My Beautiful Sierra.....

by Kathy
(Cogan Station, PA USA)

I found Sierra at our local SPCA after being told by my landlord that I could have a dog. My boyfriend at the time and I received a phone call from my best friend that there was the most "perfect" puppy that we just had to go see. We knew after we saw her that she wouldn't last long, so I went the very next morning to adopt her.

She was a white/golden color and looked just like a yellow lab puppy. As she grew, her ears started standing up like a German Shepherd, and she ended up looking like a white German Shepherd, with a lab face and paws.

My son was 9 and my daughter was 13 when Sierra came to live with us. Sierra rode in the car with me every morning to take my daughter and her friend first to band camp in the summer, and then to band practice early before each school day. Everywhere we would go, people would comment on how beautiful she was.

She had a very spunky personality, but she was very sweet. She loved going on long walks and swimming in the river.

When my boyfriend and I broke up, I was very lucky to have been able to keep Sierra. I met someone else, and eventually married him, but I don't think Sierra ever forgot her first "dad."

My husband, kids, and I moved into the country, where Sierra was so happy. She would follow us around the big yard and would lay and watch out over the valley. I think she was very happy and content living out her last days on our small "farmette." I adopted 2 little pygmy goats, and she thought they were just the most wonderful things ever!

On July 6, 2010, I had to make a very hard decision to take her to the vet to be put down. I questioned every day for about 3 weeks before that day if it was time to let her go. I asked everyone I knew if I would know it was the right time.

The night before she passed, she looked at me while I was working in the kitchen. She stared at me as if she was memorizing my face, and my eyes locked with hers. The next day I came home from work, her back legs had stopped working. It was time.

A lot of the people that loved Sierra were able to come and say goodbye. My vet is a very kind person; we were allowed to hold her and stay with her as long as we wanted after she passed.

I have her ashes on a cabinet in my dining room, where she can be part of our daily lives. One of these days, when it is the right time, I will spread them on her most favorite places.

I know this is very long, but it is the first time I have put into words how much I loved Sierra and miss her now.