Sadie, my 15-year-old Asheville Shih Tzu life coach

"Ha-rrumph! (doggie-speak for huff, grunt, snort)... You, again!"...tiny Sadie seems to silently ‘bellow’ this every time I enter her home and approach with harness & leash. She does this with glance alone, since she barely hears, doesn't bark at all. Trademark under- bite, jutted upturned muzzle, stern 'pursed' lips, and blunt-cut ridge of fur 'eyebrows' framing huge clouded eyes do it all wordlessly: “Let's GO, Miss Jane!” Crossing the threshold, old Sadie morphs into soaring puppy... Flying over speed bumps, leaping up stairs and running when she could walk, Sadie hasn't a clue she should be more 'careful' pursuing her bliss! Purposeful prance, confident, bouncy and self-possessed... sniffing and sashaying like the tiny 'lion dog' she was bred to be, Sadie, with her sturdy body and strong muscular legs, is just starting to miss a step or 2. She resists any assistance or safety monitoring. Ya, she's my girl idol...as I sometimes toddle myself, approaching life and physicality with a tad too much caution, Sadie reminds me that playing with toys, sniffing life as it happens, raising my heart rate on a daily basis, sometimes with abandon (terror!), revives, nurtures, satisfies in unknowable ways. Now, all I need is a volunteer to come & take me on that lead, to remind me to