Sam #03-369

(Fostered in Twin Cities Metro Area)

Sam is a beautiful 9 year old golden/lab mix.

Sam came to our house today. She is our first foster and we were a little nervous, but I don't think I could have picked a better pup (she may be 9 years old, but she doesn't look it). One look at Sam and you will fall in love. She has a great temperament and seems to be smiling all the time.

Sam came to us with medicine for ear infections and thyroid problems. We will also have her checked out by another vet as soon as possible and I will keep you updated on that.

We have only had Sam for 3 hours so I will write more in a few days.

Michele drove Sam to us and below is what she had to say about this loving dog: She was a real sweetie to transport – I don’t think I’ve ever had a new dog coming in be that good. She’s going to make someone a great companion I think.

UPDATES:

2/24/04:  Sammie is doing great. She is such a loving little lady. Last week, we had our 2 year old neighbor visiting and he rolled over her and Sammie just laid there and let him rub her tummy.

My fears about Sammie being around other dogs have completely vanished. She would do well in a home with other dogs and/or cats. She just needed to show our Mitchie her boundaries. I am sure that our Mitchell will miss her when she finds her forever home.....if we can part with her. Sammie really likes our cat and they play well with each other (the proof is in the pictures). She is interested in our bird, but I am not comfortable enough to find out if she would like to find out more about him or eat him.

Sammie has not had problems with her ears for quite some time. The head shaking has gone away and the tips of her ears have healed completely. She takes her medication for her thyroid twice a day.

We are so lucky to have had this opportunity to be with Sammie.

Her foster mom.....Cheryl

1/6/04:  Sammie is doing great. We have taken her to the vet this morning. He ran tests to recheck her thyroid and we will get the results tomorrow. The vet thinks that Sammie is 7 years old instead of 9 and unfortunately, her troublesome ear infections are back....that means more meds for her. We are also going to clean her ears every day instead of every other day to see if that helps.

Sammie has become good friends with our cat Cujo. They chase each other around the house and sometimes, Cujo spooks her when he jumps on Sammie's back. She has also learned to "tolerate" our golden, but I think that Sammie would do best as an only dog because she does sometimes still snap at him when he invades her space.

We are having success with the house training but we have decided to kennel Sammie when we are not home and at night because she is not completely house trained. Sammie does great in a kennel, she even lays in it during the day.

I think that she has had some type of behavioral training because she knows sit, stay, come and drop (I am sure she knows more, but we haven't tried). I love to play ball with Sammie, she has a great sense of smell and can locate the ball most of the time when she doesn't notice where it has dropped.

Please email RAGOM to have this beautiful girl be a part of your family, Sammie girl is great with kids and will be a wonderful new addition.

I will forward more pictures soon.

12/9/03:  Sammie-girl is settling in nicely.

We braved the weather Tuesday night and took her to the vet. Everything is looking pretty good. Sammie's ears are better than the vet thought they would be (he read her medical report and expected swollen ears but they were not too bad). He cleaned her ears and gave us ear wash solution to clean at home. We are almost finished with the ear drops (I am sure she is glad about that). The vet also found parasite eggs in her sample and he gave her one-time medicine for it. Aside from being a bit overweight, everything else looked good. He was very impressed with Sammie's white teeth and happy disposition.

We can tell Sammie is feeling better because she no longer ignores our cat and chases him down the stairs or under the Christmas tree (I am not worried that she would hurt him). We played ball yesterday afternoon and she is such a good ball chaser. Sammie-girl even drops the ball or holds it lightly in her mouth so you can take it from her.

At night, Sammie sleeps through the night on her pallet by my bed.

WHAT AN IMPRESSIVE GIRL SHE IS.