Sadie, AKA "Marley"

I swear my yellow lab, Sadie, is Marley reincarnated! I am not kidding. I read the book Marley and Me by John Grogan last winter break, and it has since become one of my favorite books. Mainly because, as I said, I am living with my very own "Marley." To more fully understand what I mean, check out the link for the Marley and Me trailer coming out on Christmas. I swear that it is MY dog the movie is based on!!! http://www.marleyandmemovie.com/

For those of you that don't know Sadie, here are a few "Marley" stories I can share about her.

*Sadie ate everything as a puppy. You name it, she probably ate it. My personal favorite was when she swallowed a pair of my underwear WHOLE! No shredding, chewing, oh no. She looked JUST like Marley in the trailer when he has her necklace! All I saw were panties hanging out of her mouth, and then... GULP! They were gone. In one second flat. Other items she has eaten include shredded towels, dog bed stuffing, tons of toilet paper, and the dirt/dog hair from the bag I had emptied the Dyson dirt into. Oh yes...GROSS. She attempted to eat my students' report cards last year. I had to write "Sorry, my dog bit your report card!" on some of them! She also destroyed a remote and hid the batteries. I then thought she ATE the batteries, and googled this dilemma online. Yep, dogs can die from eating batteries. I was just about to take her to the vet instead of going to school when I for some reason thought to check under the couch. Batteries found. Death yet again escaped.

*When Sadie got spayed, she had to stay overnight at the vet. Now you would think that when a dog is SEDATED and IN PAIN, she would behave, right?! WRONG! When I picked her up the next day, the vet informed me that Sadie desperately needed some training. Now THAT made me feel like a good mom!

*I paid $800 to have my dog trained. She can sit, stay, shake, wave, lay down, spread 'em (like she's being searched by the police against a wall), speak, and even count! But does she still jump? Yes. Bark? Yes. Take things whenever her leash is not on her and run away from you with said stolen item? Oh yes. I am supposed to buy a shock collar, as per the trainer's suggestion. Do I think a $250 shock collar will help these issues? Well, the $800 dog training did not!

I must say though, she is getting better. Here is my slight glimmer of hope:

Here is the nice, new couch I bought this summer when I moved into my new apartment. It has also been the favorite resting spot of Sadie. This has caused many frustrating nights of me vacuuming the INCREDIBLE amount of dog hair off of it! Labs sure do shed a lot, especially on new furniture it seems!This is Sadie's bed that I bought from IKEA. This is how it normally looked. That is because Sadie is usually on my couch! See the problem???

However, tonight I was a mean mommy. Every time she got up on the couch, I pushed her off. I yelled. I pulled her leash. I abandoned my Masters homework assignment to discipline my dog. And here was the end result:

So maybe my "Marley" will mellow-out after all. But like Marley, Sadie has taught me a lot. She has taught me how to love something unconditionally. She has taught me how to forgive mistakes. She has taught me how to get over my fear of picking up POOP! She has taught me that no matter what happens or how often we have to move around due to mommy's crazy relationships, she will always love me. And for that I am grateful. Good dog, Sadie!

After thought...

As I was lying in bed last night after writing this post, it suddenly occurred to me that I did not share my latest and greatest "Marley moment" of Sadie's! Well, my mom and dad bought me a ring from Tiffany's for my 25th birthday present in October. I was normally good about putting it in my jewelry box, but one night I left it on my nightstand. Yep, Sadie got it the next morning while I was in the shower. Surprisingly, she did not swallow it. However, she chewed it so much that now it does not even remotely resemble a ring. It is squished completely flat. Therefore, it is ruined. My mom keeps asking, "Do you like the ring I got you?" "Yes, I do!" I say through clenched teeth. "Oh, well I just never see you wear it anymore." I don't have the heart to tell her what happened to it. Not that she would be surprised, because she knows Sadie and what she is capable of. So mom, if you happen to be reading this, I am sorry. And here is a current picture of my birthday present. Oh, Sadie....