Remembering our sweet Sadie girl

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 29, our dog was savagely attacked by a pack of wild boonie dogs and died.

We are so incredibly sad to have lost Sadie. For her to have died so violently is impossible to comprehend. No dog deserves that, and her tragic death needs to be a loud wake-up call. Current efforts to address the feral boonie dog population are hugely inadequate and a disgrace to our island home and to the freedoms that these dogs’ ancestors represent. They deserve better, and we can do better.

Sadie, left, shares a moment with her BFF, Spencer. (Contributed Photo)

I knew I wanted a boonie dog the minute I read about their history during World War II. They are credited with saving thousands of American military lives, were dearly loved by their trainer/soldiers who were devastated to have to leave them behind when the war ended. Some were actually family pets that were donated to the war effort. If you ever get a chance, watch the documentary War Dogs of the Pacific.

Seventy years later, they have inbred to the point that “boonie dog” has become its own breed. The overpopulation of boonies is heartbreaking to see. The vets on island, the Animal Control office, dog lovers, and PAWS do what they can, but it is clearly not enough. The dogs are sick and dying on the sides of the roads, starving, having litter after litter, out in the heat all day, infested with skin diseases, and most are not ever going to be adopted. All indications are that a “no-kill” shelter here will do little to cure this problem. There are many, many hearts “in the right place” but it is time to do more. What if, next time, it is a child that dies instead of another domestic dog?

We decided to do our part and adopt a boonie puppy. Sadie came to us in June 2013 and was truly the strangest dog we have ever seen in our lives, both in looks and personality. She would not let you come near her and was skittish beyond words. She stayed like that her whole life, with moments of “normal” where she would let you pet her. She was terrified of everything. We really think that she was probably autistic or mildly retarded, but we loved her and her constant “blank boonie dog look.” Her facial expression never changed and she had the biggest, pinkest ears you have ever seen. We used to ask her for a full weather report each morning! Certainly those ears could pick up signals from miles away. Winning a beauty contest was clearly not in her future, but winning our hearts was a sure thing! For me, this was thrilling, as I was not a dog lover by any stretch.

We dressed her up for Halloween last year and walked her to a carnival near our house. All the kids loved her, and that night she acted like she was having fun. She seemed to revel and prance with all the attention. We called her our “Diva Dog” after that and chose to act like all her strangeness was just because she was such a diva. Every time we had to “deliver” her cookies because she would not come to us, every time we had to let her in her door to come inside because she could not come in the front door for some reason, every time she would be under the table with just her head sticking out so she did not miss anything—it always made us laugh at how strange she was. Whenever you walked too near to where she was lying, she would race off like her life was in danger and acted like she had never seen you before.

We could never board her at the vet when we traveled. That would have done her in, so she had a whole wonderful family (mom, dad, and four kids) that took care of her when we were gone. We kept telling Sadie that if you looked up “lucky dog” in the dictionary, her picture would be there!

Then in January 2014, we brought home boonie No. 2, Spencer, and Sadie’s whole life changed. She loved having a BFF. Spencer did not know that Sadie was “different” and he treated her like she was his hero. They played and romped together both inside and outside. No one has gotten to sleep through the night since. Who knew that what Sadie really needed was a friend! It was beyond cute, and Sadie came out of her shell a tiny bit each day.

Sadie never got to go on our Saturday jungle walks with Joy, Rico, and sometimes Girlie because she did not “fit in” and her fear created a physical attack or two.

She was too scared to go “bye-bye in the car” but never minded Spencer going. Whenever we did get her in the car to go to the vet or take Nelson to work, she just shook the whole time. We called it the “Shakin Sadie Show.” It was pathetic, but hysterical also. We finally gave up on getting her to like going places.

We taught her two tricks, which she hated performing, so we quit asking. Spencer learned multiple tricks, which he had to do each time to get his cookies, but Sadie got a free pass. No tricks required.

When people would come over, she never moved from her favorite spot at the foot of the couch. She would be like a scared stone, but would not leave her spot. People just had to sit around her. Everyone just accepted “Scared Sadie,” especially the little children that visited. Since she was terrified and glued to the spot during these times, people could actually pet her without her bolting off.

When she was scared (all the time), she would tuck her tail tight under her body. Walking her on the beach path with her head held high and tail tucked tightly brought on many laughing jags. When walking, she would look back constantly to make sure the boogie man was not following her.

Spencer learned to ring a bell tied to our door when he wanted to go outside. When Sadie would hear the bell ring, she would jump up, look at me like “Woman, get up, we have to go out” and panic when I took too long! Like it was the end of the world. Sadie never ever asked to go outside. She just waited until you let her out, and then when we got Spencer, she got on his “bell ringing” schedule.

We must have told her 20 times a day. “Sadie, you are a strange dog, but we love you!”

About a month before she died, I started teaching Sadie and Spencer the “dog-daddy dance.” Nelson would call to say he was on his way home and I would get Sadie and Spencer crazy excited. In my loudest voice, I would sing to them “Dog Daddy, Dog Daddy, Dog Daddy’s Coming Home” over and over again until the car showed up. They were video moments. Spencer was practically prostrate, barking his head off and howling with excitement. Sadie would stand at perfect attention waiting for that door to open so they could run to the car to greet Nelson. Sadie would bolt out, then hang back and watch Spencer get petted. About two weeks before she died, Sadie actually went “all the way” and let Nelson pet her. These were incredibly fun, simple moments.

While running around the house and wrestling with Spencer, several times Sadie momentarily forgot she was scared and jumped up on the couch. Once up there, she came to a screeching halt, as if to say “Holy cow, how did this happen?”

Whenever you talked to Sadie, she would cock her head from side to side as if she did not understand a word you were saying, but was listening intently. One of the cutest things she did.

A few months ago, Spencer started wandering out of the yard. He would go next door as that house had no fence and he could get to the beach. He would come back soaking wet and full of sand. Every morning around 3am. Sadie never went with him. Heaven forbid she should leave the yard! She never even saw any room in this house except the living room and kitchen. Ever! Much too scary to explore anything.

All of a sudden in the last few weeks, she started wandering off with Spencer around 3am every morning, but she never came back wet. Sadie hated the water, whereas Spencer loved it. We got Sadie on the stand-up paddle board one time, and the “fear stance” was just too traumatic for us to try again. We did get her to swim a few times, but she was clearly miserable, and our belly laughs at her expense felt abusive!

Wild boonie dogs come and go in our yard all the time, and Sadie would bark and run them off. Such a tough girl! That had been the norm until July 29. Early that morning, Sadie and Spencer went for their morning romp next door to get to the beach. But this time, a group of stray boonie dogs came from the beach and killed Sadie. Spencer made it back home, and we did not know what happened until later that day. Spencer Marchadesch from Animal Control was able to help us find out what had happened, and we are grateful for his help and kindness.

We just could not believe that our Sadie was gone. Nelson never wavered in his belief that Sadie would “come around” with time. Each tiny milestone of Sadie acting like a “real dog” was celebrated like we were crazy people. Our times at home with the dogs have been the highlight of our island life.

Rest in peace, Miss Sadie. You enriched our lives, and we will never forget you! Your WWII ancestors saved many American lives and may your story be the catalyst for a lasting and humane solution for the lives of Saipan’s boonie dog population. You all have earned that respect. May heaven be an endless supply of cookies. No tricks required!

Donna Krum
San Jose, Saipan