Kathleen and Bruce MacPherson got their dog Sadie a long time ago, 12 years to be exact, and she is 14 years old. "We adopted her from a family that was neglecting her, but they recognized that, and gave her up for adoption along with her brother Wesley." She is a West Highland Terrier.

Sadie eats super premium Costco dog food, and is fed twice a day.

But mostly, Sadie is social. Not so much with other dogs, though she's fine with them. Really Sadie has expanded the social circle for the MacPherson's. "We walk her every morning and every afternoon and we know all the children and all the doggies in our neighborhood. She has been like an ambassador. We know everyone on our street plus many blocks around," said Kathleen. "She's an ice breaker. When people don't know you they are hesitant to say hello, but they see Sadie and say, 'Oh what a cute dog' and then the conversation begins."

Sadie does have a personal quirk however. She loves socks. "If there's a sock on the floor," explained Bruce, "she will grab it and she will hide it. If the back door is open she will bury it. Only to bring it up and drop it on our pillow at night."

She does chase birds and squirrels, but only to play with them. She's basically a very gentle soul.
She's got a good friend in Millie, a golden lab and Daisy, also a West Highland Terrier. In another example of the social aspect that Sadie enhances, the couple that own Daisy have become friends with the MacPhersons and have been to dinner. "We've gotten to know them just because of the dogs."

Sadie has also made a friend of a neighbor boy, Damien, who always asks about him, plus many other neighborhood children. "She loves children."

"The irony is that we will remember all the dogs we've met but we will sometimes forget the names of the owners," explained Bruce.

Sadie goes to Canine Casa (near Endolyne Joes) for her grooming.

"She's a creature of habit like most dogs," said Bruce," and gets up around 6:30 most mornings and she wants to get up, stretch, go out do her business and so when she's up so are we."

Kathleen summed Sadie up as, "Sadie is kind of my soul mate and she's such a good supportive friend to me. I look forward to seeing her, even in the morning when I come home, she's always in a good mood. She's just right there as a companion, not judgmental and a loving supportive friend." Bruce said, "This is the first time I've ever owned a dog. I grew up with cats and wasn't sure what dogs were all about. But they give you such unconditional love. You can have a bad day or a good day and either way they are so happy to see you. Their tails are wagging and their whole focus is on you. They bring a lot of love into a person's life."