Sam
A donation was made in memory of Sam by Windy Acre Ranch on Dec 18, 2015.
I used to work at a pet store that exclusively sold parrots. One day, after seeing a photo of my corgi on the wall, a customer brought her own corgi in- and left it for me. I didn't know what to do, so I called my husband and had him come pick up the dog.
"We're taking it home tomorrow." he insisted. Bewildered by the situation, I agreed.
"We're keeping this dog!" my husband proclaimed when I got home from work. "He's so sad! We're not giving him back!" He was my husband's dog from that day on. He loved me, but if it was between me and Poppa, he would choose Poppa every time.
And that's how Sam came to live with us. He was 4 we were told, abused by the woman's brother in law whom he used to live with. Not potty trained. As wide as he was long because of excessive feeding. We set about putting him on a diet; he potty trained in a month. He was our glue dog, the dog that got along with everyone in the house. He was our tiny little alpha.
Some of my favorite memories of Sam:
The day after we got him, he got away from me outside and wouldn't come back. Every time I got close to him he bolted in the opposite direction as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him. I live on an arterial and I was sure he would run into the street and I was going to have to tell my husband I killed his new dog. After a lot of begging and treats, I got close enough to pick him up and get him inside.
Right after we got him, my sister was over and eating a piece of cheese and he was following her around, his eyes glued to her snack. "You are on a diet, you get no cheese!" she told him. Instantly, he sat up on his hind legs and did the cutest beg I have ever seen. With a loud "AWWWWWWWWW" she instantly rewarded him with a bite of cheese. In less than a month he had the other two dogs doing it. The 'Sit' became his universal sign for "I want"; if he wanted outside. if he wanted off the bed, if he wanted food or water or petting, he would go over to what he wanted and do The Sit. Now that he's gone, my poor other dogs wonder why Mommy cries every time they do it.
Sam hated walks. He would get all excited when you touched his leash, wiggling and barking, but three blocks in, he realized it was dirty dirty exercise. He would lay down and no amount of pulling or prodding would get him to move. On the few walks we took him on, we always ended up carrying him home.
We took him to the dog park once. He spent most of the time sitting near whichever human was the closest to the exit. If who he was sitting by left or moved, he would look around, locate the next closest person, and go sit there.
Also at the dog park, he didn't care to play with the other dogs. Instead, he would slowly walk around the entire perimeter, sniffing every dandelion and blade of grass along the way, and if you tried to get him to come to you, he would do his signature bolt in the opposite direction.
Tuesday Dec. 2nd 2015, I got up to feed everyone breakfast and I realized that Sam had diminished motor functions. My husband (a vet tech) rushed Sam to his work, where we originally thought he had eaten something he shouldn't have. Throughout the day the vets determined that he had Auto-immune Encephalitis. He fought this for 2 days, then developed pneumonia which collapsed his left lung. On Dec. 5th, we had to face the reality that it was time to let him go.
We only had Sam for 5 years, but nothing is the same without him.
I love you, my midget dog, my jelly bean, my little man. Poppa and I think about you every day.
Sam's loving parents, and his brothers Grifter and Corbin
"We're taking it home tomorrow." he insisted. Bewildered by the situation, I agreed.
"We're keeping this dog!" my husband proclaimed when I got home from work. "He's so sad! We're not giving him back!" He was my husband's dog from that day on. He loved me, but if it was between me and Poppa, he would choose Poppa every time.
And that's how Sam came to live with us. He was 4 we were told, abused by the woman's brother in law whom he used to live with. Not potty trained. As wide as he was long because of excessive feeding. We set about putting him on a diet; he potty trained in a month. He was our glue dog, the dog that got along with everyone in the house. He was our tiny little alpha.
Some of my favorite memories of Sam:
The day after we got him, he got away from me outside and wouldn't come back. Every time I got close to him he bolted in the opposite direction as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him. I live on an arterial and I was sure he would run into the street and I was going to have to tell my husband I killed his new dog. After a lot of begging and treats, I got close enough to pick him up and get him inside.
Right after we got him, my sister was over and eating a piece of cheese and he was following her around, his eyes glued to her snack. "You are on a diet, you get no cheese!" she told him. Instantly, he sat up on his hind legs and did the cutest beg I have ever seen. With a loud "AWWWWWWWWW" she instantly rewarded him with a bite of cheese. In less than a month he had the other two dogs doing it. The 'Sit' became his universal sign for "I want"; if he wanted outside. if he wanted off the bed, if he wanted food or water or petting, he would go over to what he wanted and do The Sit. Now that he's gone, my poor other dogs wonder why Mommy cries every time they do it.
Sam hated walks. He would get all excited when you touched his leash, wiggling and barking, but three blocks in, he realized it was dirty dirty exercise. He would lay down and no amount of pulling or prodding would get him to move. On the few walks we took him on, we always ended up carrying him home.
We took him to the dog park once. He spent most of the time sitting near whichever human was the closest to the exit. If who he was sitting by left or moved, he would look around, locate the next closest person, and go sit there.
Also at the dog park, he didn't care to play with the other dogs. Instead, he would slowly walk around the entire perimeter, sniffing every dandelion and blade of grass along the way, and if you tried to get him to come to you, he would do his signature bolt in the opposite direction.
Tuesday Dec. 2nd 2015, I got up to feed everyone breakfast and I realized that Sam had diminished motor functions. My husband (a vet tech) rushed Sam to his work, where we originally thought he had eaten something he shouldn't have. Throughout the day the vets determined that he had Auto-immune Encephalitis. He fought this for 2 days, then developed pneumonia which collapsed his left lung. On Dec. 5th, we had to face the reality that it was time to let him go.
We only had Sam for 5 years, but nothing is the same without him.
I love you, my midget dog, my jelly bean, my little man. Poppa and I think about you every day.
Sam's loving parents, and his brothers Grifter and Corbin
