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Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Pets (09/13/04)
TITLE: SASSY
By Charles Lee
09/14/04
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Her name was Sassy, but she was anything but sassy. Classy would have suited her better, but who is to know that at six weeks old. She was my dog, but my sister had the privilege of naming her. Sassy was the result of a small mix-breed gal we called Bear and possibly a beagle that roamed the neighborhood with a watchful eye for naïve little girls that didn’t know better. Without the burden of pedigree, Sassy was free to develop her own personality and temperament. As I often told her, “You can be anything you want if you put your mind to it.” Well, I didn’t ever say that per say, at least where others could hear, but I did find myself confiding in her many times when we were alone. The wisdom that girl had was something. No, I didn’t know dog speak, but I did imagine what she might have said.

Sassy had an ability to know whenever I was any where close. I walked to and from school, and she was always there to greet me when I would come home. Sometimes I would sneak through our neighbor’s yard to try and come up on her unawares. I would peek through the fence and see her sleeping, then try my best to slip around the house without her knowing and go into the house. It never failed as I came around the house that she would be waiting for me. Someone remarked, quite callously I thought, that if I took a bath more often that she wouldn’t be able to smell me and then I could get by her. Hummph! Sassy didn’t care what I smelled like.

As I grew older, the lure of the road began to beckon. Houston, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia were all stops along the way. From a few months to a few years, it didn’t matter where I lived, Sassy was always willing to hop in the truck and go on another adventure. She was faithful to go to church also, no matter how much I tried to prevent her attendance. As I scolded, she would look at me with sad face and then go lie down in her spot as if to say, “Okay, you win. I’ll stay away from church.” As soon as I would enter the church building, here she would come. Eventually, she was named as the unofficial church mascot.

Whatever the reason, Sassy loved me no matter what. She could have had a better owner, but I couldn’t have had a better pet. Age finally caught up with her and she passed away. But not without first teaching me some valuable lessons. High class doesn’t come from what you have. Love is the strongest way to cover faults. And God allows even those with no pedigree to attend church.