Tuesday, April 24, 2012

the sammy story.

96/366
So, back in January Max came home from preschool with a bright green (his favorite color) flyer in his backpack. It had information about a pet adoption event going on at one of the Petcos in Vancouver. We set it aside and planned to check it out. The week before we went to Petco I had been looking at dogs online. They were all cute, and some were older which kind of tugged at my heart. I realized after some time spent looking that I was trying to find a Maggie among those dogs. I knew my thinking was silly. Maggie was Maggie and no other dog would ever take her place. But she was my first dog and I couldn't imagine loving another dog as much as I loved my sweet Maggie. But I really wanted to find a dog with all of Maggie's wonderful characteristics - sweet, quiet, loving, always wanting to be with people. I suppose it's a bit hard to describe.
The adoption event day came and I went to check it out while Eric took Max to his sports class. I was sure I wouldn't find the right dog there, and was pretty sure it would be all old dogs, since those are the dogs that most need adopting. I walked in, past the Chihuahua puppies (super cute, but we wanted a big dog) and headed straight to a group of dogs in a little fenced off area. And there she was. So sweet and quiet among all the other barking dogs. I was a little afraid someone else would claim her, so they got her out and on a leash for me and I waited for Eric and Max to come. It was a bit like hovering over an item at a silent auction. You kind of want to stake your claim. I sat down and Sammy sat right in my lap. And to make a long story a little shorter - Eric and Max showed up, agreed I'd found a good little girl and we took her home.
A few things about Sammy: She came from California two days prior to the adoption event and was given the name Christina. But we didn't think Christina was much of a dog name, so we changed it to Sammy. When I took her to the vet the next week he figured she was about 6 months old based on looking at her teeth.Which would make her about 8 months now. She's black and tan, and if you mixed that up I'm pretty sure she'd be a brindle color similar to Maggie. She's a jumper. As in she can jump straight up and kiss you on the nose in a flash. She has a couple of cat-like qualities - like scurrying up the stairs, into our room and under our bed. She also likes to pounce on her toys. She's a barker. And a loud one at that. Or maybe I was just so used to Maggie never really barking at anything, I don't know. She's an angel when "dad" is around. Not so much when he's gone during the day. (What is it with my kids not behaving for me?) She's pretty calm for a puppy. Maggie wasn't this calm till she was five or six.
101/366 Sammy says good morning to you all!
Last but not least, she's just really sweet.
It's really nice having a dog back in the house again. After a long and lonely six months without Maggie, our family feels complete again. And I have no doubt Maggie had a hand in sending Sammy our way. She's still looking out for us from God's doggie park.

11 comments:

Jessica said...

Sweet, sweet pooch. Love her and her floppy ear.

urban muser said...

what a sweetie!! so glad to see you with a furry friend afoot again. of course maggie will always be in your heart, but this pup sure is cute :)

Anonymous said...

I love this story. I imagine that it's very common to look for qualities of a previous pet when looking for a new one. However, I'm also sure that God makes sure we get exactly what we need. I know that Sammy is who your family needs just as you all were who she needed. It makes my heart all full and happy to know you are all one big happy family.

Linda W. said...

What a cute puppy! Love that last photo - you captured a great expression.

stacey said...

Okay, so this made me cry. Mainly because I have a lot of the same feelings about Rusty. And even though I really really want another dog, I sometimes feel like getting another dog might be hard because that dog will never be Rusty. But the desire to have another dog, to have that companion at my feet again, to have my kids grow up with another Golden, far outweighs those feelings. Thank you for sharing this story :)

Shawntae said...

I just love your Sammy.:)

Unknown said...

She has such an expressive face.
Do you know what kind/s she is? I'm guessing German Shepherd and something?
They always seem to behave when "Dad" gets home.
:-)

Piper said...

Thank you for the thoughtful comment on my blog. I had a dog named Sammy growing up, so seeing your post was a sweet reminder :)

penandview said...

The one ear up and the one ear down....so cute!!!!!

Heather M. said...

i just adore her ears so much. she's so sweet. so glad you found each other.

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