Sasha was my 1st keeshond puppy. I picked her up from a breeder in Raleigh, NC
January 1, 1996 and we immediately started obedience training. She was sold as
a show puppy, but because her breeder didn't care enough to return my phone calls
or explain what I was supposed to do in order to show her, I had her spayed and
she became my best friend. She is a sweet girl that loves attention and loves to
play with her stuffed bears.
We took a break from obedience training from July 1996 - November 1999. In 2000,
Sasha became a certified Pet Partner through
Delta Society. This allows her
to enter any facility nationwide that wants therapy pets to visit. This
includes nursing homes, hospitals, day cares, etc.
She loves to go out on
visits and gets really excited when we get ready to go. Her favorite places
to visit are the children's hospitals. She loves to sit and be petted by the
patients and will let them hug her and tell her secrets for as long as they want.
In April 2001, Sasha received her CGC
at a breed show in Ocala, FL. She has also started competing in agility and received
her Novice Agility title in April 2003 with two 1st place and a 3rd place finish,
received her Novice Agility Jumpers title in May 2003 with three 1st place finishes,
and earned her Open Agility Jumpers title in September 2005.
Sasha started Rally in October 2005 in Ocala, FL. Her first weekend out in Rally Novice,
she received 2 qualifying scores and took 1st place both days!!! She finished her Rally Novice
title November 2005 in 3 tries. Looks like her retirement will have to wait.
To prove to my obedience class you really can teach an old dog new tricks, I taught Sasha math
over the Christmas break. I can ask her any math problem and she will bark the answer. She's
amazing! And she was 11 years old when I taught her that trick!!
These are without a doubt the hardest words I've ever had to write. It is with an extremely
broken heart that I have to announce my precious girl Sasha has gone to the
rainbow bridge.
She had 2 different types of cancer. She gave a good fight, but it got to be too much for her to
handle. In the end, I had to show my love for her with the hardest decision a pet owner can ever make.
What can you say about your best friend who you've loved and cared for 11+ years...who's always happy
to see you...never with a bad thing so say and, as you know, she had a lot to say! I will be eternally
grateful for what Sasha has given me over the years. She was always there for me me through good times
and bad. She saw me through marriage, divorce, loss of loved ones, new jobs, family additions, and
everything else life threw at me. Sasha taught me so much. She taught me many life lessons big and
small. For instance, from the day I brought her home at 8 weeks old, she taught me to always put my
shoes away and close the closet door, to not leave unplugged cords on the floor (i.e. hairdryers, curling
irons, irons). She taught me the importance of using a crate so you don't have to explain to your landlord
why your carpet, walls, and cabinets had teeth marks and/or holes in them. She taught me not all dogs can
swim. She also taught me how creative dogs can be when she chewed a whole in the middle of the couch
cushion...not on the edge like one would expect a puppy to do, but in the exact middle. Sasha was very
bright from puppyhood. She taught me physics. Did you know an 8 pound puppy can drag a 24 year old woman
several feet across the ice while the woman isn't moving her feet at all? She trained me on how to react
to different situations in life as well as in the obedience and agility rings. She taught me it really ISN'T
the end of the world when you don't qualify in a trial, sometimes it's more fun to run your own course, and
I really CAN do an entire heeling pattern by myself! (She was very proud!) Sasha also taught me bigger life
lessons like how to have patience, what unconditional love really is, what it means to forgive, and how to
laugh at myself.
Sasha was my first puppy, my first obedience dog, my first agility dog, my first rally dog, and she and Sierra
became certified Delta Society Pet Partners at the same time. She helped me teach my obedience class for many
years and was always eager to do so. She was there for me no matter when I needed her and no matter what I
wanted her to try next. She proved the urban legend "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" to be incorrect.
At 11 years old, I taught her math which everyone loved and she enjoyed showing off. She was amazing! She
would do anything I asked her to do without complaining. She was an excellent listener and would always keep
my secrets. I can only hope I made her 1/4 as happy as she made me.
I can't imagine going home and not seeing her sweet smiling face greeting me at the door. I will always
miss her and will always cherish the times we spent together. She was my partner, my confidant, my best friend,
and most of all my baby.
God speed sweet Sasha!
Mommy will always love you!!
Home
Sasha was my 1st keeshond puppy. I picked her up from a breeder in Raleigh, NC
January 1, 1996 and we immediately started obedience training. She was sold as
a show puppy, but because her breeder didn't care enough to return my phone calls
or explain what I was supposed to do in order to show her, I had her spayed and
she became my best friend. She is a sweet girl that loves attention and loves to
play with her stuffed bears.