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The Life and Times of Princess Sammich

Always the baby

I suppose that I should explain the main photo of Sammich. I went to New York this past October of 2004 to see Sammich's two aunts and saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time. Since I was the typical tourist, I got the spongey Liberty hat and thought how cute it would look on my baby. Incidentally, Sammich's two aunts live in NYC and have never gone to see the Statue of Liberty...isn't that crazy? I got another one for Sammich's friend, Liberty as I knew it would look great on her too. My husband put Sammich in an older spandex turtle neck of mine to simulate Lady Liberty's gown, the hat went on and she actually stood there posing like the little lady that she is.
Sammich has many homes, including my mom and stepfather's home. I think I already wrote about this but Sammich goes to stay with my stepfather every day as he's currently retired and he takes care of Sammich for me. Sammich gets to go on walks all the time and is pretty tired when I pick her up to go home for the day. Sammich very much likes to travel and gets very upset if I don't take her outside to even warm up the car. I can hear her whining inside for me as if to say "aren't you going to take me too?" When she travels, she's very quiet in the back seat as she looks out the window the whole time. Sammich appears to be quite interested in what the world looks like. Well, she's from Canada so she's probably trying to figure out what country she's in. Sammich is very keen on where she is when I take her to my stepfather every morning as she starts to get all excited and jumping around in the back seat. I am amazed that she knows where she is and I don't hardly have to pull the front seat back for her to get out as she's antsy to see anyone else. One of the funnier things about Sammich is that she appears to make herself comfortable just about anywhere. She will find her favorite toy,put it in her mouth and then lie on her back awaiting a belly rub. My stepfather is allergic to lots of hair so having a retriever is difficult for him sometimes. When I work a double shift, Sammich spends the night sometimes. My stepfather appears to get miffed when Sammich comes into the bedroom and plops her big self on the bed but hardly says anything after his first majoy complaint of "she's not supposed to be on the bed!!!!" Anyway, he falls asleep so darn fast that he would hardly know Sammich is there. However, being the princess that she is, Sammich will eventually get bored in the bedroom and mosey her way into the family room and make her spot on the couch. My mother will walk past her in the morning, hoping not to wake Sammich (as she gets hyper) but the princess likes to sleep in and doesn't notice much until the "T" word is mentioned (that would be "Treat").
All in all, it's a difficult life for Princess Sammich but like any princess, she gets what she wants as she's so darn cute. Besides, princesses can sleep where ever they choose, right? Until next time.....

Birthday Number One

Sammich is actually one year old now and she's a bit of a cow dog. The breeders told me that she would get about 60-65 lbs. and she's already almost 80 lbs!!! Sammich has a sister from the same litter about 10 miles away and we get together with her sister (Freedom) whenever we can. Freedom's parents just haven't gotten her on Dogster yet and I think it's about time. Especially because Freedom is a year old and her sister Liberty is age 2. For her first birthday, Sammich got a new leash from her grandparents as well as a toy that looks like an Everlasting Gobstopper from the Willy Wonka movie. Sammich really enjoys taking her new toy in her mouth and lying in her grandparent's living room on her back. I was worried that Sammich had some nasal problems but she just snorts sometimes. Freedom does it too so some of that has to be hereditary. Sammich has truly discovered a big love of ice cubes even through the winter months. This surprises me because I thought she ate it originally due to the heat this past summer. Sammich has two kitty brothers but in a sense is an only dog child. When she goes to play with Liberty and Freedom (who appear to have their own couch that their parents let them rip up) she gets this crazy brain cell to rip the heck out of my couch too. This is not fun but Sammich is very satisfied with herself whenever she does this. Spankings seem to confuse her because she will look at me (her mother) and wonder why I would tread on something so beautiful as stuffing all over the front living room. Since she's an only child, she has that "Only Child Syndrome" in that she's so hyper that Liberty and Freedom get the silliness run out of them by Sammich. Even when the others are trying to rest, Sammich is jumping on them and taunting them with their favorite toys. I keep telling Sammich that no one wants her to come over as she's too hyperactive and teases the other puppies. Liberty and Freedom's parents affectionately call Sammich "Ritalin" as she's so incredibly hyper. Sammich still growls like a Wookie to get a treat or to go outside. Recently though, she's been doing a bit of a whine when she's ready to leave one place and go to another. I take her everywhere so she feels that, as the Princess, that she can allocate when we leave. Even though she's one now, she still goes to her grandparent's home daily for day care and lots of playing and exercise. They grow so fast. My brother and his wife have a beautiful baby girl who will be one year old on 3/5. However, Sammich is a bit too much puppy for the young miss...they will have so much fun together when the young miss gets older.