Aliases: Sam, Sammie, Sam-bo, Turkey, Lurkey, Blackie, Cat Dog, Little Bear, Chicken Butt, Lurka Durka, SampsonBack Story: Sammie is Momma A's (Ange's) dog. She got him when he was just the tiniest little boy. Obviously he came into my life when she came in to my life. I was glad that Ange liked dogs because obviously if you are going to be involved with me, you have to like dogs! I don't think I've ever met a person who doesn't like Sam. How could you not? He's very sweet and lovable, incredibly low energy, and just wants to be snuggled or fed.
He and Ange are the ultimate sidekicks. He follows her everywhere and gets very worried if he gets left behind anywhere that isn't his home. The first time she and Sam came down to visit me at my mom's house we went out for dinner and left Sam with my mom and stepdad. When we got back they told us that he laid in front of the door we left through and cried the whole time we were there. When he heard the car door slam he went crazy. Luckily he's calmed down since then...probably because he realized that my stepdad is a big pushover for dogs and if he plays his cards right he'll get lots of treats and love from him while we're gone.
We were really nervous about introducing him to my brood. Sam is pretty good with other dogs...only has a touch of little dog complex on occasion. My dogs, however, are a tough group. Stone and Caramel are pretty much pushovers. They like anyone. Duke and Daisy are the pack leaders and are generally suspicious of anyone trying to bust in on our little family. When we brought Sam over for the first time I put all the dogs out back to start with. First we let in Caramel. She sniffed him over, he looked alarmed, but she was in love so it worked out. Then we let Stone in. After his sniff test confirmed there was nothing to worry about he went and laid down and Sam continued to look alarmed. He had this little pleading look on his face that said "MOM, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Then we let in Duke. Luckily Sam was so overwhelmed at this point Duke's Alpha dog status did not seem in jeopardy so he just sniffed him a few times and went and laid down far away from the action. Last we brought in Daisy. This was strategic because she's the biggest hater there is. She is kind of a jerk when it comes to other dogs and I didn't want her being mean to Sam. So she came streaking in and immediately got all puffy and growly. Poor Sam was just over it at this point. So I followed Daisy around saying "No, No!" every time she growled and swatting her nose every time I saw her lip curling up in to a snarl. This kept the peace but it also had the weird effect of connecting in her brain that Sam = Mad Momma L. So for the first month or so whenever Sam was around she was half growl, half wince because she knew I would be on her in an instant at the first sign of aggression. Luckily after that first meeting Sam acclimated well and just ignored her for the most part. It took him a while to get used to Caramel's nose punching him though. The first few times she tried to get him all riled up and ready to play he just cried and ran away. See, Sam is not the most playful dog. Probably because he's been raised on his own with no brothers and sisters. He also is the biggest baby in the entire world. He's been known to cry if you pat his head to hard for his liking. So having Caramel nose punch him and chase him was just a little more than he could take. Luckily, he's come around and even will chase her on occasion. Not to say he's suddenly super playful, but at least he doesn't cry anymore.
Just the other morning I was letting the dogs out and sitting on the deck as I often do in the morning just letting them go about their business while I try and wake up. I was watching all of the dogs run around the backyard and I realized that Sam had his own little part of the yard that he frequented. He was doing his thing and then was looking around at the other dogs. Caramel was near-by and as they looked at each other it looked like they sent each other some dog brain waves because they both took off running around in circles for a few minutes together. Then they both looked at each other and took off running towards me. I think they were saying "If we both run together maybe Momma L will realize it is time for treats for dogs!" The funniest part was watching Caramel greatly outrace Sam, but watching Sam run as hard and as fast as he could with his little black leggies clomping along in unison looking exactly like a little black bear. The whole scene just made me laugh and realize that Sam was fully integrated into our little dog family.
Likes: Eating, food, treats, sleeping, barking, riding in the car, begging for mommy foodDislikes: Playing with other dogs in general, listening to his mommies, following any rules
**Note...we did not actually let Sam drink beer. He's just a nosy ned and was trying to figure out if the bottle was something he could eat!
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