Sampson

June 1997-April 26, 2008

We had to put Sam down on Saturday.  We knew this day was coming because he was diagnosed with lymphoma earlier this month.  Due to his age (he was 11 years old)  we decided not to do aggressive  treatments.  We had elected to treat  him with steroids to buy some more time with him.  

"We" got Sampson right before we graduated from college.  We had gone to Petsmart where they were adopting dogs.  We both agreed we wanted a large dog.  I remember when we got Sam out of the cage to walk around the store he would just lay on his side, because he was terrified.  We found out he had been severely abused before adoption and it took years to see the effects of that wear off.  Sam lived with me and roommates the first year Matthew was in law school.  That first year we found out Sam liked to ingest huge portions of fabric, note I didn't say chew up-I mean injest.  He battled heart worms and many, many  trips to Waco.

Once we were in Waco he was our saving grace-lets just say we didn't live in the best neighborhood.  Sam was a huge softie but he was extremely protective and VERY intimidating.  There was a time in Waco when he kept getting out of our yard and instead of running away he just wanted to  lay in the driveway until we got home.  We also discovered in that house his insane fear of fireworks.  We had left him out in the yard one Fourth of July and when we got home we found him in the garage.  It took us a while to figure out how he had gotten in the garage, then Matthew discovered he had literally ripped the door in half to get in himself.    

Sampson was our baby before we had babies.  He adjusted very well to his 3 siblings.  He was very patient with the kids and very protective.  

I am so sad he is gone; Matthew and I are just heart broken.  My big old strong husband whose emotions are buried WAY below the surface ( no complaints  here  I prefer it that way) is so torn up.  I had decided when we found out about Sam's diagnosis I wanted to be the one to take him to the vet when the time came.  It was so sad watching Matthew say goodbye to him.  

It's not the same without him here, and unfortunately there are so many reminders of him.  I know some people will think he was just a dog, but he wasn't just a dog.  He was a huge part of our family.  He even had chores-clean Emmy's booster seat and the kitchen floor, and watch the kids in the backyard while playing.     

Selfishly, I had to blog about Sampson.  I needed to sit here at midnight and remember my extraordinary dog.