David and Sadie

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Grandson David loves dogs and will have one of his own some day. Meanwhile, he is doting on guest dog Sadie. Any time she is in the house and he is not working, he will play with her. This is Sadie Sunshine Bear spending time with David.

Sadie is staying here with her owner Rose, friend of our son John $pencer. He and Rose are with us, gearing up for a nine-day hike on the Mountain to Sea Trail. They will be in the mountainous part, hiking toward Mount Mitchel, the highest point in the Eastern United States. To me it is a nine-day wonder, because they plan to hike ten miles a day. The tricky part is that there will be no easy access to stores from the trail. That means they must carry all their food with them, to be re-hydrated on the trail. Food is heavy. Sadie needs to help carry her own food, and she wore her empty saddle bag for a while to get used to it.

Normally Sadie is a bundle of energy, never still for long. She rushes headlong from one person to another and from one activity to another. As soon as they put her wearable suitcase on her, she stood still and looked at us with soulful eyes. David felt so sorry for her that he fetched her water bowl and favorite ball. She lay under the table for a long time, not even moving her tail. I would never have guessed the gizmo could turn her from an animated animal to a zombie. We could have used that kind of magic occasionally when she was jumping up on us. However, David and I hated to see the joy of living sucked out of her. She will wear the pack a few times a day until she gets used to it.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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58 thoughts on “David and Sadie”

      1. So glad to read that! 🙂 I used to have a Siamese cat who loved my dog. He would follow her everywhere. When we would take the dog for a walk in the meadow below my house, the cat wanted to come too. We tried putting a leash on him so he could come on a walk, but he just flopped over on the ground and refused to budge.

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        1. That is so amusing that the cat wouldn’t budge when he had a leash on. A neighbor’s cat walks with us occasionally. She runs out from a bush to be petted and then trots with us until she gets sidetracked by hunting.

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  5. Years ago my aunt bought a Santa Claus outfit for her dog. He was a happy-go-lucky kind of dog, always playful, etc. and he would just stand there, in place, paws in the boots, and the saddest look on his face.

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      1. They don’tlike them on their feet and with Pache, he refused to move at all, just stood there and he looked silly in the Santa suit … it was a hat, beard, coat and black belt cinched around his waist (or made to look like a belt) and the black boots. If I can find a picture of him in my scanned items, I’ll send you it … just e-mailed you BTW.

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          1. I was sure I had a picture of Pache in the outfit – I can picture the photo but I did not. I can’t imagine where it went. I’m guessing somewhere is an envelope of photos tucked away and have not been scanned. I was diligent about putting all the photos in the album but then the album pages started separating – that’s why I scanned them in. The photo pages went into a three-ring binder and the side portion with the three holes just came apart from the page and the plastic film was lifting off. My mom’s albums were from years before and used the photo corners and they were fine – it was all the travel, family and friends albums under film. Grrr. Cats were not too happy I’d guess.

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              1. That’s good – I was surprised about Grumpy Cat’s demise at only 7 years old – the internet mourned the cat with the down-turned smile … pouring rain here, hope your weather is better than ours.

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                1. Our weather is beautiful today, with the temperature now at 83. I would be comfortable if it didn’t go any higher. My walk was zinged yesterday, though. I looked at the weather on the phone and then noticed distant flashes of light. There was no way I was going to walk with the sky lighting up like that, so I went back to bed. An hour later, when I would have still been walking, it rained heavily.

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                  1. Good thing you didn’t head out – you’re lucky you have a clear view in the distance. I would only see house rooftops or buildings so couldn’t tell. It did end up being very nice once the rain stopped. People even cut their lawnz this afternoon – amazing to me (a person with a push mower and an electric mower, but never used a gas mower).

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  7. Sadie looks a sweet friendly animal. Maybe she just doesn’t like hiking or perhaps she’s a secret fashionista and doesn’t think the jacket measures up to her style icon image.
    Huge Hugs

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  8. I loved hiking the Colorado mountains and have done many. Our goal was to get up the peaks that were over 14,000 feet, which Colorado has 52. We did many “minor” ones that were under that, but still worthwhile. Only once did I do a ten day hike and yes, it was a challenge to carry that much food and gear to keep you for that long. We kept having to test the weight and balance before we even headed out to make sure we didn’t topple over with any given misstep. So Sadie, “suck it up”. “You can do it” What a dollie – lol

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      1. There is so much to do there and there are books that will guide them on different levels. Most do not require ropes even though we tend to call it mountain climbing. The more difficult peaks may in spots, so it pays to check before heading out. I think there are always alternate routes as well. I’m sure they’d love it.

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    1. I’m sure they will have Sadie practice. Today they are cleaning out John’s trailer, and the move will be complete. David loves Sadie. She gave him a special good morning welcome when he got up.

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  10. Sadie is so cute. What a lucky dog to get to go along on the hike. I’m sure she will get used to the pack soon enough. Especially when she realizes the food comes from there!

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    1. I like animals in general. My parents had outdoor dogs, and John and I had cats. I enjoy petting Sadie and playing with her. Neither John not I want the responsibility of a pet now, so it’s great to play with visiting ones.

      I know you have cats. Do you like dogs?

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  14. Once she realizes she’s getting to go along, she’ll be up and wiggling with excitement. Nobody like training for events HaHa (Does she have boots? Paw ointment? Little paws used to houses do get tired and rough) Molly has that green folding bowl. When. she sees it put into the pack, she’s thrilled.
    Cute pictures!

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    1. I haven’t seen all the gear John $ and Rose have, but I’m sure they are prepared for the dog’s needs. This morning they set up a new tent and tested it with a hose for being waterproof. It passed with flying colors (the tent is red).

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      1. The new tents are a wonder. We had old army surplus ones as kids….touch the roof during a rain storm and it would instantly leak! (and took forever to dry out – and you never wanted to fold it up wet. UGH Never forget wet canvas tent in the summer smell

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        1. Rose and $ set up their new tent in seconds. I was a Girl Scout camp counselor for two college summers. We didn’t use tents, only sleeping bags, for our canoe trips. We were wet much of the day, and it was hot enough that we didn’t mind being wet at night. I’m so glad I will never repeat that experience.

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  15. Aww, poor Sadie! Our Lexie behaves the same way when we put a ‘jacket’ on her when it’s cold–she prefers to frolic in the cold with a bare belly. It’s pretty amazing she will be doing the trail with them. Friends of our did 3/4 of the AT, but a hip injury waylaid them. I admire anyone taking on those kinds of hikes! Wishing them safety and adventure!

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  16. Sadie looks like a real sweetheart. Did you know backpacks are used to make dogs feel useful and to help them release pent up energy? I have seen this many times on dog training shows.

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