Happy 14th Birthday to Sasha on December 26, 2014

Sasha on her birthday with her new Christmas toy.

Sasha is my beloved wolf dog who has been my companion since she was 2 months old. She was born in the home of my son, Jeff, and her family history is well know to us. Her father was a full blooded Malamute, her mother was a medium sized black lab mix but her grandmother Nikita was a full blooded wolf. On December 26th my family and a few friends celebrated Sasha's 14th birthday.

When Sasha was young you did not see much wolf in her. Her ears were large and flopped over. Still, we knew she looked most like her grandmother Nikita.

Sasha was a beauty and with this photo taken by Lynn, she became a "cover girl" with  this shot of her on an Atlanta Vet's brochure. 







She has the thickest of coats, loves the outdoors in Spring, Fall and Winter.  She suffers in the heat summer and goes through massive shedding at certain times of the year. In summer she loves her "kid pool."

She has been blessed by the priest who asked for "a spring in her step." 

After  January 12, 2009, when her brother dog Nugget was attacked by coyotes, her ears stood up. It was as if suddenly she knew she was a wolf.

Sasha's ancestors in the cold north.

Sasha has been all over this mountain and used to love to walk as in this photo from Christmas 2010, walking with Jeremy. Or walking on the mountain with Lynn in 2011. 






















More often now she 
watches them go and come from their walks from her look out spot on the deck.

Sasha and I get along like best friends.  She has been allowed to be "the dominate bitch dog" and all the other dogs love her and they pay respect to her. She is sometimes called "Queen of the Mountain." I am the alpha dog. All I have to do is show my teeth without even a growl. She never fails to come when I call her, even if she does not want to come. She loves to lie at my feet and follows me room to room in the house. If I sit on the deck, she sits at my feet there too.

Two things Sasha loves most of all--(1) Her Pack, every family member, the young and the old. She literally cries when they leave and rejoices when they return. Everyone says "a proper goodbye" to her when they leave because they know she expects it. Savannah puts flower in her hair. (2) Above all, above even me Sasha loves Lynn. Lynn is the only one she licks on the face.

Happy Birthday Sasha. Live long.