Catch up post : Fan Club Friday - Sassy

As many of you know, my husband's dog, Sassy, passed away last Thursday night. She was 15 years old and could no longer hear. She was the boss of his two dogs and jealous of anyone that came near her owner. She was a mutt, a beautiful white mutt, and a rescue puppy that he nursed back to health 15 years ago. This isn't a forum for describing the way it feels to watch a grown man's heart break right in front of you; but it is a place to give kudos to someone or something of which I am a fan.

So to Sassy, here we go:

- Jerrod couldn't wait to get home to see his dogs. Oftentimes, he would get out of the car and run down to the lake with them before even going inside to greet his parents. Sammy is an easygoing and overweight golden retriever, but Sassy was always an athletic and energetic dog with a whole lot of spunk. One thing that always tickled me about Sassy was her personality. We would throw a stick out into the lake and Sammy, the water dog, would go in after it. She was old, heavy, and had arthritis, but she would ease herself down into the deep water and swim out after that stick. I loved watching her big old butt float side to side as she swam. But here's the thing: by the time she got the stick and then swam all the way back, Sassy would jump in when she was about two feet from shore and steal the stick from her mouth! Then she would turn around and hop out of the water to place the stick at Jerrod's feet. He would praise Sassy, scratch her and kiss her face, giving her more love than she deserved as Sammy struggled to climb up the muddy bank, panting so hard I thought she would keel over.

- When our newborn son, Knox, was given his first stuffed animal, it was a blue little doggy attached to a pacifier. Before I knew it, Jerrod was calling this toy "Sassy" and now, although I fought for originality, the entire family calls it his "Sassy Paci."

- There is a picture on the front of our refrigerator of Jerrod's brother Paul and Sassy. My first question was, "Why is there a picture of Paul on the fridge?" (because we don't even have one of our son up yet). And my follow up question was, "If a picture of Paul needed to make the front of our fridge, why would Jerrod choose one of him cheesing with his eyes closed?" Jerrod's response was, "Cause it's an awesome picture of Sassy."

- And my favorite: Sassy was very territorial of Jerrod. She was a jealous little dog. Jerrod and I loved to taunt her by hugging and/or kissing in front of her. She would lift that little white head up and howl and bark with all she had, all the while worming her way in between our legs, an envious little wedge.

To Jerrod and his family, I say I'm so sorry for the loss of your dog, a Pace family member. To Sammy, I say I'm sorry for the loss of your best friend and constant companion. And to Sassy, I say that although we only saw each other once in a while and although I am quite allergic, I loved the smile you always put on my husband's face - and for that, I am truly a fan.