

I might be a ‘traitor’, but can you blame me?? Just look at that face!! <3

A Lot of Work, But She’s Worth It

In short, she’s a lot of work already, but I love her and so it’s all worth it to me. There have been many times already when I have continued to reflect on how lucky I am to have her. I also worry like a mom a lot. The thoughts ranging from ‘oh my gosh I hope she doesn’t choke’ to ‘I hope she’s happy’ run through my head all the time. It’s very surreal. But I hope I can be a good ‘dog mom’ and that I can make many wonderful memories with her.

Just look at that little bum!

It’s been a wild, emotionally ride. I brought home my very first puppy, like, my puppy, no one else’s – my Sadie girl. I’ve cried many times, getting so overwhelmed with emotions of happiness, gratitude, and love. I’m so happy, but I also feel so humbled and blessed to have her in my life now. She feels like a gift from our last family Golden Doodle, who I’m sure escorted her down from heaven. In that regard, I know she was meant to be mine. And I hope she’ll always know that I’m always here to be her ‘mama’ and that she’ll ultimately love me too.

So I hope you’ve enjoyed all the cute puppy pictures of Sadie! For even more pics, be sure to follow her on Instagram @mysweetiesadie (since otherwise she would basically be all I post on my SkywingKnights Instagram!) ^^;