Grieving The Loss Of Our 'Sally Girl'

Sally was our best friend, our therapy, our best girl. She was our almost 16-year-old black lab whom we loved and still love so much. On Friday, December 9th, she went on to "doggy heaven" ... which was probably the worst day of our lives. 

Sally was not always our dog. She started her life with a different family and ended her last 10 years with us after being neglected by her previous owners. Rescuing her was the best decision of my life as she gave us so much in return. You see, Sally was not your typical lab. She was not hyper, she did not love the water, and she certainly was not the type of dog to run crazily around the park. Sally girl was mellow, sweet, calm and preferred to be on your lap at all times. She did have some "lab" traits in her though, like the time I caught her eating a 5-pound bag of flour! Even in her last week we caught her eating out of the trash (she nearly devoured an empty pancake box!).

Sally was our first baby. I rescued her when she was 6-years-old and I was 18.  I was headed off to college but knew my mother would give her good care while I was at school. The day finally came in late July of 2007 when she was all mine! My now-husband and I got married and she became our dog! I got pregnant with our first son and I remember nights when I could not sleep so I'd head to the couch for some back relief. Sally would come with me and lay next to me all night long to keep me company. It wasn't until April of 2009 that she became a big sister to a little baby boy. She was so excited and accepting. I worried she would be jealous or sink into a depression ... but it was quite the opposite. She welcomed our son with open paws and loved him just as much as we did. Then our second son was born in 2010 and she greeted him with just as many kisses as she did with our first son. 

It was at this point that we started to notice her age catching up with her. She'd struggle getting up, going down the steps to use the bathroom and walking her usually quarter mile. We eased up on the walking and started carrying her outside to use the bathroom. She began barking because she could not get up and her hearing had completely disappeared. Sally was still the same loving dog who wagged her tail in excitement when she saw us reach for a treat for her. She still allowed "horse rides" by our two boys who loved her so much. Just two weeks ago our youngest was sitting by her while she was eating her dinner. He was taking her kibble out of her dish as she ate and was trying to feed it to her. This proves how sweet she really was. My husband and I had 110 percent trust that she would never hurt our children and that made our lives so enjoyable knowing that she and the boys lived in complete harmony. 

Sally was by far the BEST dog that I have ever met in my life. Ask anyone that knew her and they'd say the same. She was just such a good girl and we could not have asked for more in a four-legged companion. As I sit here with tears in my eyes writing this piece I am so thankful for the 10 years I had with Sally ... our BEST GIRL.

I'd like to share a dog treat recipe with you that she loved. It is my hope that you make these for your special friend this holiday season and show them how much you love them. 

GOOD DOG TREATS

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1 egg beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cubes beef bouillon

3/4 cup boiling water

2 TBS brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease 1 cookie sheet.

2. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water and allow to cool.

3. Combine flour, dry milk, egg, oil, beef broth and brown sugar. Mix well and knead dough for about 1 minute.

4. On a floured surface roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out whichever cookie cutter shape you think your special friend would like and place on cookie sheet.

5. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Serve within 1 week. Keep them in container on your counter or in plastic bags.