Sasha, A story about a boy and his dog

Well, the story of Sasha, my German Shep/Huskie Xross is probably like most stories about a boy and his dog. Although, I'll rock my out with photos. When I was 6 years old, I wanted a dog. Really bad. Bad enough a slightly egotistical 6 year old boy made an agreement, that he would get all straight A's in school, on every assignment, and do every household chore for a year, in exchange for a dog.

Being the excellent person I was (ha!... riiiiight..) I went for it. And succeeded. When I was 7, I went to the Humane Society and picked out my puppy. She was a German/Huskie cross, and had been rescued from an abusive home.

Here is me (age 13) with my dog (age 5-6 years) [I don't have any older photos, as my family couldnt afford a camera that made digitals];




I eventually went through the withdrawl-teenage phase at the age of 14-15, in which looking after my dog was the biggest hassle in the world as it drug me away from video games, friends, and generally whatever else I was doing. If I could redo one thing in my life, it would be going back and smackmyself around til I understood that my dog was the most interesting thing going.

At age 15-16, I seemed to remember (who knows, maybe I did discover time travel and whoop myself) that my dog was my best friend... however, Sasha never seemed to have forgotten.

Here we are at 17 years old (me) and 9-10 years old (pooch)



Finally, I went away to college... and took my dog with me. Together we crammed into a single bedroom for 1 1/2 years before someone finally got uppity (an old ex-girlfriend) are reported me for having a dog... needless to say, my flatmates weren't impressed and were nice enough to take up a collection to rehome us.

Here's us in our old home for the last day before we re-moved into the new place. Sasha - 11-12 and me (19)



Finally, the poor old girl was nearing the end of her days. University was finished, and we survived it together. But her eyesight had gone (near the end she was basically blind), her hearing was on it's way out (you really had to shout to get her to even hear you), and her hips, like so many dogs, were basically finished. Coupled with the damage from her previous abuse (which we struggled with her whole life), she couldn't walk anymore.

Here we are, me (age 22), and my dog (age 15), on her last day. We enjoyed some outside time together and my mother, who drove us to see us, took this last photo of us.



We both looked a little worse for wear. Sadly, I think that day I was a bigger wreck than she was.

Anyways, that's the story about this boy and his dog.

What a heartfelt story, certainly pulled at my heart-strings, Sacha was such a lovely looking dog, the last pic nearly had me in tears, you look so forlorn knowing what was going to happen that day.
You gave him love in a forever home and by the look of the 2 of you together, he gave you just as much love back ><

Thanks for sharing ><

What a lovely story pulled at my heart strings to least u gave her a great life and she sure looked a happy girl must of been hard that day but at least you got some final last hours together to say good bye wish id of got that with my old girl rip sasha

Awww how lovely a little boy growing into a man with his faithful dog.

What a bitter sweet story. Really nicely said and I think we can all seek trueness in your honesty! Thanks for sharing

Thank you all for taking the time to read about her, and for all the kind words. She'll be forever missed.

Great to see you 2 were best mates. Loved seeing the pics through the years.
Last pic is so sad. Hate them days even though you know it's for the best. So hard having to say goodbye.
Thanks for sharing such special memories from your life

Awwwww

It's always hard saying good-bye to such a great friend ( I said my final goodbyes to my faithful 16yr old Border Collie last year too )

Cherish the great memories of times you shared

What a beautiful and sad story. Sasha was a beautiful dog and you were so lucky to have each other for so long!

A beautiful story indeed. My Jethro is nearly 12.. I know he isn't going to be around forever.. every day he is a bit slower and abit greyer.. but I love him so much.... all we can do is cherish the time we have with them and make their life the happiest ......

vanessa wrote:and make their life the happiest ......

It's just nice to return the favor. But enjoy those olden years. You can take the time to slow down and just enjoy the life you've built for eachother. No more hustling around all the time, and even the slower walks, or the more frequent naps let you build something stronger than ever.

what a lovely story and beautiful pictures, there were tears in my eyes reading it, thank you for sharing

Kerrby wrote:

vanessa wrote:and make their life the happiest ......

It's just nice to return the favor. But enjoy those olden years. You can take the time to slow down and just enjoy the life you've built for eachother. No more hustling around all the time, and even the slower walks, or the more frequent naps let you build something stronger than ever.

How true is that..... Jethro sleeps so much we both say he is like a * cat. We watch him snoring and twitching and growling in his sleep and say..Bless his little paws....We have plenty of quiet moments with him.....

Just seen this. How could I have missed it? More tears.

What a wonderful home you gave her and I'm sure she repaid it all a hundred times!

awww what a lovely story, and at least you got to say bye!

RIP sasha

Friendly baby.

Well that brought a lump to my throat and a few tears, what a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing your life with Sasha, she was a truly beautiful Grande Dame.
My old girl's sight and sound are diminishing at a great rate of knots and she's starting to get a little forgetful or even disorientated at times over the last 3 months. Every minute I have with her, is a moment to hold on to and treasure.