Engage on Hive: "Sasha"

"Having a dog will bless you with the happiest days of your life, and one of the worst days."

-Unknown

It's been a year and a season since my faithful, loyal and loving companion Sasha left my side. After all that time I still find myself get teary eyed and emotional as I write about her...

Sasha, a buff colored American Cocker Spaniel, was an integral part of my family dynamics for over 17 years. She grew up together with my son and daughter (my son, top left in the photo, was only two years old when we got her).

On January 2, 2002 my mom, dad, brother, daughter and son were riding together with me in the fashionable soccer mom minivan I owned back then. We rode in eager anticipation for over an hour-and-a-half to a small town located near Montgomery City, Missouri to the home where the family who had Sasha were located.

When we arrived, Sasha was even more adorable than in the emailed photos the breeder sent us. She was perfect in every way with a spunky personality and big brown eyes that melted your heart!

In this precious photo taken the day we got her, my mom is lovingly holding Sasha cupped in her hands. The "aww factor" is off the charts! Seriously, have you ever seen a puppy THIS adorable?

Driving back home, I could not stop stealing glances through the rearview mirror at all the love going on in the back of the van and watching my two kids, brother, and parents lovingly pass Sasha from one lap to the next.

I credit that cute little furbaby for turning our house into a home and making our family complete!

Notice how the inside part of Sasha's front legs form the shape of a heart?!

Sasha became part of my family the day before Super Bowl XXXVI back on February 3, 2002. Although the New England Patriots stole the game from our then home team, the St. Louis Rams, it didn't matter. Having a brand new, adorable little cocker spaniel puppy in the family was the best win ever!

I let my daughter stay home from school on the Monday after we got Sasha to bond with our new puppy, while I used a personal day and my then 2-year-old son was not yet in school. Every year on Super Bowl, I reminisce about the special weekend we got Sasha and cherish the fond memories.

Oh the memories of that day we brought her home, teaching her tricks, playing fetch, chasing bubbles, going on walks, riding shotgun in the Jeep everywhere I went, living through a near-death experience when we adopted a German Shepherd from the shelter to be her playmate and that dog almost killed Sasha, begging for handouts, sitting on my lap, sleeping at the foot of the bed (and making her way upward on me through the night), following me into the bathroom, howling for me when the garage door went up and I talked on the cellphone instead of coming in immediately, and not once did she let me out of her sight -- until her very last breath.

And when my youngest child went away to college in the Fall of 2018, it was Sasha who was at home to help ease me through being an "empty nester." I'm not going to sugarcoat how rough that transition period was for me. I knew Sasha's days were numbered after an emergency visit to the veterinarian a few months earlier in June of 2018 when I learned her kidneys were shutting down. She lived another seven months after the prognosis. And then she "waited" for me until I came back home after my daughter's wedding before she died two days later. Bittersweet...

I am thankful for all the years we had Sasha yet feel cheated that our pets don't live longer. Why can't dogs live to be 25 years old? The emotions and stages a pet owner goes through after losing a pet are similar to the death of a family member. Nobody should tell you "It's just a dog" or "Get another one -- you'll feel better."

Sasha was "that dog" and anyone who has loved a pet with all your heart knows what this means without any further explanation needed. Though I've had dogs my whole life -- every one of our past furbabies holds a special place in my heart -- the loss of Sasha is different. I cannot fathom another dog ever taking Sasha's place. But time has a way of healing the heart. And although there will never be a replacement to Sasha, I have too much love in my heart not to try again.

I need pets and animals.

They heal me.

While he was still alive my father, an avid dog lover who taught me everything I know about canines, told me that after he died he would appear through showing me a sign in the form of a dog. I have all the faith in the world that he will!

I believe in my heart Sasha is with my dad and brother now, and it gives me comfort to know all of my loved ones will be waiting for me when it's my time to go!

Tagging the talented @galenkp for the Posting Initiative. Learn more here

This is my entry for @photo52 hosted by the incredible @wwwiebe

Also tagging the awesome @dpet & @kona for the #dailypetphotography

Images taken with Samsung Galaxy Note8, S7 and Minolta Dimage digital camera

©2020 Nina Haskin. All rights reserved

Proud member of

@steemitbloggers @thealliance @steemusa @qurator

---