Deblyn’s Sauvage

Sauvage was called to a greater purpose on March 26, 2025.  I lost my friend and an awesome stud dog when he went across the bridge between this world and the next.  Sauvage was a gorgeous Silver Phantom Standard Poodle.  Born 6/3/21, he was 26 inches at the shoulder and weighed 60 lbs.  Sauvage was a proven stud and sire to the up and coming prospective mothers, Sage and Georgie here at Deblyns Poodles.  He had the sweetest spirit and was always a gentleman with the ladies.  Sauvage had a soulful voice and would sometimes bellow out his cry to take part in a conversation with his people.  We loved his doggy “love Language”.  Sauvage proved himself over and over as a producer of service dogs and therapy dogs. 

When I asked the owner of one of the service dogs Sauvage produced, a dog who looks so much like Sauvage, she told me, “We probably have about another year or so until he is fully ‘finished’ as a service dog.  We still have weekly sessions with our trainer and we take him on an additional 1-2 field trips on our own throughout the week as practice.  He has his own vest now and in Texas, the state rules are that a service dog in training has the same access rights as a fully trained dog, provided the trainer (which in this case is technically me) is with him for training purposes.  He’s really doing well, but it’s a long process for sure.”

When asked how having a service dog helped her son and the whole family, she said, “As for how he helped my son, it’s really been life changing.  This time last year, my son was coming out of an autistic burnout crisis.  Having the puppy accelerated his healing for sure.  Puppy training and daily care tasks gave him something to focus on.  Going for walks and to the dog park gave him a reason to leave the house and brought routine in a doable way that didn’t feel like a demand.  Seeing Sauvage’s son, Biscuit, grow from a puppy to where he is now has given the kids a better sense of brain development in humans as well.  If Biscuit was nipping or barking or having some other behavior issue, we had to think, what need does he have that isn’t being met?  Is he hungry, tired, bored, overstimulated?  When he has all his physical and emotional needs met, he’s content – just like humans!  It’s not his fault if he gets overwhelmed.  He doesn’t want to hurt anyone.  He’s still growing and learning and it’s our job to show him better ways to get that energy out.  This type of language and understanding has been so incredibly useful for the kids to understand their own brains and development.  I could write an essay (or more) about how wonderful it’s been for our family to have the dog, but I’ll stop there.”

I am so glad and so blessed to get to be a small part of this and all the other stories.  What she wrote is beautiful and I asked her if I could share it and she said yes.  Sauvage’s daughter, Sage is already showing that she is passing on that special something inside a poodle that can change lives and hearts.  Sage is the mother of a potential service dog and therapy dog for children and I am working with Sage’s daughter, a Sauvage granddaughter, Whisper, in obedience to see what she can do.  Georgie, another Sauvage daughter should be having puppies in November so we can see what Sauvage has passed to her.  What a blessing Sauvage was to me and so many others.  We miss him so much!  He did so much for the world in such a very short time…too short.