I’ve finished a bit more of Sadie’s Book.   Here’s part of Chapter 2.

Chapter 2 – Starting a new life

In March, I decided to move back to the South.  Sadie made the trip from Salt Lake to Georgia in a crate between the bucket seats in the front of the moving truck.   She really thought she should be in a lap the whole way.

I was staying with family while I searched for a job in Georgia.  Sadie went to the lake for the first time that summer.  Pugs are notorious for not being able to swim, so I got her a life jacket.  When I first put it on her, she was so top heavy, her feet started lifting off the ground.   I had to push her back end down until she shifted her weight.  I wish I had thought to take a picture.  It was so cute.  While she loved being with Mom, she was not a big fan of the boat.  We let her stay at the house during the rest of the boat rides.

Sadie stayed with a family friend while I spent 8 weeks traveling in training for my new job.   During this time, she went to family’s car lot during most days and hung out with their son on his nights off.   She developed her love of pizza during this time.   From then on, she would bark at you if you had pizza and didn’t give her some.   I would only let her have small pieces of crust and she always thought she should have more.

She decided pretty early on in life, that her spot was in a lap, preferably Mom’s lap, but definitely a lap.

If there was no lap available, her second choice was a pillow.   I don’t just mean a pillow on the floor.  If there was a pillow on the couch, then that’s where she’d be.  Not on the couch, but on the pillow on the couch.  If things were really bad, then the couch would do.

I was in my first Atlanta apartment when Sadie met her first and only boyfriend.   He was a beautiful Maltese.   When she saw him across the parking lot, she’d pull on her leash until she got to him.   He seemed just as fond of her.   We had some play dates for them.  It was really precious.  We lost touch of him when I moved to a new apartment.

When we went to visit my Dad and Dixie, she loved playing with their cat BJ.   She would chase BJ into their bedroom, and BJ would chase her back into the living room.

My first holiday season in Atlanta, we spent Christmas with my dad’s family in SC and then we flew to AR for New Year’s.  It was Sadie’s first time on a plane.  I had a soft side carrier for her.  She had so much fun playing in and around the kennel while it was in the living room, but the minute it was time to get in it for the plane ride, the fun was over.   She did not want to be in the carrier.   She thought that she should be riding on Mom’s lap, not under the seat at Mom’s feet.  I always had to take her out of the carrier at the gate until time to board because she would fuss the whole time we were at the gate.   Luckily, she was cute enough that the attendants never seemed to mind.

That’s all that I have done for now, but it has been helpful to work on this album.   I love knowing that the memories are documented and that I don’t have to worry about forgetting them.

We were visiting with my nephew yesterday on Christmas.  He’s 5 1/2 and sometimes says the most precious things.  Here’s what he said to me when I said his new Rudolph was good for snuggling.   “Like Sadie?   I wish she could come back to life.  She was my favorite pug.  I miss her.  She was special to me.”   Isn’t that just so sweet?    He’s been so good about letting his pug, Zoe, snuggle with me while we were here so I could have some pug love.

The best part of Christmas isn’t the gifts.  It’s the moments like these, together with family, letting each other know how much we care.