Sadie is about half or more German Shepherd/ half Lab. and looks and acts mostly like a Shepherd.
When I was a kid, I studied dog breeds and their characteristics. I had my favorites and had dreams of having certain breeds of dogs when I grew up. I always loved the large and giant breeds. Back at that time there was a lot of talk about German Shepherds being aggressive dogs that would turn on their owners for what seemed no apparent reason at all. I doubt that was the case, knowing what I know now, but as a kid I swore Shepherd's off my list of dogs to get. These stories fueled my fear even into my adulthood. I always thought Shepherds were beautiful dogs, and would love to have one, but that fear held me back.
My first dog was a Shepherd/Lab mix that was a surprise and I had no choice over picking him out. At that time in my life, I didn't really focus on the breeds in him. He was just my dog, Jep. And an excellent dog at that. I loved him, he loved me and that was all that mattered.
Fast forward to April of this year and I was scouring the shelters for a puppy, preferably a Husky mix, when I came across a 3 month old Husky/Shepherd mix puppy. Thought he was the one. Except I hesitated because of the Shepherd in him. I kept going back to look online at him over the next month. I eventually told Mark, "I don't want him. I don't know anything about Shepherds and I haven't heard good things about them." It was that old fear creeping up, even though I kept checking on him to see if he was still there. When he was adopted, I cried. In my year and a half of looking at shelters, they hardly ever had puppies. I thought I'd missed a great opportunity and I didn't know when or if one would come again.
Then at the end of May, still combing the local shelters, that opportunity came again. PUPPIES! A entire litter! I almost didn't care what kind they were. They were PUPPIES! And as it was, they were Shepherd/Lab and I was hooked from the moment I saw the breeds they were. I felt drawn in for some reason that I couldn't explain and I had to see them. Part of that attraction was from having my first dog, Jep. I based his characteristics and placed them on these puppies I was about to meet. Mark was not particularly thrilled about getting a puppy at this time, but followed my dream. I called the shelter, they had a meet and greet the next day with the puppies. OMD! I was so excited and petrified it wasn't even funny. WTF was I doing??? During the meet and greet, we only met the girls and Sadie was the only one I had contact with as I got to hold her. And that's when I knew.
During that week of waiting for approval, my fear took over. The breed that scared me, Mark's hesitation, just losing the cats, and how Chevy would be. I lost sleep over it. I had a battle in my head day and night. I almost called off the whole adoption. I shared my fears with Mark, every day. And the only thread I really hung onto was holding Sadie that day at the meet and greet and the silent promise I'd made to her. Everything else about getting her was falling in place, in spite of my fears and gave me hope that it was still the right thing to do. And in spite of myself and those childhood fears, I adopted a Shepherd/Lab mix we named Sadie, whom I couldn't love more.
Part 2 coming soon.
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