This poem reminds me so much of Sam

I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering
apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew
I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she
wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view
from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want
her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter
keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about
my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make
a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made
little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head
up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my
neck; she was desperate for companionship.

A tear fell down her
cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I
instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I
would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do
everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her
eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many
more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to
be saved. At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

Sam and the hamsters

Sam loved hamsters. I had a few as pets and Sam was very intrigued by them. He loved to sniff at their cages and his favorite thing to do was follow them through the house when they were in their hamster balls. He would follow them with his nose on top of the ball. Sometimes he would get super excited and start bumping the ball. The hamster didn't care, they just rolled along. He would drool down into the ball and try like crazy to pop the little door off. He never did though!

What a crummy Christmas!

This was the first Christmas without Sam that we have had in 11 years. I miss him getting so excited over presents that he peed on the floor! I miss him prancing and pouncing to get his presents. I miss him hitting at the gifts and then tearing the paper. It was no Christmas without the old guy.

Thanksgiving Tag

IT'S THANKSGIVING TAG!!!!

I was tagged by WEAZY

Here are the rules:
Because it’s Thanksgiving time, there is a change to the rules. Each player needs to tell seven special things they are thankful for. Tagged dogs must post the rules in their diary and their 7 things. Then choose 7 pups to tag and list their names. Let them know by pawmail or rosette that they have been tagged and to read your diary for the instructions on how to play.

Seven Things I’m Thankful For:

1.I'm thankful that my family could look past my rough exterior 11 years ago to see that I was a diamond in the rough.
2. I'm thankful that Oreo cookies were invented.
3. I'm thankful for the days I played in the snow.
4. I'm thankful for the lion slipper I loved.
5. I'm thankful my family can now think of me and not be so sad.
6. I'm thankful that my family found Winnie and they see a little of me in her.
7. I'm thankful that I no longer have to hurt and that my family made a good and correct decision.
I am tagging:
Sammy
Lily
Sparky
Robbie
Kitty
Auto Vane Berg
Chip

Misunderstood Sam

Alot of people believed Sam to be vicious. He would bark at anyone that came in the house. When he was younger, he would chase and pounce at people that came in, but that stopped once he got older. He would protect the house, his family and his puggles, even if it meant fighting to the death. When out on walks, he didn't like anyone approaching his puggles. You also couldn't stand over my mother. He loved her most of all and protected her from anything he percieved as a threat.

Even though he would act "aggressive" Sam was a big softy. He would allow children to pet him and pull his long hair. If you came into the house, but he didn't recognize that it was you, he would sneak around the corner, slowly, ready to run if it was someone very scary!

The older he got, the less he could defend his family. He was deaf, and relied on the puggles to bark to alert him. He couldn't run and pounce anymore. He also lost some teeth, so he wasn't as scary as he could be.

Without him, we have a house of sissy dogs. We will always miss our protector!

Poor old Sam

This is the first I have been able to write this since Sam passed away. About a month ago Sam started having trouble with his rear leg again. Once again we thought it was his arthritis. The vet, though, could find nothing wrong with him. She scheduled him for further tests on a tuesday. I took Sam down to the vets office to be dropped off for the xrays. At noon that day the vet called and said he was taking a turn for the worse. He couldn't walk and his eye was spinning. She said that he could have a brain tumor or even be having mini strokes. We went down to the office and once I saw him I knew it was time. He couldn't walk. He just collapsed in their office. He wagged his tail and just layed there. I couldn't make him suffer, so we had him put to sleep. We spent some time with him in the exam room before they took him to the back.
That day, a part of my heart died. We will never have a dog that could even come close to being what Sam was to us. He will forever be missed.

Sams Slipper

I got a pair of slippers for Christmas that were roaring Lion King slippers. Everytime you took a step they would roar. This drove Sam crazy! He would chase me down the hall biting my feet until he could rip the slipper off my foot. Finally, he took the slipper one day and just destroyed it. He ripped out the stuffing and the noise box. It was a shell of a slipper when he got done with it. He loved that slipper and would flop it on your lap to make you play tug of war with him. One day, my sister threw the slipper away. She said it was stinky and gross. He never played with another toy after that.

Surgery

Well Sam had his enucleation surgery and things went perfectly. There was a point where his eye did swell a bit afterwards but now everything is back to normal. He is actually acting more like a younger dog than a 17 year old half blind dog. He is wearing the head cone, which he bonks on everything, but once the stitches come out he won't need it anymore. He is also supossed to rest but of course, Captain Obnoxious won't listen to reason and must run around like a crazy dog!

Another vet visit, another problem

While taking Sam into the vet for his annual checkup we discovered he has some major problems with his eye. Apparently the lens in his eye has slipped totally from where it belongs and he is blind. This is also causing him to have a painful condition known as glaucoma. To repair this requires a high risk surgery. We may need to see a specialist but we do need to talk with the vet again today to decide how we want to approach this.

I found out!!

I just got my letter that Sam is one of the winners of the "Firehouse Dog" sweepstakes! We are all so excited and this comes at a time when we could use some good news. We found out last week that Sam is dying. He has a bad heart and there isn't much we can do, except have him go through a surgery that may not be successful and may do more harm than good. So this news about the contest helps make things a little better around here!