Sammy

My beautiful little pirate girl, Sammy. She came to me early last July as an ODH “urgent need” shelter pull. Sammy had been abandoned at a shelter multiple times, a one-eyed, skeleton-dog with high blood pressure, horrible arthritis, fecal incontinence and neurological problems, going slowly paralyzed by a progressive spinal issue. I loved her the instant I saw her sad shelter photo and drove 160 miles, snatched her up and brought her home that same day so we could find out how to help her. When it was time to place her in a final foster home I couldn’t give her up, so she stayed here with me for what we all assumed would be a very short-term hospice situation of maybe one month. Sammy surprised all of us and began to thrive. In spite of all her medical challenges she was a happy dog. She played and gamboled around the yard and was my silly, goofy, loving pirate girl for over 8 months, a doddering, slightly batty grand dame among my pack. She loved everyone but saved her heart for me and became a Velcro dog, always near me. People said I was kind because I took her in, but I got far more from her than she got from me. I promised she would never suffer again, so when she inevitably began, at last, to fail I did the very hard but kind thing and let her go, at home, gently and surrounded by love. I cannot thank Old Dog Haven enough for letting me love this girl – she was, and will always remain, a gift to my heart. Sammy passed away March, 2015.