FETCHINGPERSONALITIES

Sasha Fierce is a sheltie who sticks out

Sasha Fierce can’t sit and stay because she’s so old that her hips can’t stand it. She’s not a candidate for obedience training, like the other three members of neighbor Jill Peterson’s pack of shelties.

But Sasha, 13, can do other things, like practicing scent training.

“We play at games that she can do,” Peterson says.

Even though Sasha is old, she’s only been part of Peterson’s pack for a year. The endodontist, who lives in Kessler Park, was sitting on the floor at a dog show in July 2014 when Sasha came and sat in her lap and gave her two licks.

“So I thought, ‘Oh, I guess you’re supposed to come home with me,’ ” Peterson says.

Sasha’s owner in Lawton, Okla. had died, and foster parents had a hard time placing her because of her age and health — she had kidney disease and joint problems.

Peterson had just lost an old dog to cancer, and she figured Sasha was in her last days. So she decided to take her in and give her the best end to her life as possible. But then she took her to the vet for kidney treatment, and the dog’s health improved. They decided against knee surgery, but Sasha has a doggie chiropractor who makes house calls, Peterson says.

“Now I can probably have her in my life another two or four years,” she says.

Peterson has had shelties since she was 4 years old, and Sasha is her ninth. Another of her pack, Phoebe, is an American Kennel Club national champion. And her other two dogs are obedience stars.

Sasha is a blue merle, and she has one blue and one brown eye. Since bringing her home, Peterson says, she’s become an advocate for adopting older dogs because Sasha has made her life better.

“She’s taught me attention, focus, love, all these lessons that we need to be reminded of as humans,” Peterson says. “I’m truly blessed to have her in my life.”