Sadie

Sadie
July 23, 2006 - February 4, 2021

Sadly, our dog Sadie has passed away. We miss her deeply and are grateful beyond measure for the fourteen-and-a-half years she was here as a part of our family. Her final illness progressed rapidly and while it took us by surprise on Wednesday evening, we are comforted in that she did not have to endure prolonged suffering. Although several procedures relieved her discomfort overnight, by Thursday morning we were forced to make the decision that so many pet owners dread. We were able to pet her once more and love her through her peaceful transition to sleep.

Throughout our years together, she brought us immeasurable joy and guided us through life in ways we didn’t always understand. We never imagined that one fateful trip to the mall for dinner in 2006 would change our lives forever. We DID know we couldn’t leave that little Australian Shepherd puppy in the pet store. She was “on sale” and would soon go to a shelter. We discovered that the reason she dragged her back end a bit was due to a lack of muscle, a result of being born into a puppy mill and confined to cages for her first several months. 

Being familiar with the breed from my mom’s family, we knew she would require a lot of physical and mental exercise. Her leg strength developed steadily with plenty of walks, runs and play. She was a spunky, feisty little ball of energy who would not stop chewing on my shoelaces (while they were on my feet)! She was our first “child” of sorts and as we saw her through puppy kindergarten, countless training sessions, classes and play times, and never-ending adventures, she taught us well - while simultaneously maturing into the instinctive, bright, playful, and mischievous overgrown pup that she remained her entire life. 

Eventually, she would receive her own dog in the form of “Bentley” whom she loved dearly and bossed around constantly. He loved her profoundly as evidenced by his absolute obedience and fierce protection of her. He looked to her for instruction (on even the simplest of matters) and dutifully became her personal bodyguard outside and whenever she was nervous.

They would both receive a human boy in their later years, whom they both cherished and they settled into “parenthood” with grace, maturity and a willingness to eat whatever he dropped on the floor or was stuck to his fingers. She overcame her fear of children in order to care for him and he in turn was born into a world knowing the love of a dog.

Through all our adventures and travels, (including crossing the country four times by car, visits to the Grand Canyon, Vegas, Memphis, Toronto, Virginia, Hollywood, pit stops along Route 66, countless hotels, muddy swamps, snowfalls, music studio sessions, music video shoots, and fourteen years’ worth of family events, laughter, and love), one thing she said to me once really stands out. (Oh… Did I forget to mention that she could talk?) ;)

I was thinking philosophically and considered that she was such a good dog, perhaps she would advance spiritually enough to come back to earth someday as a human. She looked at me with a sort of gentle pity. “YOU have it BACKwards,” she said in her melodic way. “If YOU advance enough YOU might get to come back as a DOG.” It’s true that dogs have indeed mastered unconditional Love in a way that we humans can only aspire to. People have always had a problem with hubris. She had it all figured out and I was just her silly human.

Thank you, Sadie. We love you. Your Spirit remains with us always and we are Blessed to have  you as our forever Angel dog, or as Zachary puts it, our “SUPER DOG!”

xo

Ruff

Did I mention that one dog got "skunked" and the other had severe diarrhea for a week? TMI? It happened over a week ago but I am definitely still feeling the ramifications. SMH. They're both fine now.

There were also some really fun shows!

After a lot of hard work and traveling, there's no end in sight for this week. #KeepGoing

I'm carrying lessons from the dragonfly and the bee this week. They managed to make numerous, conspicuous appearances so I looked them up. Apparently, the dragonfly has a unique ability to change flight direction and the bee is considered a symbol for miracles since it is not supposed to be able (aerodynamically) to fly.

Click here for Dragonfly symbolism from SpiritAnimal.info

Click here for Bee symbolism from Whatismyanimalspirit.com

After THIS week, I'm taking a lesson from Bentley and relaxing a little (or trying to anyway).

For now, I gotta keep it moving.

Have a great week everyone! xo

Love,
T

In A Nutshell...

Where did the week go? There were a lot of workouts, an awesome We Are Family Foundation event in the city, Russell's birthday, a lost dog, tax receipts, and a coloring book (to help me keep my sanity).

It was a great time at The Bitter End (NYC) last Tuesday!

click here to learn more about Three Dot Dash - an initiative of the We Are Family Foundation supporting teen leaders from around the world...

Then there was Russ's birthday...

Bentley addressed the card

This little guy showed up...

His name is Mickey and after calling the number on his tag, his owners came by almost immediately to take him home. (Try to stay out of trouble Mickey!)

I decided that I will use the next month to get back in shape, continue serious work on the next video (which demands much physical discipline), and do taxes. I worked out for seven consecutive days last week and for the record - THAT IS TOO MUCH!

I was dancing around the kitchen singing this...

"So sexy it hurts" and I WAS HURTING!!! LOL

This week I will maintain a more sensible fitness schedule with days of rest in between intense workouts. I am also pacing myself with regard to taxes and endless piles of receipts (that's where the coloring book comes in). Am I nuts? I don't think so... 

:) Seriously, did anyone else get one of these "Inspirational Coloring Books" for Christmas? It's coming in handy! This is my plan to get through tax season this year. I'm using it to detox and maintain a sense of creativity in my office. After I get through a segment of tax chores (i.e. reconciling an account or getting through one pile of receipts), I take a break to color.

So far it seems to be helping, except I am getting a cramp in my hand. I am considering a trip to the art store to get a wider variety of colored pencils. 

Hey - whatever gets me through...

:)

Namaste,

T

Sadie's helping too

Have a Cookie

I really had no idea what I was getting into when I took a gig singing with Zoe's Big Band Bombshells last week.  Whew!  That was a fair amount of work - AND AN AWESOME GREAT TIME!

sound check - my view from stage

The gig was for the after party for opening night of the Broadway Show "On the Town" - a show that originally premiered on Broadway in 1944.  We played big band style songs in full costume and wigs in lower Manhattan on Thursday night after guests made their way down from the Broadway show at the Lyric Theatre.  We learned Andrews Sisters harmonies, played some big band classics, and also performed some modern pop songs with a 40's style twist.  I had an absolute BLAST!

sound check - as dancers rehearsed

I've always loved the art of "the show" - by that I mean, the careful consideration to costume, hair & makeup, harmony, song selection, set lists, song arrangements, and dance movements along with the contagious emotional energy of the performance.  This show had all of that, complete with rehearsals and plenty of practicing.  I was so impressed with all of the work that our fearless bandleader Zoe put into this performance.  Every detail seemed to be handled with the utmost degree of professional attention and loving care.  (I seriously think she might really be Wonder Woman - but that's another story.)

Me, Zoe, Zhana

The crowd seemed to really enjoy themselves, based on the dancing, the compliments, and the fact that the party was extended in length.  :)  It was such a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of it.  Zoe and Zhana were truly wonderful to work with and I hope I get the chance to do it again soon.

Zhana, Zoe, Me

click here for Broadway.com's pic of us performing

The rest of the week kind of pales in comparison to that.  There were phone calls, a doctor appointment (follow up for the poison ivy - and I'm fine), a lovely street fair where I bought some very pretty stones for myself and officially began Christmas shopping, a lot of yard work, and a church service filled with dogs.  (Apparently it was "bring your dog to church day" where they had a Blessing of the Animals.)

If there was a running theme this week, it finally became apparent after I loaded twenty-plus bags full of mulched leaves into big paper bags for disposal and decided that it was time for a cookie.

Before

After

I remembered hoping, after all the work that went into Thursday's show, that Zoe had taken a relaxing day off and enjoyed a sense of accomplishment afterward.  I remembered talking to a friend (who is interviewing for some amazing career opportunities) and hoping that, while he is so humble, he can also take pride in and celebrate all of the hard work he has done and all of his accomplishments thus far.  I remembered another friend who enjoys one day off a week from a strict workout and healthy eating regimen to dine at a favorite restaurant.  I realized that the whole after party was a celebration of the fantastic achievement of opening night on Broadway (and like a giant cookie, of sorts).

In church, you could hear thumping sounds as dogs wagged their tails against the pews.  People shared incredible stories about pets - some tear-jerking, some comical.  All of the collection money was to be given to an animal rescue organization, which had a representative there with one of their rescues, Kingston.  Kingston is a very friendly Pit Bull who wouldn't stop kissing every person and dog in sight.  It was hard to believe that just three years ago, he was so fearful of everyone and everything that he appeared aggressive beyond reason.  With love and positive reinforcement he learned to trust again, and is now free to be the genuinely happy creature he really is.  We were reminded of how loving and how forgiving pets are, and how much we can learn from them.

Bentley is a rescue - but we didn't bring him to church on Sunday

The dog two rows behind us kept crawling under the pews trying to meet new people and collect pats on the head.  I remember her owner trying to get her attention by asking, "Do you want a cookie?"  Maybe that's why, as I was admiring the practically leafless lawn later on, I decided that it was "cookie time" for me.  Do we remember to celebrate a hard week's worth of work by doing something enjoyable?  Do we have enough time, or are we always on to the next thing?  Are we always so busy that it seems there never are enough hours in the day or days in the week?  I'll try to remember that it's alright (and even healthy) to sit back for a minute and enjoy a well-deserved sense of satisfaction for a job well done.

I'm going to have a cookie.

Namaste!
T

"Take a Cookie" scene from "The Matrix"

Hot Flashes... Can You Blame the Dog?

Yes.  Here's how...

Bentley

Step 1: Leave a roll of packing tape on the floor, well within reach of your dog who sometimes has separation anxiety.
Step 2: Go to church.
Step 3: Come home to find that dog has eaten much of the roll of tape.
Step 4: Travel by car for eight hours with said dog in the back seat.
Step 5: When dog throws up in back seat, stop at an exit ramp to let him out and clean up the car.
Step 6: Arrive at destination several hours later to discover that you've been bitten up by mosquitos while walking around on a strange exit ramp with dog. Apply Hydrocortisone cream and deal with it.
Step 7: When symptoms don't go away four days later, go to a clinic where you discover that you do not have mosquito bites, but poison ivy (from the dog tramping through it on that exit ramp and transferring it to you).
Step 8: Go to the pharmacy and fill the prescription they gave you for Prednisone.
Step 9: Accept the fact that a potential side effect of the steroid medication is hot flashes.

Did this actually happen?  Yes, except I didn't want to start the oral medication until I arrived back home from the gig in West Virginia, where the clinic diagnosed me.  So, I have the hot flashes to look forward to this week.  :)

The week prior had been a long one - with rehearsals, meetings and a flat tire incident that had me wandering through Jersey looking for a gas station with a working air pump.  Then there was VERY EARLY morning travel and a serious lack of sleep.  By the time I arrived at the airport, got on and off two planes, ran (about five miles) from one end of the airport to the other to make the connecting flight, and rode two hours in the van to the hotel (where the room wasn't ready yet, so we went to eat lunch before finally checking in), the last thing I wanted to deal with was bright red itchy spots on my arms when I took off my sweatshirt to take a much needed nap.

Classic band shot - en route to hotel

As I looked down at my arms and said, "This doesn't look right," I could hear the voice of my friend Paul Anthony echoing (from his TV episode of "Unsung") in my head.  He said, "You MUST be proactive.  You don't wait."  I considered waiting until Monday when I would be back in NY and could see my own doctor.  "You MUST be proactive.  You don't wait."  OK FINE!  I looked up health care facilities and spoke to a lovely hospital nurse who guided me to a clinic that was less than a mile from the hotel, and walked there.  Poison ivy.  I'm glad I listened.  Thanks Paul Anthony.

I laughed out loud at the pharmacy counter wondering if life could get more ridiculous.  I should've known not to ask that question.  As soon as I did, the pharmacist told me my prescription coverage had expired.  I laughed harder, waited while they looked up my coverage another way, and eventually bought the medicine.  I walked back through the rain to the hotel, applied the topical cream they gave me, wondered if makeup would conceal the red marks on my arms, thanked God that I'd thrown a long-sleeved dress in my suitcase as an option for the gig, and tried not to scratch.

The gig was great and the band was awesome!  I was one of five singers on the bandstand and they are all amazing performers!  I wore my long-sleeved dress and put a little makeup on my splotchy arms.

with the super-talented singers:  Brian, Chevonne, John and Charles

I recalled the chain of events and realized the humor in the fact that because Bentley had eaten a roll of packing tape, I had poison ivy and was facing hot flashes.  When I rewind the tape of my memory further though, I remember that I was the one who had left that roll of tape on the floor.  There was that brief moment when I saw it there and thought of picking it up, but I had been in a rush to get out the door and left it there instead.  If I had made a different choice in THAT moment, poison ivy may never have entered my life.

It looked like Heaven outside my airplane window on the way home

On the way home, when people asked how I was doing with regard to the poison ivy, I responded that it was a real exercise in mental discipline not to scratch like crazy.  (It really is too!)  It reminds me of the "blame game."  Oftentimes it's easy to place blame.  We do it all the time.  Sometimes it's hilarious!  Sometimes it's not.  While it might be funny to blame hot flashes on the dog, sometimes it's a real "exercise in mental discipline" to take responsibility for our own actions, consequences, happiness or unhappiness.

I'll remember that this week.  I may play the blame game from time to time (we're all human) and sometimes it's all just too funny, but I'll take responsibility for my own happiness and create my own destiny accordingly.

Today's calendar page from Louise Hay

Let's make it a GREAT week!

Namaste
T

Bentley's Letter: A Dog's "Thank You"

Hi All!  Happy Holidays!  Usually I write these blogs myself, but Bentley's letter was so cute (he asked me to check it for spelling mistakes),  I just wanted to share...  Bentley is the dog that ran out into the road and stopped directly in front of our car while we were en route to the finale of "American Idol" earlier this year.  We ultimately adopted him from the shelter in South L.A.
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Dear All the Nice People at the South L.A. Animal Shelter,

Hi.  My name is Bentley, but you wouldn’t know me by that name.  I myself didn’t even know it was my name until recently.  They call me other names too you see, and so it was a little confusing at first.  Even now I sometimes answer to “good boy,” “Bent,” “hi cutie,” and “puppy.”  I know now though, that the name is Bentley.  She has a mirror in the bedroom and I saw it printed on my nametag.   Anyway, you would have known me as “Lab/Shar Pei mix” followed by a bunch of numbers that I do not remember.

I wanted to drop you a line to let you know how things are going.  You all seemed so excited when they came and visited me.  I’ll never forget when you moved me to another room and rang a bell yelling, “Adoption!”  I didn’t really understand what it meant at the time.  It was scary at first.  After I went to that new room I traveled to a scary place that smelled like medicine and I got very tired.  I woke up groggy and wasn’t sure what was happening for a while, but eventually things settled down.  I thought I’d better write you before I forget.

I do forget things.  For example, I don’t remember a lot of my life before they came to get me.  I remember bits and pieces but… well, I’ll save all that for another time.  I mostly remember the important things, things like chicken and some of my Ninja moves, but that’s another story.  Maybe it’s not so much that I forget as much as it is that I just don’t think of those times very often.

What I really want to do is thank you.  I know you took good care of me and that you work hard taking care of a lot of us (I watch the “Animal Planet” channel when they leave me alone and I’ve learned a lot) and well, I thought you would appreciate knowing where I am now.  First of all, let me just clarify that they don’t leave that channel on when they leave.  They actually don’t often leave me alone, but when they do they like to let me watch Nickelodeon.  I’m sure they think the animal station is too depressing, but I have learned how to use the remote.  Anyway, they are very nice people and say they love me.  I believe them.  I can tell by the way they take care of me, try to teach me and by the way they pet me.  The girl’s name is Tan (pronounced TAHN and short for Tanya apparently) and the guy’s name is Russ (short for Russ Grammie).

When I first went with them, I didn’t feel very well.  I was very tired and didn’t feel much like myself.  We were in a place called a hotel for a number of days until I was well enough to fly.  When I first arrived in New York though, I still didn’t feel very well.  They took me to a place called “the vet” and it turned out I had an infection and another infection too.  I had surgery and took medicine for my cough.  I hated wearing that cone but when it finally came off I was very excited.  They took me to another house (it turns out that they have three houses – well, one is a place called “mom’s”) and I met my sister Sadie.  She’s a black and white Aussie and we get along great!  She loves to play and knows EVERYTHING!  I generally listen to her and do what she says.  I figure that she knows what’s best.  The only time I really don’t listen to her at all is if I see a squirrel or if I am running toward my food bowl.  I’m just too distracted to listen to ANYONE then.  Although the Tan and Russ are trying to get me to listen to them NO MATTER WHAT.

They brought me to a school and I met a lady named Dottie.  She is in charge of my lessons but Tan and Russ are the ones who hold my leash.  They all think I get overly excited when I see squirrels and other dogs so they have me taking private lessons before they let me participate in a “class.”  I don’t really know what that is, but I’m sure I’ll find out soon.  I like other dogs, I just can hardly wait to get over to them and say “hi.”  Sometimes they just don’t get it.  I mean, there is a certain sense of urgency in greeting other dogs – and I have to sniff them and pee on something right away.  I have been slowing down though – and they seem to like that so I guess I’ll keep doing it.

I’ve learned a lot of words in their language too.  I know how to “sit” and how to “down.”  I also know “wait,” “shake,” “stay” and “go for a walk outside.”  When it’s time for “do you want some food” I run into “your crate” and sometimes I get a “bone” or a “toy.”  I know how to “go get it,” but squirrels are sometimes more interesting than finding the “ball.”  I don’t mind confessing that sometimes I forget the words and cheat.  If that happens I can either try guessing or just look at Sadie and copy her.  Like I said, she knows everything.

It’s starting to get cold here in New York, so Tan bought me a coat.  I like it.  It’s warm.  OH, and GUESS WHAT!  It snows here.  White stuff comes down from the sky and rests on the ground.  You can eat it AND run in it.  It’s amazing all the different things there are.  I really like the deer too, but they won’t let me get too close to them. 

                          

They are nice people.  You would like them.  They are something called “musicians.”  They work on shows, play music, and go to the studio.  I’ve been there.  It’s ok.  I like the lake house better and the woods, but I meet nice people everywhere and the guys in the studio give me plenty of “treats.”  I have “Graham-parents.”  Those are Russ’s mom and dad.  Tan’s mom is just called “Mom.”  She lives with a Joe and an Angela too when she’s home from a place called college.  Sometimes we stay at her house.  That’s always fun because there’s another dog there named Lexi.  She’s an Aussie like Sadie but much bigger and somewhat older.  She doesn’t like to play much but still gets excited sometimes.  OH!  I forgot to tell you that my Graham-parents have a BIRD!  Have you ever heard of such a thing!?  It lives in a cage right in the house!  I don’t really understand why I can’t chase it, but fine.

Anyway, things are going well for me.  They let me nap on the couch even though I have my own bed and a crate.  I curl up with Sadie sometimes and that’s nice.  I guess it doesn’t really matter if I remember everything about my old life anyway.  Like I said, I do remember the important things and I am quite happy with the way things are now.

Thanks for making sure I went to go live with nice people.  I was down on my luck a little when you last saw me.  Things are definitely looking up now.  Tan always smiles when I wag my tail so I’ve been doing it more and more.

Thanks again – for everything.

Sincerely,

Bentley Graham


http://www.laanimalservices.com

http://www.humanesociety.org/
http://www.aspca.org/