We got Sammy when I was 5 years old. She was 14. I'm 11 now. Sammy was an American Eskimo. She was my very first dog I'd ever had. She was a winning show dog when she was younger. We believe she had a litter. She was born in 1992 or 1990. When I first saw her, I absolutely fell in love with her. She was so cute and her eyes were deep, dark brown at the time because she wasn't blind. As the years past we had so much fun together. Then, two years ago, our family gave Sammy a best friend. We bought another American Eskimo. Sammy loved him and we loved him.

My mom named him Rock 'o. Interesting name, I know, but he wagged his tail when spoken for the first time. Rock 'o and Sammy always had fun together. Though Sammy was old, and he was a frisky 4-year-old, they got along together like cranberries and turkey.

The week before we had to put Sammy down, she had had a stroke. I heard her piercing scream and the sound is like a tape recorder glued to my brain. She staggered backward after she hit her head on our hurricane candle and that's when the wailing and screaming started. She recovered after being taken to Dr. Meyers, but was suffering way too much. Flies were nesting on her and she didn't even budge in the grass when the sprinklers were turned on (she hated bath's and water). We(technically didn't force) forced water down her throat because she could barely walk let alone stand. When we took her into Dr. Meyers again to get her meds, she suggested we "Put her to rest peacfully." I was sobbing, broken sobs right there in the room but regretfully nodded and let her go ahead and inject the 'poison' (so I call it) into her body. I held her head as it became more and more heavy until her eyes closed, the rise and decrease in her chest was gone. I continued to cry and cry and cry.

We buried her that night and went out to my mom's birthday dinner (that was sadly ironic). On our way to the restaurant we saw a car with an American Eskimo sticking it's head out the window which made me feel tingly inside because there are only a handfull of them in the Lewis-Clark Valley. That night, I could barely sleep. I remember the day and the hour that it happened. August 25th at 4:00pm. Our family and Rock 'o miss her terribly and wish that she didn't have that blasted stroke. We miss you Sammy.

Madison W.