Fraidy Sadie

Sadie, showing a gross case of "crap neck."

Hi, all; Lily the corgi here.  Last week I told you a bit about my nosy beagle mix sister Lucy, so I figured this week I'd give equal time to my sister Sadie.  Sadie is beautiful and has the softest fur; her ears are like pure silk.  She is a very playful dog but also likes petting and snuggles.  Sadie is a sweet girl, but she is, well, different.

Years ago, my mama decided to go to the local animal shelter and look at dogs.  She saw Sadie there and thought Sadie was very nice, but a family was looking at Sadie so mama went home without a dog.  A few weeks later, mama and daddy's gorgeous husky boy, Alexei, died and the only remaining dog was sad and lonely.  After a few months, mama went back to the shelter to look at a companion for the dog-widow Colleen and, lo and behold, there Sadie was still waiting. 

The shelter people told mama that Sadie had been a puppy living in a small town nearby with her feral canine mama.  No one ever said what happened to the mama, but someone managed to catch Sadie.  Sadie was very shy and nervous; she had never been around people and had no idea how to behave like a normal companion animal.  While Sadie quickly learned to love and trust mama and daddy, she was super-scared of everyone else.  When Sadie would get stressed, she would give a look my parents call "the crazy eye."  Looks something like this:

When Sadie starts to pant and shows the white of that "crazy eye" you can bet she's about to flip out!

Here's another crazy eye--we had guests in the house and she was nervous!!

Sadie has some other odd behaviors as well.  One of my favorites is what my parents call "crap neck."  Somehow Sadie goes out into the yard and manages to roll her neck in poo...not her leg, not her belly, just her neck.  It makes my parents nuts!  Makes me chuckle.  The odd thing Sadie does that makes most people laugh is her impression of a sealaroo (that's a cross between a seal and a kangaroo.)  When Sadie is excited, she hops on her hind legs like a kangaroo while clapping her front feet together like some sort of demented seal.  

Some of Sadie's behaviors are just a little sad.  When lots of family and friends are around and everyone is having a good time, Sadie will often put herself in a safe, secluded spot like the utility room or hidden beside the bed.  She really is just too afraid of all the people and play; it sorts of hurts my heart to see her so very scared.  Sadie barks a lot because she is so worried about all the things going on around her.  Sadie treats food as if she were a concentration camp survivor--she will eat and eat like she thinks she'll never get another meal.  For whatever reason, Sadie is afraid to drink water at home--I somehow picture her as having been captured while having a drink and so she never feels comfortable drinking again (I have no idea if that happened or not; it's just a scenario I can see in my abundant corgi imagination.)  She has actually gotten much more bold about things over the years, but she still earns the title "Fraidy Sadie."

Sadie bravely sitting beside human cousin Kathleen (notice she's still doing that nervous panting.)

So as you can see, I'm the only normal dog in the household.  It's a curse, trying to show others how to behave when they don't seem to have any concept that they are strange!  But as the resident corgi, that's my job and I will continue to execute my duties to the best of my abilities.

Just to let you know, mama and daddy are planning on a vacation later this week, so it will be a couple of weeks before I'm able to blog again.  I'm pretty bummed that I can't go on this trip because mama and daddy, Aunt Cathy, Uncle Roger, Aunt Vicky, and a batch of cousins, including the babies, are going on the trip together.  Sounds like a huge amount of fun.  That's okay; I'll just be here waiting for their return.  

Til next time, love ya!

Lily the Corgi

Fraidy Sadie, rocking a summer haircut.