I used to have a Chow named Sakura

by Barry
(Iowa, US)

I used to have a dog named Sakura. She was a chow. She was by far the most intelligent dog that I have ever met. I could be in the kitchen and she would just sit at the edge of the carpet and watch me. She knew that when the carpet ended, so did her reign.

When she would need to go for a walk she would go get the leash from the door knob and bring it to me. She loved to play and swim. I was in the military when I had Sakura as a companion. She and I went everywhere together.

She was a very protective dog as well. If she didn't know you, she wouldn't let you anywhere near me. She also knew how to do almost every trick in the book. Sometimes though, even Sakura got in trouble.

It was funny because she would get put in time out. When she did something bad I would just point to her kennel and she would drop her head, go into her kennel, and plop down like a child.






She was still just a puppy at heart. When I got transferred I had to find a home for Sakura. Not wanting to see her go to anyone else, I flew with her back home to Virginia and moved her in with my sister. She didn't enjoy the flight much being in the cargo area of the plane. I can't say I blame her.

When we got to my sister's house though, her attitude changed 180 degrees. She loved being in the country. she would run around all day long if I let her. I had returned to California after dropping Sakura off and I missed her already. I would call and check on her regularly.

About four months later I flew back to see how she was doing. The first day was awesome. It was like I had never left her. She came up to me with her tail wagging so hard that she could hardly stand up. I left her at my sister's house while I visited my mother.

Two days later I went back to see her again before I left. When I arrived, my sister met me before I even got out of the car. She told me that Sakura had went outside to use the bathroom that morning and never came back. I looked for hours for her but couldn't find a trace. I felt like I had lost my best friend. that was one of the saddest days I have ever had.

To this day I have yet to find a dog that matches Sakura's intelligence, joy, and heartfelt devotion to their owner.