Sookie was much more than a beautiful German Shepherd—she was family. Loving, intelligent, and gentle, she helped raise Kizzy, Nala, and Maxwell, watching over them with the patience of a mother.

This photograph shows the real Sookie wearing her favorite straw hat.

Her story belongs here because the animals we love become part of our family and remain forever woven into our lives.

Sookie’s Story

One of the Very Best

My love for German Shepherds began when I was a child.

I grew up with many Shepherds, and they were all fantastic dogs. One of the most special was my childhood dog, Penny. When I was ten years old, I was skating near our church when another dog came toward me, wanting to attack. Penny immediately chased it away to protect me.

In doing so, she ran across a busy road and was struck by a car.

A police officer saw what happened and stopped. He was a K-9 officer who worked with dogs and had grown especially close to German Shepherds. He stayed beside Penny until she died, crying with her so that she would not be alone.

Penny gave her life protecting me. A dog like that can never be replaced or forgotten.

Many years later, Sookie came into my life. She looked remarkably like Penny, although Sookie was more blonde and black while Penny had been a little darker. From the beginning, there was something about Sookie that reached deeply into my heart.

When Sookie was about a year old, she was bred with a police dog and gave birth to ten puppies. Although she was strong and protective, those tiny puppies frightened her. She was afraid to pick them up because she thought she might hurt them.

I had to teach her how to carry them gently in her mouth.

At first, every time Sookie carried a puppy across the room, she cried the entire way. She was so worried about harming her baby. There were too many puppies to fit comfortably on her bed with her, so I made a second, larger bed for them. She kept most of the puppies there and fed them one or two at a time, carefully changing them out so that every puppy had its turn.

For the first week or so, Sookie would come into my bedroom in the middle of the night and wake me. She needed my help moving the puppies so that they could be fed. Until she became confident enough to carry them herself, Sookie and I cared for those ten puppies together.

That was the kind of bond we shared. She trusted me completely, and I understood what she needed.

Sookie was gentle with the other animals in our family, too. Kizzy, Nala, and Maxwell would sleep right on top of her because they knew she was a safe place. Kizzy and Nala were pitch-black cats, and when they curled up against the black areas of Sookie’s belly, they nearly disappeared.

Sookie also shared a special companionship with Natty. While we were living in Dominica, money was sometimes so scarce that buying enough dog food was difficult. Natty would swim into the ocean and catch sea creatures to feed Sookie. No matter how little Natty had, she made certain that Sookie always ate well.

Sookie returned that love with unwavering loyalty.

One night, while Croy was back in America, Mathew and I were alone in the house in Dominica. At around two o’clock in the morning, someone tried to get inside. I opened the door and let Sookie handle it.

She chased the intruder away and returned home about half an hour later. Then she simply lay down and went to sleep, as though protecting us was the most natural thing in the world.

Sookie shared my life for eleven years. She was never merely my dog. She felt like my child.

As she grew older, her health began to fail. She developed severe hip dysplasia, and eventually it affected her ability to walk. The day came when I had to make the heartbreaking decision to let her go.

It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it was also my final act of love for her. Sookie had spent her life protecting and caring for everyone around her. When she could no longer live without pain, it became my turn to protect her.

I could never say that Sookie was the best dog I ever had because I have loved many extraordinary German Shepherds. Penny gave her life for me, and every Shepherd I grew up with held a special place in my heart.

But Sookie was unquestionably one of the very best.

She was courageous enough to chase away danger, gentle enough to cry while carrying her newborn puppies, and loving enough to become a place of safety for every creature who trusted her.

Most of all, she was my family.

This collection was created in Sookie’s memory and inspired by the remarkable animals whose love, courage, and loyalty stay with us forever.