The story of my life with Sandy begins with a naïve 20-year-old who went to a farm after reading an ad in the newspaper for cocker spaniel puppies. Back then I was clueless to the meaning of back yard breeder. I always, I mean always wanted a cocker spaniel. I vowed from the time I was a young child and had fallen in love with our neighbor's cocker, Chumbella, that I would have a cocker spaniel of my own. I had no idea that the decision I had made back then would lead to such love and happiness. Let me first say that I did not pick Sandy. Yes, that is correct, Sandy most certainly picked me. I am not sure what she saw in that wild 20-year-old, but let me tell you, I am a better person having had her in my life and perhaps she saw something in me that I did not even know existed, but I have been forever thankful for her insight. She taught me so many valuable lessons, but the most important lesson of all was love. This leads me to the story of our life together.

On the way home from the farm that day, I vowed to her that I would always love her and take care of her, I am happy to say that I kept that promise. While we had our challenges, we made our way through them together, always being the constant in each other's lives. However, from minute one, it was clear that Sandy owned me. As a matter of fact, Sandy owned everyone in her life. Not because she was an alpha dog, but because of who she was. She just exuded love. I know that sounds sappy or maybe even silly, but it was true. She had caring brown eyes that looked deep into your soul. She could sense emotion like no human being that I have ever known. I could never have a tear drop touch the ground because if I were crying, she would instantly come to me and sit as close as possible and lift her paw up on my arm. I carried her around like a baby, until the day she left me. If I were to pick her up, she would naturally wrap her legs around my waist and her paws around my neck, and lay her head on my shoulder. There are many pictures portraying this and many friends and family members would ask me to do it they were so amazed by it. This lesson was Sandy's lesson of compassion. How just by being there for someone can make all the difference in the world.

Sandy always went with me wherever I went. She especially liked Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house because not only were they there, but also grandma Judy, Uncle Matt and Uncle John would be there as well. She always received plenty of food from Great Grandma and Grandma and Great Grandpa would whisper in her ear telling her secrets only the two of them know until this day! Uncle John was always there to greet her with that special "Sandra Dee". Though Uncle John has never been much of a dog person, Sandy even found her magical way to his heart! Uncle Matt was usually sleeping so she enjoyed climbing up to the attic to awaken him with kisses. The lesson to be learned is there is no place like Grandma's house! Cherish them while you have the opportunity.

Now do not get me wrong, the first year of her life was a challenge for both of us! This time period is when she taught me the lessons of patience. Patience, while she ate my woodwork, carpet, clothing, furniture, her own bed! While she excelled with housetraining, chewing was something we needed to really work on. However, together we conquered that nasty habit and we were both a lot better for it!

After the chewing stopped, Sandy did have one real vice that would remain a mainstay throughout her life. That vice was underwear. Be it clean, new, old, dirty Sandy would eat your underwear. She could not resist it!!! Literally, she was 13-years-old and if she got into the laundry basket, she would eat underwear! See this dog was not just about serious lessons; she also had some lessons of fun to teach us.

Around the 2.5-year mark of her life, that is when we both received a new love in our life. Enter daddy! Yes, Sandy taught Mike many lessons as well. The first one of course, was how to explain to her future grandmother, the holes in his underwear! LOL. The second would be that sharing of food can be fun! She taught him this lesson very early one when daddy left his favorite dish, chicken fettuccini Alfredo, on the coffee table and went off to the kitchen for a drink. As he and I both were standing in the kitchen, I asked him where his food was only to have both of us walk out to see Sandy gorging down his food!!! Sandy, like any cocker spaniel, cannot and will not resist any food. I watched closely and Sandy taught me how to wrap daddy around my finger as well. This lesson has proven to be very handy, as our lives together have moved on. (Just kidding daddy).

1997 brought us another wonderful gift in the form of my niece, Abby. I have to admit, while I am quite fun to be around, were it not for Sandy, I would probably not have been as much fun for her to visit. Abby and Sandy bonded instantly. We have pictures of Abby and Sandy dating back to when Abby was just a year old. I would watch how Abby lit up to see Sandy and Sandy to see Abby and I knew they would both always be a very special part of my life and I was so right!

Once it was official and our marriage commenced in 1998, we enjoyed many wonderful times together. No matter where we went or what we did, Sandy was always a concern. We bought our first house, which Sandy soon made her own. There was not any place in the house that was not hers. When she was not being the queen of our castle Sandy was still welcome to visit when we did at everyone's house. Since our yard was not fenced at that time, she especially loved going to grandpa Rich's house. He had a large fenced in yard for her to chase anything and everything (especially squirrels). Grandpa would also sneak her treats she was not allowed to have and let her on the furniture, which aggravated the wicked stepmother! I am not sure exactly what that lesson was there, but it was sure fun to watch!

This marriage brought even more family members to spoil her including another niece, Kayla, and a nephew Brandon. They too enjoyed spoiling her with belly rubs! This also led her to another place she liked to visit being Grandpa Quinlan and Grandma Kathi's house. There she could explore the over 2 acres of wonderful woods, beg grandpa for carrots, and talk Grandma Kathi into petting her belly!

She loved nature and through the years we would take her to cabins and parks and neither Mike, or I could keep up with her. She loved to sniff every inch of every leaf, tree, etc.
In her lifetime Sandy had been to numerous State Parks, including Old Man's Caves at Mohican State Park. However, this love of nature did actually end up with a couple scary encounters including a serious illness thanks to a mushroom and acorn cocktail in her later years! It was a scare neither, Mike or I would ever forget. We thought we were going to lose her and I could not bear that. Thankfully, that night the vet tech called to say we could come and take her home as she had never seen a dog, who could chew through two IV's pass away. We picked her up and brought her home and I stayed up all night with her making sure she kept her IV in. The lesson learned here (well besides the obvious of do not eat wild mushrooms and acorns!) is that there is no place like home!

In 1999 Mike and I decided to move to Columbus. We were home on Father's Day and since we had sold our home, we were staying with my father, or Sandy's grandpa Rich. The night before we had gone out and had a good old time while Grandpa Rich babysat. The next morning, Sandy gave me another gift. First let me say, Sandy was a sleeper like her mother. She could sleep 12 hours without waking up to eat or potty. She loved to sleep with us and would happily do so as long as we wished. However, the morning after our partying, Sandy woke me up at 7:00 a.m. to go potty. Now mind you, this was really not like her at all! I fumbled down the stairs and ran into my father who was getting ready to leave to go golfing.
Later that afternoon we were planning on a picnic for Father's Day. As I was letting Sandy out, I gave my father a quick hug and kiss goodbye and said I would see him later. When in fact, I would not. My father suffered a cerebral aneurysm that afternoon and there was never a picnic, only 5 agonizing days at the hospital with him never regaining consciousness. If Sandy, in a very odd break from her pattern, had not awoken me to go outside, I would have never been able to say goodbye to my father. Call it coincidence, intuition, eerie, whatever you call it, I will always be thankful to her for that. Because truly Sandy would have been the only one who could have gotten me out of bed on a Sunday morning at 7 am!

We stayed with Grandma Joann and Grandpa Joe for a few weeks when we moved back from Columbus and Sandy really loved that. She had twice the amount of people to spoil her and she also got to nibble on Grandma Joann's underwear!!! Lesson learned: Variety IS the spice of life LOL.

Shortly, after grandpa's passing, we moved back to Niles and settled into a new home. Both of us were working day turn by this time and with Sandy being alone during the day, I decided that she needed a sister! Enter Sophie. Oh, poor Sandy. Sophie is and always will be our problem child. Sophie had not had a very good life in her short 6 months of life, but that was all about to change. Sophie knew that Sandy was going to be her friend, but someone had to convince Sandy! Sandy had been the only child for over 7 years and at first did not see Sophie as "the gift" I claimed! It took some convincing, but within 3 weeks they were lifetime companions. Sandy was a wonderful role model for Sophie and eventually taught her things I could have never touched on. Of course, even Sandy had her limitations as far as Sophie LOL.

Sandy was never happy when we left for vacation, but during those times, she had either Uncle Matt or Grandma Judy to stay with her. Sandy alone was spoiled enough, but with Sophie as her sidekick, it was a guarantee that by the time we got back, they both had gained 5 pounds! Sandy would mope and stay at the top of the landing waiting for mommy to come back. While she loved Uncle Matt and Grandma, they were no match for mommy.

I was lucky enough to begin working from home in 2000. This was a very happy time for all of us because I now got to spend my days and nights with my "girls". This especially made Sandy, who still had separation anxiety, very happy. It also afforded me the opportunity to spend more time with her than I could have ever hoped for. Most people have to leave their dogs for 8 to 9 hours a day. I never had to leave mine and this helped me pack in years and years of memories of watching her lounge around the house, come and nudge me to take a break, and to just be there.

In August of 2004, we were dealt a heavy blow. Being home all day, I noticed Sandy was drinking excessively, going potty a lot more often, and just seemed more tired. I took her to the vet and my worst fears were confirmed. She was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome and liver disease. Essentially, her body was producing too many steroids, which were attacking her organs including her brain. I could not begin to imagine my life without her. After all, she had been a part of my life for over 12 years. They could not say how long we had, but estimated a couple months. Mike and I knew we would be lost without her, but what about Sophie. No offense to Sophie, but Sandy could certainly have lived without her. I mean, she had done so quite well for 7.5 years. Yes, she loved Sophie, but hey she had mommy home now! However, Sophie had been with Sandy from 6 months on and she was, well to her, a mother. This is when Sandy saved a life. The director of Furrever Friends, who is a great friend and confidant, had a very shy dog that needed a home with another small dog, someone home most of the day, and someone without kids. Hmm who could fit that description? With Sandy's terminal diagnosis and Sophie's inability to be without another dog, we rescued Bella. Yes, daddy finally agreed to that 3rd dog! About the same time, we put Sandy on a wonderful medication that would afford us another 1-1/2 of years of her presence in our lives. Lucky for us, because like Sophie, Bella had some issues that only Sandy could work out! I know that without Sandy, Bella would have never thrived like she did. Yes, I worked with her, but her watching Sandy being the stable, well-adjusted dog (well except for the separation anxiety, which with me being home was not all that prevalent these days) was the saving grace. Bella spent many nights with her head on Sandy sleeping! Sophie is not a cuddler, but Sandy was happy to oblige.

In that last 1-1/2 we were able to take Sandy on one last vacation, the beach. Now who does not love the beach? While Sandy loved the beach, we noticed she was not able to keep up with the other girls and how tired she would get, and it was heartbreaking. While she loved the ocean, she was just too tired to go on boat rides and walk all the trails like she once loved. We knew the time would soon come when we would have to lose our little girl.

Sandy's last week on earth was filled with gifts and visits from all of her friends and family. Even though she was tired, she always got up to greet her visitors and paw them to keep petting her and direct them where she wanted them to pet her (her belly was her favorite). Though we could not imagine not having her with us, we knew that it was not about us and we could no longer keep her with us. On March 22, 2006, Sandy left this earth. Her daddy and I stayed with her while she peacefully drifted off to sleep. The house is empty for all of us and the void is felt every morning when we wake up and every evening when we go to sleep. Her sisters miss her deeply and she will always be a part of our lives. We have been blessed with cards, flowers, and yes even this memorial page (Thank you Aunt Gina, Uncle Jeff, and Abby) as gifts from loved ones who also mourn the loss of Sandy. I have learned many lessons from Sandy, but the most difficult lesson was her final lesson...Loving someone enough to let go. I resisted this lesson, maybe a little longer than I should have, but I finally let her go to the Rainbow Bridge where she will patiently wait for the day when she can wrap her legs around my waist and her paws around my neck and lay her head on my shoulder where she belongs. Until then, I will keep her in my heart and mind and always know that I am a better person for having been "picked by Sandy" to be her mother. We love you and miss you Sandy: Mommy, Daddy, Sophie, and Bella.