Jeanne Read is now the caretaker for Sadie but Sadie has been through some changes in her time and is still doing well. In fact Jeanne and her son Jim describe her path as miraculous.

Sadie, who is a "part hound dog, part German Shepherd, part Beagle," once lived on a ranch out in Enumclaw and is now 21 years old. Until two years ago she lived with a woman who later had to move to an apartment that didn't allow pets so she asked Jim to take care of her..but there's more that story.

Two years ago Sadie was out at the ranch and, "she had been apparently hit by a delivery truck," Jim said, "we don't know for sure. But she was injured to the point that she had crawled into the bushes and when dogs do that, it means they want to die. The owner called her and she would not come. They called me and I came out. I got there, stopped my car, walked 20 feet calling her name and I turned around. She had gotten out of the bushes and was standing there and stared at me. As soon as she saw me, she just fell to the ground. We picked her up and took her to the vet. He said there wasn't a lot we could do for her. She was too old to operate. They took X-rays and she had a cracked pelvis. she had muscle groups pulled away from two bones to the point she could barely use her leg. She had arthritis and they found that she'd been shot with a pellet gun."

So they took her home even though she couldn't walk, couldn't eat and was in pain. They gave her pain medication but then Jim began a marathon care routine for Sadie, and the woman who owned her moved. "Sadie spent two weeks in my garage on a blanket. I literally pulled her out every day because she couldn't walk, made her pee and poop, I cleaned her. I talked to her. I petted her. I gave her medication. I started giving her fish oil and vitamins. I treated her like a queen." After those early weeks, she settled down, said Jim and would try to get up. She kept trying. "I barely got any sleep because she was in so much pain, but she finally got to the point where she was able to stand and walk a little. Not very far. Slowly she started to recover. She hated to be out of my eyesight. She would crawl if she had to, to see where I went." So he used that behavior as a training tool. He would slowly go a little further away each day to get her to stand up and walk to where he was."

Today, "the vet can't believe this dog. He thought she should have died two years ago. This is a miracle dog," Jim said.

"The fact that she's lived 21 years and still gets up and wants to play, wants to run, loves to be hugged and cuddled and petted. She's just got a great outlook for her age," said Jim.

Jim came into the picture of course because he "kinda liked this gal" who owned Sadie but when he first encountered the dog, "She stopped me from coming on to the property but in a good way. "I had to be properly introduced and then once I was. I was fine. That's the kind of dog she is."

Now, because Jim is so busy, working seven days a week, he can't properly tend to Sadie. So that role has come to Jim's mother Jeanne, which during last winter's ice storm she did. Sadie has been there ever since.

Jeanne feeds Sadie, "dog food with Glucosamine and vitamins in it and she's on fish oil and an arthritis medicine." Sadie gets along with Jeanne's other dog, reasonably well. Minnie, a Corgi, Cairn Terrier mix. "Every once in a while Sadie will get annoyed and end up with a mouthful of Minnie's fur," Jeanne said, but they also have fun.

Sadie has toys of course and her favorite is a long hot dog with a squeaker.

Jim concluded, "To be alive at this age and to experience the pain and suffering that she did, she's the most amazing dog you will ever see, seeing it through my eyes. Jeanne said, "She's the most courageous animal I've ever seen. She's suffered all that and she's just as sweet and loyal as she can be. Willing to get up and face the day better than most humans."