Our Sweet Sammy Girl



It has taken me quite a while to get to this post.  I have wanted to wait until I could really sit down and have time to write what I'm feeling.  As was the case when I wrote about Snoop, I worry that I can't do justice to what this sweet girl meant to our family.  But I am going to do my very best, and I know I will be happy to have this all recorded.

2012 was a really rough year for us, first with the unexpected loss of our sweet Snoop in March, and then having to make the decision to let our Sammy go in September.  In November of 2011, Sammy spent a week at the Vet, where she was diagnosed with kidney disease.  We hoped it was an acute disease that could be flushed out with enough fluid, but were fearful that it wasn't.  The Vet and her staff were amazing, and took great care of Sammy while she was there.  Despite their efforts however, they determined that the problem was just too serious, and told us that Sammy would only have another week or so to live.  We were absolutely distraught at the news.  The time passed, and while Sammy was still very weak, we had seen none of the signs that the Vet told us to look for that would help us determine when we needed to let her go.  With each week, she continued to improve.  To our great joy, she started acting like her normal, happy self again.  Weeks turned into months, and our Sammy was still with us!  We should have known that's how it would be.  Sammy has always been a fighter :)

While her health seemed to be improving, we knew that the kidney disease was still there, and that we would have to keep a very close eye on her.  She ate a very special diet, low in protein, and was on various medications.

Sammy was able to stay with us for a whole 10 months after that first visit to the Vet.  We are SO grateful that we were able to have that time with her.  It is much more than we could ever have expected or asked for after hearing her initial diagnosis.  When it became apparent that her condition was worsening again, we made the extremely difficult decision to let her go.  While it was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make, we knew that it was the right thing to do; to free her from her pain.  We miss her sweet personality every single day.

I made a book for Brig for Christmas of our favorite things about Sammy, with all of our favorite pictures.  It matches Snoop's book, and I am so grateful for technology that allows us to do those things so easily.  We will cherish the books forever.

In this post I am just going to do what I did with Snoop's, and write down whatever comes to my mind as I look through these pictures, which are some of my very favorites.  I hope I can convey how special Sammy was to us. 

 This is our sweet girl.  Don't you just love that face?  Sammy was with us nearly 10 years.  In that time, she brought us so much happiness.  I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of her life for 4.5 of those years.

When we describe Sammy as our sweet girl, we really mean it.  She was the sweetest, most caring dog I've ever known.  She was so smart, and so perceptive of everything around her.  She always knew how we were feeling, and she knew just what to do to make us feel better.  One of our favorite things about Sammy was how deeply she would look into our eyes.  Like she really understood us.  She loved nothing more than to give us her paw to hold.  It was her way of showing affection to us.  That is one of the things that we miss most.

Sammy and Snoop were the very best of friends.  It has been so hard not having them around.  I will admit that there were times when having two big dogs was a real challenge.  But just the way they totally lit up when we would come into the room, and all the love that we could feel from them made the hard times totally worth it.  Dogs have an unconditional love.  To me, it really is one of life's great blessings.  It is really hard to go home from work now, knowing that they will not be there to greet us with their happy faces and wagging tails.  But as silly as it may seem to some, I know they are watching over us and loving us still.



This picture shows perfectly one of Sammy's funniest traits.  She was always SO cautious and was sometimes very skeptical of whatever was going on.  She just wasn't sure about having her picture taken :)  She was very loyal and protective.  Even though she was smaller than Snoop, she was always the first to bark and be on the defensive if there was ever anyone too close to the house.  We just used to laugh and say, "you tell them, Sammy!"



Sammy was such a little lady ;)  She always crossed her legs when she laid down.  It always made us smile :)



While Sammy could be very defensive, she was also, like I said above, the most nurturing and caring dog I've ever known.  She was CONSTANTLY taking care of Snoop.  She loved to clean out his ears, which always grossed me out, and would also always try to lick him "dry" when he was wet.  It was the funniest thing :)

After Snoop passed away, Sammy had a really hard time.  It was very challenging for us, not only because we missed him so much and were so devastated, but also because we just weren't sure how to help Sammy.  She eventually got better, but I know that she still missed him very much.  One of the things that brings me the most comfort is knowing that they are together again.  Running, and playing, and snuggling just like they used to.



Sammy took a nap on the back of the couch once :)



Snuggle buddies.



If I had to choose Sammy's favorite thing, it would be a toss up between having her belly rubbed, and running in the mountains.  Sammy LOVED the mountains, or really anywhere that she could just run.  She had INCREDIBLE endurance, stamina, agility, and speed.  For every mile we walked, she probably ran 5.  And she would never stop!  Back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth!  We would see her run ahead of us, and then all of the sudden she would have looped around without us knowing, and would come running up from behind us again.  I think that is where she was happiest.  Occasionally, she would run up to us and stop for a quick pat on the head, just to let us know she was still there, and then she'd be off again.  Silly girl :)



Sammy's quickness wasn't just in running though.  This picture demonstrates perfectly what she could do with her paw.  These punches happened many a time.  We could never see it coming... she was too quick :)

 Snoop always looked like such a comfortable place to lay :)

Like I said before, Sammy's other favorite thing was getting her belly  rubbed.  Any time you walked even remotely close to her, she would rapidly roll onto her back and look at you while wagging her tail.  She just loved every second of it :)



We call these her "old lady lips".  This happened quite frequently :) 

Loved to be all curled up :)



Sammy ALWAYS wanted to sit by Brig.  She really loved him so much.  They had a really special bond.  Brig really misses her a lot.



Once when Brig was away, I decided to have Sammy sit on the couch with me while I watched TV.  Normally, the dogs just stayed in the kitchen, but Sammy was starting to get really sick again, and I just wanted to snuggle with her, and I knew she would love being by me.  She loved anything soft!  That is a really special memory for me.  She snuggled right up, and burrowed her head into me, and put her paws around me :)  I loved it!  The next day, Brig let her out of the kennel (not knowing that I had let her lay on the couch with me the night before), and she immediately went right over the couch, stopped and looked at him, and then slowly climbed up :)  She had never done that before, so Brig was pretty confused :)  When he told me, I laughed pretty hard.  She was one smart cookie!

After that day, we decided that we wanted to have her on the couch with us more often.  She really loved it so much.



Sammy used to totally crane her neck in weird positions so that she could look at you :)



She loved riding in the Jeep!  That last 10 months that she was sick, we had to lift her up to put her in.  She was always so patient and good.





Snuggling with Brig :)



Sammy with my nieces, Elliet and Charley.  Charley loved Sammy, and Elliet came out to pet her even though she is terrified of dogs.  Sammy had such a calming personality.



The Sunday before we said goodbye to Sammy, we took her on one last trip to the mountains.  Even though she was so weak, she loved every minute of it.  The second we let her down out of the Jeep, she took off "running" through the sagebrush.  She got a couple good drinks out of the stream, and enjoyed all of the amazing sites and smells that were so familiar to her.  We spent the rest of our time lounging in the sun with Sammy right by us.  We are so glad that we could share that special time together.  Brig spent a lot of time in the mountains with Snoop and Sammy throughout their lives.  It was their favorite place to be together. 



In the winter in Craig, CO, Brig's family dressed Sammy up to keep her warm :)  (Can't figure out how to get this picture to rotate).



Sweet, sweet girl.



Our little family.  We took these pictures when Sammy got sick the first time.  I am so glad that we did!  I always wanted to take some real family pictures, but I just kept procrastinating, and never got around to it.  While this wasn't quite what I had in mind, these pictures are still really special to me, and I'm glad that we were able to take them before we lost Snoop. 



Funny ears :)



Happy girl :)

I just love this picture so much.  To me, this picture just shows what a special relationship Sammy and Brig had.  It really is too hard for me to put into words.  Sammy and Snoop loved playing with the tennis ball. That was one of our favorite things to do with them. 



 

Best buds :)

 After Snoop passed away, we just really couldn't understand it.  We took such good care of him and Sammy, and we loved them both so much.  I have tried to figure out why everything happened the way it did, and I just think that we really can never know for sure.  But one thing that comes to my mind sometimes is that I think if Sammy had passed away first, Snoop would not have been able to handle it.  Snoop always had a really hard time being alone and he loved her SO much.  I think that in some way, it was known that he would be inconsolable.  I guess in some small way, maybe the way it happened is what was best, even though it was so hard for all of us.

We were so grateful to have Sammy there to comfort us after we lost Snoop.  We are grateful for how she helped us to heal, and how she loved us and supported us through that hard time.  Losing our two best friends in the same year was so hard.  But we are grateful for the time were able to spend with them, and are so grateful again that they are together. 

I wasn't sure that I wanted to include this in this post, but I would like to talk a little bit about the day that we let Sammy go.  The night before, we decided that we wanted to have Sammy sleep in our bed with us.  What a special memory that is to us.  It brings us such joy to know that we were able to make her last night comfortable, and to know how much she loved being with us. 

Sammy passed away so peacefully.  All things considered, it could not have gone any better.  It all happened much too fast;  I don't think that you can ever really prepare yourself for something like that.  But through the tears, I did feel such relief for her, and I know that Snoop was there waiting for her.

We buried Sammy next to Snoop in the special place in Brig's parent's yard.  It is truly a beautiful setting, and I am so glad that we are able to visit them frequently.

This is my very favorite picture.  It breaks my heart to look at, but I love how it shows what love these two had for each other.  Sammy was such a special dog to both Brig and to me.  There will never be another dog as sweet, kind, and determined as she was.  We miss her and Snoop so much, but it is hard not to smile as we think of all the good times, and joy that they brought into our lives.

 

We love you and miss you every day Sammy and Snoop.  We are so happy that you are together and we can't wait until we can see you again.  Good dogs.