A sad day today as I learn of Sabre's passing. Sabre and Shasta were litter mates. Gypsy/Jedi pups... amazing dogs by any measure. They are shown above in a photograph taken in the spring in 2000 when they were about 4 months old. Below are pictures of them when they were close to a year old.
Sabre became a guide dog for the blind in 2001; he worked for over 7 years before retiring in December 2008 due to health problems.
Shasta and Sabre were together in guide dog training, though Shasta turned out more suited to life as a pet than a working guide. So while Shasta has been here with me, Sabre has been away hard at work guiding a blind man to work and home again each day. After retiring, Sabre's final months were spent with the man who raised him as a puppy, who knew him as a best friend. In the end, as his health was failing him, Sabre had the care of the man who loved him from the beginning and never stopped caring about him even though they were hundreds of miles apart for many years. It is what we all hope for in the end, to be loved and to be cared for by a tender hand, gently keeping our memory alive in their heart until we meet again.
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Sabre December 24, 1999 - February 23, 2009
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