In memoriam: Lady Kaake

A little over four years ago, Sarah sent me an email about an older BC/Australian Shepherd mix that she was getting ready to bring into rescue. And that was the beginning of what was my most challenging, and most rewarding, relationship with this girl. When she came into our home, we learned she was an alpha dog, marking her territory as does a male, with the very singular philosophy: The best defense is a good offense. Her manners with other dogs were shaming, and she wasn't very friendly with people either. But she and I struck a chord together. Somewhere, deep down, I knew there was a delightful personality. With much love, much work, and a near constant reminder of who the head dog really was (ME!), after her first year, she relaxed and was a joy to have around.

Though never very affectionate, she was my constant companion. In our second year together, I had a major health challenge and she was by my side the entire time. I can also give her a huge credit as motivation to press on during my rehabilitation. She was an urban dog and didn't like being left out in a yard to do her business. So we walked at least 3 times a day, sometimes for a couple of miles. She was my confident; she knew my heart because on those walks, she heard my prayers and was my sounding board.

Up to her last days, she still tried to intimidate other dogs, but over the years we spent together, I learned she was fine with them as long as she could tell them she was the boss dog. Her defensiveness had vanished and she loved to be around people, even our toddling granddaughters. The transformation in her was a great joy to my heart. She had this peculiarity to gaze at light refractions, so she was always looking up at some light moving along the wall, ceiling, whatever. We tried playing with a laser light but soon learned that it left her absolutely neurotic ("Where's that red dot? Huh? Huh?") so we had to put that aside. She loved to ride in the car with me as we made our trips back and forth to North Carolina. Every 9-12 months, she would test the waters to see if she could be the leader of the pack at home, but after a couple of attempts, she'd figure it out again and settle down. The first part of her life was rough, but in her later years she found peace in a loving home. As a dear friend mentioned, it's hard to have our dogs leave this Earth before us, but it's an opportunity for a new friend to find a loving place to call home. Lady was a great joy and will be missed...a lot.