Sammy

Often, when my mind wanders as well as when I dream, he is part, okay, a LARGE part of my thoughts & dreams.
He was just 4 weeks of age the first time I saw him. He was bigger than the others. He was more confident, quiet. I knew he was the one I wanted at the time.
Since he was big for his age, I think he was much younger than I was told that he was.
At "8 weeks" I went with my youngest daughter to get him, bring him home. She named him Sammy.

Sammy was a beautiful, smart, sweet, loyal, big, energetic, confident, handsome, observant, vigilant, black & tan doberman.

I loved him, I love him, still. I dream about him.

He was a one in a million type of dog.

He was so much fun to train. (I believe that an untrained dog is as much of a PITA as an undisciplined child is).

Sammy was very loved by the whole family, minus 1. He was so patient. He allowed my daughters to paint his nails with glow-in-the-dark nail polish! The whole family got a lot of laughs out of that one!

His appetite was growing just as his body was. When he was hungry, he figured out how to get the dry dog food container opened. CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH. He got what he needed!

He was a big boy when he reached his full size. I am only 5'3", his back was at the same level as my hip. So, he was also very muscular, very strong. Dobermans, because of their protective, dominant nature as a breed, tend to pull a lot when being walked on a leash. They want to be out in front.
A pincer collar helped to keep him from hurting my hands until he was fully leash trained.

He was, what is referred to as a "velcro dog". He stuck close to me throughout the day. He followed me from room to room as I vacuumed floors, straightened the beds, tidied the home, washed the laundry. He was great company. Sammy didn't realize how big & heavy he was.
When I sat on the sofa ~ WUMP ~ he was in my lap! All 120 lbs. of magnificent beast.  :)

Still, I loved him. I believe, from the way he looked at me, he loved me just as much as I, as well as my children, loved him, too!
He didn't love the ex huzz. Wherever I was sitting, he laid at my feet. If ex huzz approached, I heard a low growl in his throat that escalated in volume if the ex huzz came closer in proximity to me.
He knew things that I didn't know at the time, smart boy!

Ex huzz threatened to barbecue & eat him. He was (still is) Filipino. No shock. They eat dogs.

Sammy was so smart, so trainable. I trained him to sniff out chocolate. 
My children's Halloween chocolate was unsafe. When a craving for chocolate hit me around November 1, the Halloween haul was unsafe!

When the ex was doing some vehicle maintenance & needed a tool, from upstairs, when he was in the garage, downstairs,  who did he call? 
Ghostbusters? 
Nope! 
He called Sammy! Ex would attach a note to Sammys collar then tell him who to take the note to.
Whoever Sammy went to, Sammy was very good at communicating, what he needed.
Whatever was needed would be attached to Sammy's collar & Sammy would take it to whoever needed whatever it was.

He loved to get out of the house to lay on the front lawn of the house we lived in. Knowing it was almost time for the kiddos to come home.
He would lay there, waiting for my children to come home from school!

The summer when a neighbor dogs, 2 Akitas, chewed through the fence to get to Sammy & attack him was a very difficult summer!
It started with my 18 yr old daughter totaling a family car, the only visit I have ever had from my sister & her husband, a pouring rainstorm that used up all 40 bath towels and a blanket to keep the rain water from flooding the house, then, the Akitas attack, cap it off with the hot water heater dying & purging water to flood the basement! Ahh......yes....the $20K summer!
I had a $1,500 Veterinarian bill to put Sammy back together. The Vet was very sympathetic, very skilled! 
He had 100+ stitches and was in a great deal of pain. 

The Veterinarian asked if the dog he had been attacked by was a male. There were 2 male Akitas. 
The Vet had an uncomfortable look on her face when she told me that she had pulled a Canine testicular sack out of his throat!

GO SAMMY!

What followed was lots & lots of TLC for my Sammy. I had to rinse his wounds with saline solution 5 times daily. His body healed, yet, his personality changed from the sweet natured ever patient gentle giant to one who snapped at my children. The Vet told me that this sometimes happens when a dog is attacked.

I was on  my own with 4 kiddos and a badly injured dog.

Where was the ex huzz?

He was having a good time with a group of single Filipino girls in Germany. Singing karaoke, sight seeing and something else.


After Sammy had bitten my children 3 times, I knew it was only a matter of time before he did real damage to my own children or one in our neighborhood. 
I would rather have given him up than to be forced to have him euthanized.

With a heavy heart, I drove to Denver to Doberman Rescue of Colorado. I cried on the long drive, cried as I left him there, cried all the way home and for the next 2 weeks.

Three weeks post Sammy, I received a call from the home he went to. He went to a man & woman who were married. They had no children, both were only children of only children. So, there were no children around for him to bite.

What this couple DID have? 3 dobermans (they wanted a 4th) and a 30 acre ranch in Alamosa, Colorado.
It was so ideal for Sammy.

I cried some more after the phone call disconnected. I felt so low.

After going over to the neighbors whose dogs had attacked Sammy, I asked them to pay the vet bill. Of course they refused.
A week after Sammy's attack, one of the Akitas ate a chihuahua in the neighborhood, then, turned on and killed the other Akita.

Did I take them to court?

Hell yes, I did. Took them to court and WON!

Let's just say they had to pay the Vet bill, plus more. They also had to pay for emotional pain, suffering and the loss of a beloved family pet. They should have just paid the Vet bill. Oh, well. This family lost their home & divorced a year later. 

The couple who adopted Sammy gave me updates from time to time. The dull ache was unbearable. I still wanted to know how he was doing, that he had a good life. That he was loved.
They told me that he was VERY WELL trained. That's my boy!

When Sammy passed on at the age of 11, the couple let me know via email.

I cried for him again, that day, off and on throughout the day. In truth, I cried for several days. I would think I was okay, then, it would hit me, again. The tears would slip out against my will.

I had hand fed him as a puppy, went through his ear cropping, spent many hours obedience training him. When he was sick, I held him, stroking his head & back. Like many dogs, he loved car rides. When I went through a restaurant drive through, I got hamburger patties for him. People constantly remarked at what a handsome boy he was. My heart swelled with love and pride for him.

He felt more like my child than my pet.

It's been several years, I still love him, think about him, even dream about him a lot.

A truly, once in a lifetime dog.