Ripley's friend passes on to a place in all our hearts

Sassy Wild, 2003-2014

a big yawn at breakfast time after a sleepover with Ripley

 Sassy was a big girl, a gentle girl who loved her friend Ripley.   She came into my son's life some eleven years ago, as a puppy, and was always his best friend with four legs.  She lived in North St. Louis County, then Eureka, Missouri, and survived his short lived marriage yet never left his side.  She moved with him to Indianapolis, and never complained about spending all day waiting for him to come home.  She even endured living with his grandmother, who never realized how great a dog she was, and later lived with another dog in a small two bedroom in the Broad Ripple area, where she at least had a nice fenced yard to run.

the last sleepover, April 2014

When J.B. moved to Florida, she never complained about that long cross country ride, as she was with the boy she loved, as he loved her.  She even made friends with Bobby, the gruff New Yorker who was a family friend willing to take her out during those days our son's schedule kept him unable to walk her during the day.  My wife and I had the privilege of walking her some days, and she was always happy to see us.

From time to time, she'd come out to the island, and spend a night or two, where she'd play with Ripley's squirrel toy or just sit with her smaller buddy.  She was a powerful girl, who loved little dogs and would pull on her lead whenever we walked her, we'd have to restrain her with great difficulty.

I will always remember her as that proud lab/chow mix, who enjoyed walks and would lay down a prodigious pile of poop.  I last saw her about a week ago, and while she was getting thin, I figured it was just old age.  Big dogs don't always last as long as smaller breeds, like Beagles, but she had a problem which manifested itself in what we believed was a stroke.  One vet ended up taking an inconclusive Xray and we took her to Critical Care Vets, where Ripley had his back surgery (earlier blogs spoke of this escapade of his).  Dr. Anne Chauvet was not present, but her able staff administered a MRI, which revealed a cancer with fluid around her heart, and my wife was able to have them wait until my son arrived, so he could make his goodbyes.  They witnessed a devoted dog trying to hold on until her master arrived to let him say goodbye.   Blessedly, the cancer took her quickly as it was not operable.  Many tears that day, many the following, and some while I write this.

Sassy, I'm the lucky one - I'll never have to hold the memory of your passing with dignity, weak with fluid surrounding a very faint heartbeat, holding on those final moments with my wife and son.  I'll just have to remember the good days, where you'd want to pull me up the street wanting to say hello to smaller dogs who frankly where somewhat terrified at the sight of an 85 pound freight train on four legs bearing down on them.  I knew you just wanted to say hello.  And in remembering those moments of a wonderful friend at her strongest, I will offer these pictures taken within the past 30 days.  Sometimes we adults think its heroic to try to spend thousands more to eke out another six weeks, while not thinking about the dog enduring more procedures ultimately end up at that same place.   My son made the hard call, as he had done with my Millie three years ago - I know there's a horrible hole in his heart tonight, as there is in mine - this eulogy is my way to grieve.  No offense meant to my son's way of grieving, mine just is a bit more cathartic, and public.  As we'd say whenever she'd stay over on her blanket on the floor at the foot of the bed "lay down Sassy, it's time to go to sleep"...............