Saving Sadie Page 18
That was enough to convince them and they listened attentively as I talked about how Sadie was different from other dogs because she couldn’t walk, but that she should be accepted, just like people who were different should be accepted. I was careful to be sensitive in how I presented Sadie’s story to such a young and vulnerable audience. I made a point of saying that “bad people hurt Sadie,” and that was why she couldn’t walk, rather than say that she’d been shot. The sad reality was that many of these children had probably experienced or lost loved ones to gun violence in their lives, and they didn’t need another reminder.
At the end of our presentation the kids got to pet Sadie as promised, and they descended on her wagon en masse, clamoring to get close to her, but Sadie, true to her nature, took it all in stride and patiently endured their very enthusiastic love and affection, sitting still and smiling for hugs and pets and kisses. Afterward the teacher took me aside and thanked me for the presentation, remarking on how great Sadie was with the kids and also how Sadie and I had found a unique way to spread a message that they themselves often struggled to get across.
Buoyed by the reaction to this organized school visit, I continued my marketing efforts in earnest and began booking more and more schools, along with libraries, community centers, and even some retirement homes and senior centers. While I used the same basic format for all my presentations, I also geared some of the details to the particular group we were meeting. I usually asked in advance if there was a specific message they wanted conveyed, whether it was about kindness or acceptance or something else.
Experience became my best teacher and I learned so much just by doing. For example, at one school our audience was a group of two- and three-year-olds. I told them how Sadie could now go potty on her own. As soon as I said that, a handful of little voices piped up, “I go potty.” “I go potty now.” “I go potty, too.” Soon a chorus of enthusiastic potty-goers was happily sharing their status with the entire class. Note to self—never mention “potty” to a group of toddlers. It took some time to re-focus the audience’s attention, primarily because the teachers were laughing so hard they could barely contain themselves.
I handled all the outreach, follow-up, scheduling, and planning for these events myself, and it was truly exhausting to add these tasks to my still-full-time day job and the hours of daily exercise and rehab I did with Sadie. Still, it felt incredibly rewarding, knowing we were fulfilling Sadie’s mission, and I was always so humbled and touched when we got to a school and saw that the kids had made banners and signs to welcome Sadie, or when they gave us handmade thank-you notes before we went home.
* * *
That summer was full of fun and exciting events for Sadie and me, in addition to our meet-and-greets and presentations. In the middle of June we marched in our second Pride Parade at Milwaukee PrideFest, officially making it a yearly tradition (still continuing to this day).This year we had so many people from the LGBT community volunteer to join us in the march, distributing flyers and Sadie’s business card, and as happened after the first year, we saw our biggest uptick in donations, web hits, retweets, Facebook likes, and so on, in the days and weeks following the festival.
In August Sadie had a new and unique opportunity to take an architectural boat tour of Chicago with a couple dozen of her closest friends. Now, I ask you, how many dogs, able-bodied or otherwise, get to do cool things like that? This came about when BringFido.com, a website dedicated to helping people find pet-friendly hotels, restaurants, destinations, attractions, and other services, gave me a beautiful hardcover book I could use for fund-raising purposes.
Just thinking it would be a cute idea, I put a pair of reading glasses on Sadie, posed her in front of the book, then sent the photo to BringFido.com. I was so surprised when Melissa from BringFido wrote me back and said, “Sadie needs to feel the wind in her hair. Let’s set up an excursion for Sadie on the Seadog at Navy Pier in Chicago.”
I said to myself, “Well, okay! Sadie’s been on a plane, but she’s never been on a pleasure cruise before. Why not?” They offered us a choice of cruise options and we settled on the ninety-minute architectural cruise that went through the Chicago Locks and up the Chicago River, offering close-up views of famous landmarks such as the Tribune Building, the Willis Tower, Buckingham Fountain, and the Merchandise Mart.
We assembled a whole group of people, Team Sadie members, friends, fans, and supporters, and drove the two hours down to Chicago in a convoy of vehicles all sporting Wisconsin license plates. When we arrived at Seadog Cruises we were met with a chalkboard shaped like a dog with a message welcoming Sadie. The staff could not have been kinder as they helped us load Sadie’s wagon onto the brightly colored, diesel-powered speedboat with the large open deck for prime sightseeing.
As we took off and motored down the winding Chicago River with the intense afternoon sun glinting off the tall, majestic skyscrapers, throwing dazzling patterns and colorful kaleidoscopes of light across the boat’s crowded deck, I leaned over to Sadie in her wagon beside me. “You are my sea dog,” I said, stroking her head and scratching her ears. “You are my sky dog. You are my do-everything-and-make-it-amazing dog. How can I ever thank you for giving me my amazing life? How can I ever pay you back for what you’ve given me?”
Sadie, who’d been sitting up and eagerly watching the towering buildings passing by, turned to me and rested her chin on my arm. “No worries, Mom,” she seemed to be saying. “We love each other, and we are in this together.”
* * *
As the year wound down, I took some time over Thanksgiving to step away from the twenty-four/seven whirlwind that was Saving Sadie to sit down and write a heartfelt holiday message to all our family, friends, supporters, and friends. I was having the most amazing, extraordinary, exciting, fulfilling time of my life, but I knew these things didn’t happen in a vacuum. It took so many people and such commitment to keep Sadie and me going, which was what ultimately inspired me to get my thoughts down on paper and have Valerie post it on our website for everyone to see.
To all of you who believe in Sadie,
As Sadie’s mom, there isn’t a day that passes that I don’t think about the wonder of YOU. If it weren’t for YOU, Sadie wouldn’t be here and the world would be a sadder, smaller place. I THANK YOU for all of your thoughts, support, and taking a chance on her so that Sadie can have a great quality of life. I wish that Sadie could meet each of you and give you a kiss or a paw press for all of your generosity. It took all of you to make Sadie what she is now, and Sadie and I thank you for making a commitment to help, in your own way, a very special animal.
Sadie savors life every day and she never ceases to amaze me. From staring out the car window watching everything breeze by, to rolling in the snow and making a snack out of it with great big chomps, to “walking” to the gazebo in the yard, which is Sadie’s favorite place, to flying down the stairs to score some cat food, Sadie loves every minute of every single day and her constant tail wagging tells me so.
This Thanksgiving, remember that Sadie and I love you so very much and we thank you for giving this incredible animal a second chance at life. Please appreciate the ones that surround you this holiday season (human and animal) and we will say a prayer of thanks for all of you beautiful humans who have helped make Sadie the joyful, playful creature that she is today.
Don’t Stop Believin’.
With much love and doggie kisses,
Joal & Sadie
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Pure Love and Second Chances
Sadie teaching “Animals in the Media” at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
As time passed, Sadie grew from strength to strength as we continued developing our program and expanding our outreach to schools, libraries, community centers, and nursing homes. At the same time, we were also pursuing opportunities in larger, more diverse, and more challenging environments. For example, Sadie entered the sacred towers of academia when she presented a one-day
session called Animals in the Media at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she received her “dogtorate” from Joette Rockow, who was the course instructor. A few days later she appeared at the Toastmasters International convention at the Crown Plaza Airport in Milwaukee, where she had her own room for a meet-and-greet.
One of the really exciting developments during this time period was our growing involvement with the anti-bullying movement, particularly with the local group GAB—Generations Against Bullying. Our message to schoolchildren had always centered around disability acceptance and overcoming obstacles, as typified by our catchphrase, “Think about what you can do, not what you can’t do—just like Sadie does.”
This created a natural pathway for us to do a number of public appearances under the GAB umbrella, even while I maintained autonomy in my own slate of Sadie presentations and activities. GAB encouraged children not to be bystanders when other children or animals were being abused or bullied, but instead to be “upstanders” who stand up to the bullies and go to get help. When Sadie and I spoke at GAB events, I explained that the men who shot Sadie were the bullies while the people who came to rescue her were the upstanders.
Joining forces with GAB allowed us to expand our horizons in ways that otherwise would not have been possible. For example, in 2015 we took part in a GAB event with former Green Bay Packers star fullback William Henderson in which we visited ten schools in two days throughout the Kenosha Unified School District, talking to kids about bullying. The program was slightly different at every school, but in every case, Sadie and I were the last of the presenters to appear and the last to speak.
We had learned from previous experience that once kids saw Sadie, all their attention was immediately riveted to the dog, and nothing anyone else had to say would sink in. So during this whistle stop tour, Sadie and I, with her in her wagon, would hide out in the principal’s office until we received the signal that they were ready for us. Then I would wheel out Sadie in her specially blinged-out wagon with a dramatic flourish, and the kids simply went crazy.
“Now, if you will all sit quietly and listen, you can all come up and meet Sadie and pet her when we are done,” I explained. And with that, suddenly the kids became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. At the end of the program, I invited all the kids to come forward to meet Sadie, who gladly (and patiently) welcomed her adoring fans.
* * *
Sadie continued to improve physically and mentally as a result of all our work with her. Sometimes progress was slow, especially in the area of nerve regeneration, but it was present. She was not walking, but she was “mobile,” to some extent, preferring to be out of the wagon and moving on her own when we were at home. She could get around the house quite well, and when I let her outside she loved to go to the gazebo, where she could lounge in the grass, watch the birds and squirrels and rabbits, and feel the gentle breeze ruffling her fur.
In September 2015 Sadie experienced a major breakthrough in her rehab when she regained feeling in the bottom of her feet and was able to start getting out of the swimming pool on her own! The vets at the University of Wisconsin hospital had written in their report back in October 2013 that Sadie would never walk again and never be able to feel her feet. As she had done so many times before, Sadie proved the experts wrong! I knew that this did not guarantee that she’d ever be fully walking again, but it showed that improvement in her condition was still possible, even several years after she’d been shot, and that she was always able to beat the odds.
Sadie’s treatment, therapy, and exercise regimen continued in earnest, with slightly different schedules depending on the time of year. In winter she got acupuncture with Dr. Jodie once a week and swam indoors at Think Pawsitive twice a week. After swimming she would spend time in the Soqi HotHouse machine beneath the far infrared rays. While in the HotHouse she would receive e-stim or Russian e-stim for twenty or thirty minutes on each side.
Russian e-stim was similar to the e-stim I had been doing myself on Sadie at home with the handheld device, but the Russian e-stim was more intense and set at a different frequency. We started working with Bill Anderson at Attitude Sports and he used a heavy-duty e-stim machine on Sadie, which seemed to produce an even greater effect. I knew that the vets at the UW Veterinary Hospital had said that e-stim and similar treatments were unlikely to benefit Sadie in any way, but we were seeing real progress from Sadie, and so I felt that there was no reason not to continue.
On other days we worked with Sadie in her leg braces, tempting her to take steps by using frozen peanut butter on a spoon or canned cat food. We also practiced her going up the stairs with the braces on her legs. Following that she would go for a five-minute spin on the Power Plate.
Sadie was also still getting her twenty-five pills and supplements twice a day and maintained her raw food diet. She never had to go back to doggy diapers and continued to be successful in urinating and detoxing on her own.
In summer Sadie’s schedule featured a lot more swimming, often swimming every day at Jeff’s pool. We had started using small weights on Sadie’s legs when she was in the pool to further build her muscles. Our friend Kathy Bo-neck even fashioned her some custom-made weight holders out of cloth with pockets and Velcro, to wrap around her legs and place the small weights (like a metal washer) inside. We were gradually building up the amount of weight we used on her legs, and building up her time swimming with the weights to thirty minutes a session.
Her summer regimen also included a minimal amount of Power Plate, some e-stim, and at-home massage, along with stretching and chair exercises. Sadie amazed us all when this supposedly paralyzed dog started doing “high tens” thanks in part to Doc Clark at Synergy Works, double-bouncing on the ground and raising her front legs all the way above her head. Remarkable!
Kim Becker continued working with Sadie as her schedule allowed, on games and tasks designed to stretch Sadie’s mind as much as her body. Kim’s partner, Mary, also fell in love with Sadie and became a valuable member of the team. Mary made Sadie a beautiful handcrafted wooden board so that Sadie could exercise on it with her leg weights on in winter when it was too cold to swim.
The board was flat and was laid on two chairs positioned about four feet apart. Sadie was placed on the board with her front legs stretched out in front of her and her back legs dangling with the weights attached. This did wonders for Sadie’s stretching and muscles building.
It was always remarkable to me to see how it wasn’t just people Sadie met at events or out in public whom she quickly won over to her side; it was friends of family, and family of friends, and friends of friends. Sadie-love was contagious, but only in the best possible way.
Thinking about all of Sadie’s therapies, exercises, and treatments, I realized that there were some people who questioned and criticized me for pouring so much time, money, and energy into saving Sadie and working to get her walking again when there were so many other worthy causes in the world.
I understood why people might say that. We are all touched by images of starving children, and we all know people who have died of cancer and diabetes and other horrible diseases. But it wasn’t that I thought Sadie was more important than all those other worthy causes; it was that she was more important to me. Sadie is like my child—and ask any parent what he or she would do for their paralyzed child.
I would also explain to those who question Saving Sadie that Sadie has served as a kind of guinea pig in ways that might benefit many other animals and even people in the long run. Many of the therapies, treatments, exercises, and procedures that we’ve tried with Sadie have never been tried on a paralyzed dog before. What the vets and techs and others have learned from Sadie’s experiences is being used to advance and refine new treatments and protocols that may even have applications for paralyzed humans sometime down the road.
* * *
When I think about all the ways that Sadie has changed me, and how my life has evolved since our paths first crossed, I am
astonished. I don’t feel that what I’ve done with Sadie is noble in any way; I set out to save one badly broken dog, not save the world. And in the end, the greatest change has been the change inside myself: I am the one who has truly been saved, not Sadie.
But even so, my journey with Sadie hasn’t been without some setbacks and sorrows. I’m sorry to say that my family still isn’t as accepting of Sadie as I wish they would be. I’m not sure what it will take to make that happen; with all that Sadie has accomplished in four short years, all the obstacles she has overcome, all the ways she has inspired adults and children with disabilities and special needs, perhaps there is nothing that will change my family’s minds. And yet I choose to live in hope; hope is always an option, no matter the circumstances.
I know my devotion to Sadie has cost me in terms of other relationships, too. Caring for a disabled dog is in many ways similar to being the single parent of a toddler, but a toddler who never grows up and who will always need full-time care. And yet the massive number of people who have been helpful, who have given and cared and sacrificed in order to join Team Sadie, far outnumbers the very few who have not.
In addition to a few lost friends and relationships, I’ve missed out on other opportunities, too. For example, I had a chance to go to Europe last year but I turned it down rather than being so far away from Sadie and for so long. Some people might view this as a sacrifice, but I don’t. What I’ve given up to care for her is minuscule compared to what I’ve gained.
And what I have gained is so significant and so wonderful. For example, my sister Marnette and I are now closer than ever before thanks to Sadie. The bond we forged in those early days of Saving Sadie will strengthen the connection between us forever.