Date of Death:
I wish everyone could have known Sasha. If you aren’t a dog person, she would have turned you into one. She was love. Pure love. If you walked by our house, you may have thought otherwise. That bark! It was fierce. She was anything but. The minute complete strangers entered our house, she ran to get her tennis ball and wanted to play. Wait, not just one tennis ball. Two tennis balls. Always.
With either her paw or snout, she would pass the ball to you, wait for you to pass it back, and do it all over again. She had fancy footwork, that girl. Her paws moved so quickly and in such a coordinated fashion, she could have easily been the world’s first four-legged soccer player.
She loved her walks, tummy rubbies and burrowing into you with her signature body twist. We swear she had a hole in her tongue. We’re not sure how she ever got a true drink of water. She was so thoughtful, apparently, she was making sure our kitchen floor didn’t go thirsty.
A couple of years ago, we thought all Sasha-isms were coming to an end, as she got a rare cancerous tumor underneath her eye socket. We certainly were not going to put her through any painful treatment to prolong her life, but doctors at Iowa State University (amazing angels) were confident surgery to remove her chondrosarcoma could be successful, and she could live a normal life. She did. We all enjoyed two and ½ more years.
She knew when you were sad and was quick to provide comfort. She provided SO much joy. So many laughs. So many sneezes and stuffed noses. So many teeth marks on the couch. So many kitchen rugs and mopping sessions. So many lunges to retrieve tennis balls from under the bed…just after we hopped into it, of course. So many excited “tippy taps” and jumps when asked if she wanted to go for a walk.
These final days she and I had some wonderful conversations. When I looked into her beautiful brown eye and told her how much I loved her, I know she understood. That eye communicated so much. Her follow-up kisses were double confirmation.
While our hearts are shattered in a trillion pieces, we are fortunate to have had the privilege of loving her. More importantly, it was an even greater privilege to accept the unwavering love she showered upon us.
My husband, Mark, was Sasha’s person. They were together 24/7. She worked from home with him…providing her constant “feedback” during team Zoom calls. They took walks every single morning. While others gave up on her, Mark didn’t and in 2018 was an immediate foster “fail.”
If you didn’t know Sasha, you do now. At least enough to know she was beyond special and worth all the tears and literal heartache. We love you Sasha, aka “Big Girl,” “Snuggle Bug,” and “Sasha Bear.” Your professional soccer career has just begun.
