Sam the beautiful all-black German Shepherd Dog: 10/01/2005

The Life of a Dog: Sam's posts from 8/26/04 through 10/5/05

This blog is by Sam, the beautiful all-black German Shepherd Dog. Nearly 300 posts chronicle his life from the day he was rescued from the Humane Society, to the day he took his final nap, a period of 13 1/2 months. Most entries are written by Sam himself; a few are written by his pet guardian.

Sam the beautiful all-black German Shepherd Dog on 2/5/05

Sam in his personal heaven. Thanks to China and her human for creating this portrait. (Click on the picture to make it larger.)

Remembrance of Sammy by Tami from the DM list. (Click on picture to make it larger.)

The Eulogy To Sam

This post is written by Cynthia, Sam's pet guardian.
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Dear Fans, Friends, and Cyberdog Buddies of Sam the beautiful all-black German Shepherd Dog,

I set Sammy free today at 5pm PST. There was no one particular reason, it’s just everything all added up. I want him to leave happy rather than when he was suffering. He was so paralyzed at this point that he couldn't even get to his water dish if it was beyond the end of his nose.

Sam had a wonderful day starting with sleeping next to me all night with me rubbing his ears and nose continuously. In the morning he ate lots of ice cubes and an expecially large breakfast. Then he got fresh peanut butter in his Kong and a rawhide bone which he chewed on for hours.

His swimming lesson was great. He and Connie, his swim instructor, called it a truce and he gladly let her rub his ears. He didn't even once try to bite her when he was swimming. There are photos of Sam swimming in the posts below, along with some videos.

Sammy left this world after eating 5 bananas in one day, in fact, he had a banana chunk in his mouth at the very end. He passed away on the floor of the back seat of the suburban, one of his very favorite places, satiated with bananas and treats. He closed his eyes and went to the better place where his legs work again and he can run and bark and actually catch and chew on cats.

While every pet guardian thinks their pet is the best, Sammy was the bestest of the best! I don't need to tell you about his antics; you can read about them in his words right here in his blog.

However, I do want to mention his great attitude through all of his difficulties.

Sammy never lost his sense of knowing what is really important in life: food, ice cubes, bananas, being in the house, car rides, and barking at the cats. His sense of self of self-importance never wavered even as he became less and less mobile. He knew that if an ice cube slid out of reach, it was my job to fetch it for him.

And he kept up his job of barking at the cats, and the squirrels and the birds in the yard, without complaint despite his handicap. In fact, he enjoyed his job tremendously even though the possibility of catching and eating one of the luscious felines became unlikely. The cats kept up their part of the game by continuing to completely ignore him.

He kept working at his personal goal -- biting his swim instructor -- without becoming discouraged despite his total lack of success.

Over time he proved to Elsa the Meanie that he, Sammy, was the top dog and she was subordinate to him.

When disaster struck from the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, Sammy willingly gave up his treat allowance to the relevant Humane Societies.

Sammy never figured out that he was paralyzed and couldn't walk. He just dealt with what he could do and lived happily within his physical limitations. He is my hero for keeping his spirits up without fail, and always appreciating a banana.

I will be making a donation to Refugio Franciscano in Mexico in Sam's name.

Additional eulogies to Sammy Wammy can be found in the comments to this post and the surrounding posts, and on the blogs of his canine blogging buddies:

It's time to say goodbye, posted by China, the medium bug-eyed red mutt
Goodbye Sammy, posted by IndyPindy the Husky
Goodbye Sammy, Miss you, posted by Freda the Delta Bunny GSD
Nicknames, posted by Leader dog Willow and Stella the puppy
Ode to Sammy, posted by Heidi the Way Under Dog

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Many thanks to all of the people who helped me with Sammy including his vets and the staffs who cared for him at Adobe Animal Hospital, Pet's Friend Animal Clinic, and the Animal Care Center, the San Francisco Bay Area German Shepherd Rescue group who saved him from euthanasia, the Degenerative Myelopathy Yahoo Group who provided support, knowledge, a variety of DM-specific equipment, and friends galore, his cyberdog (and cybercat) buddies and their humans, his blog fan club, my friends and family who loved him, his swim instructor Connie Frank of Aquadog who laughed off his attempts to bite her, his sibling doggies Elsa, Pumpkin and Buffy who tolerated him, the luscious felines Misty and Charli who ignored him, and my good friend Cindy who kept me going when times were really tough.

The Videos of Sammy Wammy

All of these videos were taken on Sam's last day at his swimming lesson with Connie Frank of Aquadog.

Sam hated the camera so it was always hard to get good photos of him.

Before his swimming lesson on the grass:
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70375 Sam I

Swimming:
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70462 Sam II
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70385 Sam III
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70391 Sam IV
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70393 Sam V
"The False Sense of Security" mentioned refers to how Sam would sneak an attempt to bite Connie by first pretending that all was fine and that he wasn't going to try. In fact, in this last swimming session, he never did try to bite her showing that he knew she loved him and that he didn't want to play the "game" anymore.
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70457 Sam VI
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70464 Sam VII
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/70467 Sam VIII

Photo: Sam swimming on 10/5/05

Photo: Sam relaxing on the lawn after swimming on 10/5/05

Photo: Sam in the family room on 10/5/05

Photo: Looking longingly back at the house on 10/5/05

Photo: Outside in the backyard after eating my breakfast on 10/5/05

Photo: No! I don't want you to take my picture! on 10/5/05

Photo: Trying to get away from the evil camera in the backyard on 10/5/05

Photo: Eating ice cubes in the family room on 10/5/05

Photo: In my favorite spot in the family room on 10/5/05

Photo: At the German Shepherd Rescue Picnic on 9/11/05

The Happy Dog with Lots of Problems

I'm home and happy! I've been home since Tuesday when Mom came and picked me up at the vet. I almost had to drive home though Mom was so traumatized by the bill. I know I am a lot of work to take care of and Mom is really busy with packing and winding up the house sale and working on her consulting business and her new apparel business (WearAware). Plus we got the really bad news that Elsa most likely has degenerative myelopathy too. Mom can barely manage taking care of me -- having two German Shepherds that cannot walk at the same time seems unmaneagable.

I'm very upbeat all the time because I am only a dog. Even though I don't get treats anymore since Mom is afraid I will get aspiration pnuemonia again, and I have to eat my food standing up (Mom holds me up while I eat, luckily for her I eat very, very quickly), I still get lots of ice cubes, I get to be in the house 99% of the time, and I get ear rubs and nose squeezes all day. Who could ask for more?

I just wish Mom didn't worry so much about me and now Elsa too.