My Sid Girl

 Eleven years ago I had no idea the impact meeting my best friend would have on my life. I was so excited to get my first dog after living on my own and I wanted to make sure I got the right fit. I've noticed sometimes dogs resemble their owners and my Sid girl and I had the same likes, such as summer and love for water, heat, sunbathing, boat rides, and hate for thunderstorms and the cold. Sid loves kids and babies so much but is not a fan of other dogs much, she's one hundred percent the alpha female. You hear how dogs sometimes choose their owners, I kind of feel that's how it was, I noticed she wasn't wagging her tail much to some other people looking at her and I had my eye on her she's a beautiful yellow lab/retriever mix. Once I went up to the cage she was going nuts she was months old and I knew immediately she would be going home with me. She didn't have it too rough though she had only been in the shelter one night. I'll never forget the car ride home though I wondered if I made a big mistake, she nibbled and bit at my arms the entire way home it wasn't very pleasant.

Once we got home I remember putting her in a pink shirt we stopped and got for her, my boyfriend had a ginormous 150 lb black lab and he was a gentle giant. I have to admit I wasn't a fan of Zeus, he was so slobbery and shed so much, we definitely had his dog, and then finally my dog now. I did love watching Sidney and Zeus interact though, they were very close and although Sidney was half his size she was the alpha and Zeus was so sweet with her. We spent a lot of time going on nature trails and the parks. Sidney loved to go on the jungle gym and go down the slide, we also had pictures of her in the baby swing and she loved it. She absolutely loved the water and found any body of water that was nearby and was heading straight for it before I could ever stop her. She was always a great swimmer and I loved taking her to the lake or river and watching her swim to get logs. The last time I took her was hard watching her struggle to swim but she was determined to get the log I had thrown however the current was too strong and she was getting worn out so I jumped in and got her out and sadly realized she's now too old for her swimming outings. Her paws also got torn up on the rocks so I tried the dog shoes (waste of money, they were kicked off in no time.)

I am beyond lucky to have miss Sid by my side through my entire adult life. I am now 30 and I got Sidney for my 19th birthday. She was with me through a bad breakup, the worst part was he tried keeping her to control me but I ended up getting her back as she was always my dog. My husband now loves Sidney (we joke that she is the adoptive daughter). Sidney is very intelligent, I had no trouble potty training her and she learned to sit, shake and lay down in a couple of hours. Her favorite thing to do is watch TV and barks at any animals on TV (if she is bored she will bark at cartoon animals, but she likes horses) it was always so funny until we had twins four months ago and when we finally get the babies to sleep and Sidney goes after the T.V. it no longer is cute.

It is hard watching her change from wanting to be outside a lot and so active to not wanting to go out much, she can't get in the jeep anymore without us picking her up and she used to sleep right next to me, and now sleeps under the bed. It really is not fair that dogs don't live as long as us, but I know when the day comes it will break me but I also realize I have given her a home where she has always been loved her whole life. I am so thankful to have Sid finally meet the babies and to get pictures of them together that I know I will always cherish. I am not ready to lose her but I know how lucky I am to have her by my side all these years and to always be there for me through life's challenges. She is my Sid girl and I will enjoy each day I have left with her.