A little over a year ago we were blessed to get a golden retriever puppy we named Sadie. You can read more about that story in the blog post “We’re Getting a Dog”. We’re training Sadie to be Abbey’s service dog with a wonderful trainer, who is training us and Sadie on all there is to know. Sadie is doing a fabulous job and we couldn’t be prouder of her. She is such a delight to all of us, and we often look at each other and say, “I can’t imagine our life without her”.

We chose a female dog because after having grown up with a male dog, and having done a little research, everything seemed to say that girl dogs are more nurturing, more independent, and more trainable. All of this for the most part has been true, especially the independence part. Little did we know that Sadie would be just like Abbey. She clearly knows her own mind and has some spunk. She is no pushover that is for sure, and yet of course it’s important that she learn her job and she does. It just takes a little diligence on our part, something we are already well versed in because of our Abbey. And truly I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The relationship between Abbey and Sadie is a beautiful one, and it has been so sweet to watch it develop. Sadie already shows that she knows when she can go in and be in Abbey’s space and when she cannot, even if we don’t tell her. If Abbey is agitated and needs to be by herself; Sadie will keep an eye on her and do what we call “taking Abbey’s temperature”. She basically assesses the situation from a distance, and will stay out of the way if needed. Then 2 minutes later, when Abbey is more regulated, you will find Sadie going right up to Abbey on the couch to lick her hand and check in. You might even see her sniffing around to find one of Abbey’s plush fidgets which she loves and which she is supposed to be learning to retrieve instead of sneak. On other occasions we find Abbey going in and enveloping Sadie in a tender hug with arms wrapped gently around Sadie’s neck and ending with a sweet kiss on Sadie’s forehead or nose. It’s just precious and fills my heart with so much joy to see.

Yes the adventures of Abbey and Sadie are allot of fun. When we hike at our favorite spot, we often push Abbey in an adaptive jogging stroller, as it’s too far for her to walk, and Sadie now walks beside her. Sadie has learned that while she takes directions from me, she also likes to keep an eye on Abbey and walk right beside her in a spot where Abbey occasionally calls her to her and hangs a hand down for Sadie to lick. It is so cute. Then Abbey will talk to her and tell her how she loves her or give her little commands like “come” and “sit”. Abbey has become quite the dog trainer too and she’ll tell you saying, “I’m a good trainer.” It’s beautiful because it’s given her a sense of responsibility and something she can be proud of.

One day Sadie had allot of energy and was having the zoomies and running around in circles. She was off duty and just being a dog. Then we heard Abbey say, “Sadie you need to calm your body down.” It was hilarious! Abbey knew that Sadie had extra energy just like she gets, and that it was effecting Sadie’s body just like it effects hers. This was what we call “generalizing” at it’s best. Generalizing, is when you take a concept and you apply it to another situation. This shows a higher level of understanding of the concept. She had generalized that Sadie must be feeling the same way the she does when she’s disregulated and needs to get some excess energy out. It’s moments like these when we are able to see Abbey’s growth in how much she knows and how much she is aware of, and it often feels like a little miracle played out right in front of us.

On another day while feeding Sadie the second half of a dog biscuit Abbey said to us, “ I’m giving Sadie another one. I’m sharing.” This one blew our minds! Though we had taught Abbey what sharing was her whole life, we had never seen evidence that she knew what it meant let alone knew how to do it. Wow! God is so good! He had used a dog to give us a window into our daughter’s heart and mind. What an incredible blessing.

Life is fuller now with our Sadie and we are so thankful for how God has used her in our daughter’s life. Here’s to more adventures of Abbey and Sadie.