I can’t believe that just six weeks ago I did my memorial post for Snort . . . and now here I am again doing the same thing for Sydney.
I’d like to think that Sydney just missed Snort so much that she didn’t want to be here without him. But, in reality, she had a lot of persistent health problems that really seemed to become bigger issues once Snort died. She had a UTI that was not being cured by any antibiotics, one back leg with arthritis, one back leg with a possible torn ACL/cancerous tumor, and wasn’t eating her food which meant we couldn’t give her medicine to try and help anything.
We knew it was time to say goodbye, but that didn’t make this past Thursday any easier. We said goodbye to the last of our furry friends, and now we are a dog free home for the first time since 2007. So. Weird.
So today’s post is all about our sweet lady dog, Sydney.
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Snort was such a great dog that we decided we should get him a buddy so he wouldn’t be alone all day while we were at work. One weekend at the cottage, we heard of a farmer who had a litter of Australian Cattle Dog puppies. We hopped in the car to go check them out. In our minds, we were just going to check them out and then go home and think about it.
We wanted a lady dingo, and there was only one running around on the farm. We saw Sydney, thought she was adorable, and then got in the car to head back to the cottage. We made it about five minutes before we turned around and went back to the farm to get her.
How could we resist that adorable puppy face???
We were prepared to pay a couple hundred dollars . . . and the farmer asked for $50! ha! There were so many times over the years when Sydney would destroy something and we’d get mad and say that’s what we get for buying a doggie on clearance!
Sydney had the biggest ears and a long, silly tail that didn’t match the rest of her.
It didn’t take long for us to realize that all cattle dogs are not created equal . . . and Sydney was not as well behaved as Snort. We spent hundred of dollars on puppy classes, private training, crates, and home repairs . . . but that dingo marched to the beat of her own drum no matter what!
Sydney was definitely the alpha dog and would sometimes go over to Snort’s bed and bark at him until he would get up so that she could lay down in it! And sometimes, in their earlier years, they’d share a bed which was the cutest thing ever.
Our dogs weren’t allowed on the furniture unless we covered it up and invited them to come up with us . . . but Sydney never followed the rules, and I always photographed before kicking her off!
Other than Snort and Wendel (Sarah and Brian’s basset hound), Sydney was terrible with other dogs and with children. She’d bark and pull like crazy on walks when we encountered either.
We were convinced we’d have to get rid of her once Lucy was born, but we couldn’t have been more wrong! She was great with Lucy from the first day we brought her home. It’s like Sydney just assumed the girls are part of our pack. #thankgoodness
Sydney lived for playing ball, swimming in the lake, and playing with the hose or sprinkler. Unfortunately, her dew claws were pretty long and she’d often rip them while sliding to a stop. There were a few times when she had to have them stitched up and then spent some time with a cone on. Eventually, we got smart and started wrapping her dew claws up before taking her out to play. #highmaintenance
Just like Snort, Sydney had a lot of nicknames. Let me just say that we loved Sydney like crazy, but she was a lot of WORK. Therefore, some of her nicknames weren’t always the kindest, but they were said with love 😉 Syd, Sydders, Tiny, Tiny Destroyer, Tiny Dumb Dumb, Tiny Shit for Brains (yup!), Lady Dog, Lady Pup, Sydnor, Sydney Bydney, Tiny la Dog. We’re weird, I know!
Sydney was a great doggie who was saved by her adorable face!
These dogs were our lives for the first eight years of our marriage (and then definitely took a backseat once the girls were born). Being a dog family is all we know. It’s been a weird weekend doing things without them around, but I know we’ll get used to it. I wonder how long it will take before I won’t think about feeding the dogs at 4pm. Or how long it will take to not find dog hair in the house!
To answer the question that everyone is thinking: No, we are not going to get another dog anytime soon. For almost twelve years we’ve had to worry about walking the dogs, cleaning up after the dogs, vacuuming because of the dogs, coming home from events early to let the dogs out, finding someone to watch the dogs when we go out of town . . . you get the idea. We are going to enjoy a dog-free lifestyle for the foreseeable future.
Snort and Sydney will forever be in our hearts, and I’d like to think they are happily chasing balls together up in dingo Heaven.
Let me leave you with one more little gem. This video was taken after a summer ball playing session. Beware, the video starts out a little quiet but then I let out a loud yell at the end . . . so don’t turn it up too loud!
XOXO
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