Sadie

Sadie is our lovable Golden Retriever, we adopted on September 22, 2002. She loves everyone, especially our new kitten Felicity that we had brought home a day before my birthday in October, 2004. But we had no idea how much Sadie loved her until one freezing, quiet night in November.

Sadie was lying down by the crackling fire while I was watching a movie one night in November. She got up, and another family member opened the door to the backyard and let her out for the night. When she decided to come back in, she trotted into the house right by the fireplace and lay down. What my family member didn't know was that the door was still open. Sadie drifted to sleep. I decided to head to bed, when my dad came up on the couch to relax.

Felicity was curious to know what was outside, so she slipped out the door where it was open, but none of us knew. Sadie woke up and started barking loudly straight at my dad. My dad was generally surprised by this because Sadie, again, loves everything and we have never heard her bark directly at anyone. So he got up, and Sadie sprinted to the door. He quickly followed her. She went out onto the porch and looked at some little glowing eyes in the grass. My dad took a closer look, and saw it was our kitten in the grass. He picked her up and carried her inside while he rubbed Sadie's head as she followed them inside.

Felicity jumped up onto the couch, eyes wide at what she had been through. Sadie got up onto the same couch, sat down, and put her arm around Felicity, as if soothing her. They both drifted to sleep with no worries at all anymore, and Felicity was truly grateful for a friend like Sadie. If Sadie hadn't warned my dad, she might have gotten lost, not knowing how to get back home. Or could have faced a predator to her like a opossum or coyote or raccoon. When I got up the next morning and my dad told me the story, I thought about where we'd all be right now if Sadie hadn't done what she did for her friend.

Sadie is my hero because she not only saved our little Felicity, she's a friend to anyone that's willing, caring, and destined to do what's not only right for her, but right for others.