Sierra is our July 8, 2012 Pup of the Week

Every day for the last week I have gone to our Cathedral and said the same prayer.  “I ask that my sweet friend Sierra be given one more day.”  Then I say I will be back the next day to ask the same question. So far, each day, thanks to the Big Giant Dog Gods, the prayers have been answered.  And their answers have been nothing short of miracles  Because Sierra is a very sick girl.  She has something wrong with her liver and they have eliminated everything but the worse thing:  The big C.  And there isn’t much we can do but wait and pray.

Her Mom has been a miracle too.  She has kept Sierra with us through dozens of doctors’ visits and lots of money spent.  But you can’t measure a day with Sierra by money because there is never too much to spend for her sweet company  (Hope that doesn’t make her sound like a ho.)  .  And you can’t measure it by effort like trying the hundreds of different foods her desperate Mom tried to get her to eat until she found the answer (Pizza!)

We  measure our time with Sierra through love, and we treasure each day with this wonderfully sweet girl even as her clock ticks down.   

It seems like we have known Sierra even before this Internet thing was created.   Like she was snuggling with us since we were babies.

Today is the fourth anniversary of her sister Chey going to the bridge, and the fourth anniversary that Sierra took over the role of family pack leader, a job she did so well it made Chey very proud.

Three years ago Sierra explained who she was like this:

“I Am a Diva!!
I Want mom to quit work!
I Have a camper all my own!
I Wish mom would win the lotto so she can quit work and stay home with me
I Hate SQUIRRELS!
I Fear firecrackers and loud voices!!
I Hear the snap on my leash clinking when mom picks it up and I am right there!
I Search for varmints in my yard!
I Wonder if mom misses me as much as I miss her when she’s at work?
I Regret not learning to play with toys...
I Love my MOM and my Angel sis Chey!
I Ache in the mornings, aspirin please!
I Always meet my mom at the door when she comes home…oh how I missed her!
I Usually sleep on mom’s bed!
I Am Not a water dog!
I Dance when it’s time to go for a W-A-L-K or a R-I-D-E!
I Sing, never….I’m not very vocal.
I Never let mom get too far out of my sight.
I Rarely make a big deal out of thunderstorms.
I Cry when I can see my mom but can’t get to her!
I Am Not as old as my age!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Me too Bear!)
I Lose my Kong sometimes, it really worries me!
I’m Confused when mom says she’s just going to the store, but is gone for hours!
I Need my mom to quit work! (do I see a pattern here?) BOL!
I Should keep in touch with my TB friends more!
I Dream of catching that nasty varmint!! “

That July Sierra got a true treat.   Her first camping trip with just her and Mom.  And then, in the first week of August, the Blob arrived.

Small, black, and full of energy the Blob, named Nase by her Mom, started driving Sierra nuts.   Many a night I stayed up with Sierra discussing our mutual problems:  Hers was the Blob and mine was Pocket.  Sierra made the mistake of trying to keep up with the Blob while I just let Pocket run like a mad dog while ignoring her.  Sierra  hurt her leg trying to keep up.  I think that’s when she learned to leave it alone.

Soon the Blob grew into her doghood and was not as crazy and Sierra grew as close to Nase as she was to Chey.  And there were plenty of fun times including great family camping trips.  Nase could still be Blob though.  In November 2010 the Blob played with Sierra too hard and hurt her back legs.  The Blog was severely punished and Sierra got some much deserved loving from Mom so it was all good.

There Mom, another Dog Hero Mom, soon let a foster dog come stay with them, a little boy named Tiger.  He arrived right around Sierra’s birthday which did not please her  But she soon realized what a gift Tiger was.

At the end of April Sierra got to take part in one of the greatest Internet related parties of all time.  She went to Baron Fest hosted by Bear’s Mom.  There were so many dogs there:  Cheyenne, Sandy, Hannah, Summer and Kady, and so many others joined for an actual get together.  It was like a rock festival for dogs.  And everyone agreed they loved sweet Sierra.

But like so many of us pups being a Senior pup has caught up to our friend and that’s why she needs our prayers.  But we didn’t want to wait until the prayers stop working before we honored Sierra.  She is a wonderful dog.  She is a great friend, a wonderful sister, a companion for life, a true heart dog.  She has been the center of several groups and she is loved and respected by all.

I hope that my prayers that you have one more day are answered over and over again.  We all love you Sierra more than you know  And we love your Mom too, who is a match for any Mom.  We wish you a thousand more days together.

So no tears today.  Today we celebrate a living dog who can read this and know how much she means to us..  And her Mom can read it then lie with Sierra and bury her head in her soft fur and breathe in all Sierra’s love

And if they squint, they can look around, and see all of us, Moms and dogs smiling.