It’s crazy for me to think that Sadie has been in my life for the majority of my relationship with Ryan. (Ryan and I have been together for almost 12 years.) Despite my love for dogs, Ryan had to convince me that we were ready for a puppy of our own back in 2008 (most of my reservations centered around giving a dog the attention they deserve while working full-time), but from the minute we brought her home, there’s never been a doubt in my mind that this incredibly needy, affectionate, wiggly little girl was the perfect addition to our family.
Every single day we can count on Sadie to make us laugh, invade our personal space and remind us to cherish the little things in life. She is so joyful and still totally crazy even at eight years old.
When Sadie was a puppy, a fellow vizsla owner at the dog park told us to expect our new vizsla to slow down a tiny bit around her tenth birthday and at the time I thought they were being factious. Now that we’re eight years in, I wholeheartedly believe them!
Through multiple surgeries, a quickly-graying muzzle and the addition of a new family member, Sadie hasn’t missed a beat and is still always up for a round of fetch (or a thousand rounds…) and a run or walk around the neighborhood.
She’s helped me train for multiple half marathons, snuggled with me when I felt sad or sick and opted to completely ignore the fact that I was growing a human being inside of me last year. She’s our favorite furry lady and I can only pray we’ll be celebrating her sixteenth birthday in eight more years. (Whenever Ryan and I daydream about retirement, we always include Sadie in our plans. She will live forever and ever and ever.)
She may have cost us a couch, a coffee table and a new pair of shoes or two, but she’s given us so much more.
There is something about a dog’s love that can teach us so much. Sadie loves without question. She’s trusts us explicitly. She exudes joy and affection. She looks to us for companionship, exercise, snuggles, warmth and food and is truly a member of our family.
Sadie completely transformed us into the crazy dog-obsessed people we are today.
She’s the best dog in the world and you better believe she’s getting some extra love on her special day.
Happy 8th Birthday, Sadie!
Favorite Sadie-centric Posts
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Happy Birthday Sadie!! I love how she adapted so well to your new addition–we are expecting in a month and fingers crossed our pup will be as great with our little one 🙂
Love this! Happy birthday, Sadie! 🙂
Happy Birthday Sadie! Such a sweet dog! Dogs make life so much better 🙂
Happy birthday to Sadie! I love the pic of her as a pup, and I remember the pics you shared of how Sadie was sitting on your lap ignoring your growing baby bump. lol And I enjoyed that “fried chicken versus roasted chicken” challenge you posted (several years? a couple years?) ago. Fun. Hope your family of four has a great day together! Enjoy!
I’ve been a long time follower. We have a labradoodle and feel the exact same way about our Dog! The love we have for our fur babies is intense! Are you doing any food challenges this year? I remember when you gave her the cheeseburger!! Happy Birthday Saide.
Happy Birthday Sadie! Brings happy tears to see her so loved by her family! Mine live the exact same lifestyle…wouldn’t have it any other way. Kudos to y’all and many blessings!
Happy birthday, Sadie! The first picture of her in the water is so good. Great job with capturing it, Julie!
Such a beautiful post! Spoil that lovely girl on her special day!
Happy birthday Sadie! Her ability to always find a way of getting on your laps always makes me smile!
I love this post! I feel the same way about my yellow lab. Dogs really are the best. 🙂 Happy Birthday Sadie!!!!
Happy birthday, Sadie! Coincidentally, today is my dog’s “re-birthday”–the day we brought him home from the shelter 6 years ago! He’s about 10 now, and no signs of slowing yet! Cheers to middle age!
I love this post! I know all our dogs will live forever <3
Aw my weim lived till 15 1/2 so you never know!!! She is so cute!!
Happy Birthday Sadie!! Here’s to many more years as wonderful as these eight have been!
Happy Birthday Sadie! She seems like such a sweetie 🙂
Happy Birthday beautiful Sadie!! Love the pictures.
What a cutie your little Sadie is! <3
Such a sweet post! I always catch myself, when talking about when I’m retired (in 40 years), saying we will move to such-and-such with Lucia (our 5 year old dog). It doesn’t seem possible there will be a part of our life that they aren’t part of the plan, demanding all the attention. It’s so important to treasure them every day, not leave them home too often, and take them on lots of outdoor adventures. It’s my goal to give Lucia the biggest life I can.
Aimee
http://www.intherightplaces.com
This is so lovely, and what a great bunch of pictures! Happy birthday Sadie!
That made me cry and hug our basset hound Maddy who somehow fell off the bed and locked herself in our bedroom yesterday. She wasn’t phased by either event I might add 🙂 Happy birthday Sadie!!!!
Lol my dad has the same birthday as Sadie!
I love this!! We have a vizsla that just turned one and we have met some older vizslas with the gray face and they literally act the EXACT same as our little Bernie. It’s adorable!! I love it 🙂
Aweee happy birthday Sadie! Did you and Ryan do the food challenge that you normally do every year for her? I always look forward to those posts! LOL 🙂
I look forward to Sadie’s birthday post every year!! happy bday Sadie!!!!
Happy belated birthday Sadie! All your pictures of her are so sweet. She is so photogenic! I have a 2.5 year old lab who is so wiggly I can’t get a good picture of her! Glad to see you kept up her birthday challenge!
Happy belated birthday Sadie! She is such a sweetie. I love that you celebrate her and love her like you do- we are the same with our pups! They are our only children so we spoil them rotten! Enjoy Sadie and that handsome boy Chase 🙂 thanks for your great blog.