Dani
Well-known member
Dear Sammi,
You were always my girl even though I was never your human. In fact when daddy was around, I was chopped liver as far as you were concerned. Nevertheless, I still loved you with all my heart.
I remember when momma brought you home from the humane society. I was so excited. You were our first dog that I could ever remember. I remember coming home from school with my brother, finding no Sammi girl and us looking at each other thinking "oh crap she's gone." You were quite the little escape artist. We spent many afternoons after school looking for you. The gates and doors were always shut or locked so as near as we could tell, you were either climbing the fence or jumping it. Or both. I remember seeing you do both on different occasions. Then daddy put in the dog door and you became a very good girl. There was no more chasing after you in the afternoons after school, scouring the neighborhood trying to figure out where you went. From that point on you were there everyday whenever any of us would come home, waiting at the gate and then announcing to the world how happy you were that her people were home.
We never really knew what breed you would fall under. The humane society said lab x bull terrier cross. I woulda sworn you had vizla in there somewhere, and who knows what you were. I do know that you were one helluva robin catcher. Those swarms of robins would come through in the fall and spring and invade our yard, eating all our worms and bugs, draining the bird bath there were so many piled in there and you'd go out and later I'd see you trotting around the yard with your prize. It was funny to me. You'd catch squirrels and robins, parade around the entire yard a couple of times and then bury the poor critters and that would be the end of it.
I also do believe that the buzzards would purposefully soar above our back yard. I think they got as much kick out of you chasing them around, head up looking at them, running in circles with them as they rode the air currents and barking at them, as I did. I PROMISE the time that you ran into the tree while you were doing that that I was laughing WITH you, not at you. No matter how old you got, no matter how slow you got, no matter how your hips began failing you, you were never too old to tell the buzzards to get out of your air space.
I loved watching you and my boy Kenzie chase each other around the yard playing with each other. When you were young and spry the two of you would just tear up the place with your antics. Then when Drake joined the family, I remember your looks of consternation that he wouldn't play when you tried to get him to. It's not your fault. He was never allowed to play and never learned to play. But it tickled me that you still tried. And there came a time when he did play a little with y'all and the three of you tearing around the yard was a hoot. Though you were getting old and so you had to rethink how you'd play. You were one fast little girl when you were young but age was not kind. But you were smart and great at figuring out where the boys would be and then run there as fast as you could to get them.
About six months or so before I left for Tallahassee, Maxwell showed up. Maxwell was a bitty little kitten that someone had tossed out in our yard. That little bitty kitten must've thought he was a tiger because I remember as soon as he figured out how to get into the yard, there were four big dogs hauling butt from all over the yard and converging on him. He just stood there looking bored while the four of you sniffed him over. Then it took watching you dogs go in the doggie door just a couple times and that was that. He was in and out of the house like the rest of the dogs. At first it seemed like you didn't care for him, especially as you got older. Maybe that's the truth but I think it was all for show. Regardless of how you felt about him, the two of you figured out some outstanding racket. You LOVED his cat food but daddy wouldn't share it with you much. As you well knew, Maxwell is a picker at his food. Eat a little, walk away, eat a little, walk away. We learned that we had to pick the bowl up or one of you dogs would finish his food for him. When he was hungry he'd yowl and a little handful of food would be put in his bowl and the bowl put down. Well I don't know what your agreement was with the little furball was but you and he had all us humans figured out. He'd yowl, we'd put food down, he'd eat a little (like a bite) and then walk away, leaving it all for you. But we didn't care. You were eating so that was a very good thing. I hope that he was getting something good when we weren't looking in return for getting you extra food.
In the end it's best that you went now, what with daddy heading off to WA state in a few weeks for his new job. That was a fear I had, that he would have to make a very difficult decision before he moved. Your hips were failing you. Your hearing was pretty much gone. I was not really sure about your eyesight. You got to the point as you got old that you no longer cared for going for car rides. In fact they scared you for some reason. So moving to a new state some 3000 miles away would've been incredibly hard on you.
I hope to someday see you again sweet girl. I'll bring you pockets full of cat food. Just for you.
I hope there are lots and lots of birds for you to chase.........
You were always my girl even though I was never your human. In fact when daddy was around, I was chopped liver as far as you were concerned. Nevertheless, I still loved you with all my heart.
I remember when momma brought you home from the humane society. I was so excited. You were our first dog that I could ever remember. I remember coming home from school with my brother, finding no Sammi girl and us looking at each other thinking "oh crap she's gone." You were quite the little escape artist. We spent many afternoons after school looking for you. The gates and doors were always shut or locked so as near as we could tell, you were either climbing the fence or jumping it. Or both. I remember seeing you do both on different occasions. Then daddy put in the dog door and you became a very good girl. There was no more chasing after you in the afternoons after school, scouring the neighborhood trying to figure out where you went. From that point on you were there everyday whenever any of us would come home, waiting at the gate and then announcing to the world how happy you were that her people were home.
We never really knew what breed you would fall under. The humane society said lab x bull terrier cross. I woulda sworn you had vizla in there somewhere, and who knows what you were. I do know that you were one helluva robin catcher. Those swarms of robins would come through in the fall and spring and invade our yard, eating all our worms and bugs, draining the bird bath there were so many piled in there and you'd go out and later I'd see you trotting around the yard with your prize. It was funny to me. You'd catch squirrels and robins, parade around the entire yard a couple of times and then bury the poor critters and that would be the end of it.
I also do believe that the buzzards would purposefully soar above our back yard. I think they got as much kick out of you chasing them around, head up looking at them, running in circles with them as they rode the air currents and barking at them, as I did. I PROMISE the time that you ran into the tree while you were doing that that I was laughing WITH you, not at you. No matter how old you got, no matter how slow you got, no matter how your hips began failing you, you were never too old to tell the buzzards to get out of your air space.
I loved watching you and my boy Kenzie chase each other around the yard playing with each other. When you were young and spry the two of you would just tear up the place with your antics. Then when Drake joined the family, I remember your looks of consternation that he wouldn't play when you tried to get him to. It's not your fault. He was never allowed to play and never learned to play. But it tickled me that you still tried. And there came a time when he did play a little with y'all and the three of you tearing around the yard was a hoot. Though you were getting old and so you had to rethink how you'd play. You were one fast little girl when you were young but age was not kind. But you were smart and great at figuring out where the boys would be and then run there as fast as you could to get them.
About six months or so before I left for Tallahassee, Maxwell showed up. Maxwell was a bitty little kitten that someone had tossed out in our yard. That little bitty kitten must've thought he was a tiger because I remember as soon as he figured out how to get into the yard, there were four big dogs hauling butt from all over the yard and converging on him. He just stood there looking bored while the four of you sniffed him over. Then it took watching you dogs go in the doggie door just a couple times and that was that. He was in and out of the house like the rest of the dogs. At first it seemed like you didn't care for him, especially as you got older. Maybe that's the truth but I think it was all for show. Regardless of how you felt about him, the two of you figured out some outstanding racket. You LOVED his cat food but daddy wouldn't share it with you much. As you well knew, Maxwell is a picker at his food. Eat a little, walk away, eat a little, walk away. We learned that we had to pick the bowl up or one of you dogs would finish his food for him. When he was hungry he'd yowl and a little handful of food would be put in his bowl and the bowl put down. Well I don't know what your agreement was with the little furball was but you and he had all us humans figured out. He'd yowl, we'd put food down, he'd eat a little (like a bite) and then walk away, leaving it all for you. But we didn't care. You were eating so that was a very good thing. I hope that he was getting something good when we weren't looking in return for getting you extra food.
In the end it's best that you went now, what with daddy heading off to WA state in a few weeks for his new job. That was a fear I had, that he would have to make a very difficult decision before he moved. Your hips were failing you. Your hearing was pretty much gone. I was not really sure about your eyesight. You got to the point as you got old that you no longer cared for going for car rides. In fact they scared you for some reason. So moving to a new state some 3000 miles away would've been incredibly hard on you.
I hope to someday see you again sweet girl. I'll bring you pockets full of cat food. Just for you.
I hope there are lots and lots of birds for you to chase.........
