So many men .... so little time

Oh those were the days …..

Unlimited supply of men to flirt with!

From an early age Sassy had an eye for the boys and them for her, one of her first conquests was Clint from Something for Kate, hook line and sinker!
There wasn’t a studio session that went by where Sassy didn’t break a heart or make a friend and it was the boys that she wooed, girls were ok but the boys were special.
If they were singing, tuning a guitar, playing a guitar, sitting even sleeping she would find a way to get up close and personal.

The Major was another conquest, many a nap on the studio lounge they shared, she took complete advantage of him, but I am sure to this day he loved every minute of it.

And of course the biggest love of all, Patrick so often I would find them cuddled up together, in the bed room, in the garden in the sun, even on the couch having a beer, one of Pat’s favorite pastimes and therefore one of Sassy’s.

Right up until the end they had a special bond that made me jealous sometimes, she adored Pat and he her.

He misses her snuggles, I know he does and it makes me sad to know that she will never look into his eyes and he into hers again.

But the memories of those moments I hope will soon become beautiful and less painful, I still can't belive she is gone, she was such an impossibly big part of my world, my heart is broken.

To my beautiful ‘sassy’ Sassy girl, oh what a heartbreaker!

She smiled at me

She smiled at me ….

When she was at the beach
When she was at the park
When you were about to give her CHICKEN!
When you came home and she saw it was you at the gate
Although NOT when I danced and NOT when I sang but definitely if a boy sang, Nipper to name one who would have her mesmerized
When you caught her on the bed

But the best smile of all was when we snuggled it was pure bliss for her to be laying next to me or Patrick, wrapped up in our arms.

Life didn’t get any better and even on the weekend before she died we spent it snuggled up together at the vets and even then ….

She smiled at me

Very sad days

Some days I get through with few tears and sad moments, work is a welcome distraction, but what I have realised is that while it is not a constant pain any longer, it is like you are being rolled in barbwire there are nanoseconds of calm between each barb then there is excruciating pain when you realise that they have gone and all you have left are the memories and the ashes.

I carry her box around the house with me, from room to room, lounge if we are all in there, bedroom at night and if I forget about her, I then chastise myself.

Her loss is unacceptable to me and while I realise that this is life, I can still be un-accepting of it, just like Sisyphus, he would roll his rock up the hill and it would roll back down which was unacceptable, but he still shook his fists at the gods.

We took Evie and Jedi to the beach yesterday, they loved it, but Sassy would have loved it too, her favorite place was the beach, we would go down every morning when we lived in northern NSW we would walk along the beach, she would run in to the surf to catch sticks or tennis balls, take in so much saltwater she would be sick but she loved it and I love watching her absolute exhilaration at being there.

We don’t get to witness others experiencing shear exhilaration everyday and that energy was infectious and taught me to love every moment of every day that I am with people I love and care for.

Many people don’t allow themselves to be the truly happy souls we desire to be, they hold back, dogs are just happy souls, they don’t worry about what others will think or say, what we wear or how much we earn, they love us for who we really are in those moments where we look deep into their eyes and share a secret. They are the true examples of pure souls.

Walking was so outdated!

Walking was so outdated!

In the beginning Sass and I lived on a budget so no car in this family, walking was our standard mode of transport and it was good for local trips, longer distances were accomplished with the assistance of very generous friends and their cars, but the in between trips and work?

Well that was accomplished by the bike!

I had to find a way to get her around quickly, also walking back from the studio at 2 in the morning, while it was only St Kilda to Elwood it wasn’t a great idea and took away precious sleeping time.

So I had to channel my inner MacGyver, speed, safety and comfort were a must, it was then that we pioneered the Dog Basket!

Cushion, harness and cable ties

She would take to standing up, paws on my shoulders as we were making our way along the Elwood foreshore, looking over my shoulders, wind in her hair, gums and ears a flapping, barking at the odd passerby saying ‘hello, look at me’!!

This was our main mode of transport and we both loved it.

The Unbreakable bond

The Unbreakable bond

You could say that the first look into each other’s eyes did it or the drive back from the pet shop to the studio sealed the deal but the ‘Unbreakable Bond’ was cast and set one long night about 3 days after she came home.

Having not had a puppy before I went out and bought a number of highly recommended dog books, one in particular I used as a bible, from food, exercise, training, medical it was all in there from A-Z.

S is for SLEEP;
Set aside a warm cosy area for your puppy, line your basket with blankets and maybe with a piece of you clothing you could also add a hot water bottle filled with warm water, if the puppy is young you might want to snuggle a tick-tock clock in there, this will mimic a ‘heartbeat’. This heartbeat will provide the pup with safe feeling that he/she is still with his litter.
Place the basket in a separate room, ensure it is dark and that there is no wind or strange noises, put your pup to bed, tell them to stay and reassure them this is a safe environment.

I followed the instructions to a T and for 3 nights and she howled and cried, and whimpered and just when you thought she couldn’t utter another sound she howled again, I couldn’t blame her, but I was at my wits end, I hadn’t slept, she hadn’t slept both were in a bit of a state.

So …. I go down and open the door to the room she was in, thinking if she can see a little bit of light and that she is not alone she might settle ….. no luck
Next I try opening the door to my bedroom, thinking if she can hear me pottering around she will be assured I am her and that it’s all ok ….. no luck
So I move her bed into the hallway outside my room, no harm in that really, a bit closer to me and she should be settled …. no luck
Next I try putting her bed at the bottom of my bed, underneath (I had a high bed that was off the floor about 2.5 ft) …. Success!!! …for about 5 minutes …then HOWLING! And now it was louder because it was under my bed!
The book the book ..where is it … ok S is for SLEEP … rugs check, t-shirt check, water bottle check, clock ..clock … NO CLOCK! No heartbeat … argh … improvise Cryss come on … solve the problem …. Heartbeat!

And here we have it .. the exact moment the unbreakable bond was cast and set forever.

I picked her up, laid her on my chest, kissed her nose and turned the light off …. Seconds later I can hear little snorty snores and she was off dreaming of tennis balls and the beach.

And the rest shall we say is history, on many occasion when I couldn’t find her around the house or garden, she has scuttled her way off to my bed and I would find her laying there with her head on my pillow like a little human being.

While every text book I read said sleeping in your bed was a no no …. The moment she fell asleep was the most wonderful moment I think I had ever experienced, not because of the silence and end of whimpering, but because my heartbeat was what she needed and her heartbeat and snuffling was what I needed.

We were perfect!

Big sister Neve, the legend!

So Sassy was a Hothouse Studio dog, but she wasn’t THE studio dog. That position was held by Neve, the most beautiful, gentle Sharpei, she was stunning and to this day I hold a special place in my heart for her.

I credit Neve with teaching Sassy how to be a lady, they were inseparable and Sassy really looked up to her. Sassy followed her everywhere, they ate together, walked together and played together, but best of all, they slept together!

In the main room of the studio there was a Engineers chair, a producers chair, two small side chairs and a couch/settee, most of the time this was reserved for band members who were not recording/performing at the time, but somehow Neve and Sassy were able to ‘acquire’ 80% of the lounge realestate and what was more impressive was that they were rarely nudged off, if I was to go and attempt to move them the majority of the time the boys in the band would be like “no no, it’s ok, leave them” and then they would sit on the edge of the lounge, while the girls got 'poll position'

That was obviously a seating habit I nurtured early and being my first I didn’t realize the future ramifications, such a cute habit for a puppy resulted in many many many nights of me sitting on the tiniest edge of one of the biggest lounge chairs, a sacrifice I would gladly continue to make.

So in honor of encouraging bad habits from an early age, here are a few studio snaps of my girls Sassy and Neve.