Sami 08-139

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Sponsored by: Carl and Mary S.

Sami made the long trek from Jewell IA on March 9. I picked him up on the third leg on his journey in Albert Lea, MN. After taking care of some ‘business’ he willingly got into the back seat of my car for the ride to his new foster home. Sami did a great job on his trip to my house. He rides in a car better that any foster I have had to date. He sits nicely looking out the window enjoying the scenery.

Not much is know about Sami’s history. Not even his age. (The Vet estimated he was @5years old) He was a stray whose time was up when he found his way into the RAGOM program. Sami’s not much of a talker so he hasn’t told me a thing. In fact I don’t think he has barked once in the week since he has been at my house.

When we arrived home I introduced Sami and my dog Baxter (ragom 07-312) in the back yard. After greeting each other with a bit of sniffing, Baxter did his finest play bow and the two have gotten along great since. When it came time to come inside, Sami came right in but immediately went down to the basement. In fact I had to go get him and bring him back upstairs so he knew it was OK to hang out with the rest of us. He continued to do this the first day when he came in from outside, but quickly learned that at my house he could hang out upstairs with the rest of the family. He is quiet and well behaved in the house. And does really well when I have to leave and no humans are at home. He is housebroken. So far the only ‘bad’ behavior I have seen inside the house is some counter surfing. But come to think of it he only did that the first few days and responds well to redirection.

On Tuesday Sami made a trip to the Vet. He had had what I believe to be a seizure on Monday night while I was making supper. It didn’t last long, and he was back to normal within the hour but I wanted to check things out. Sami did great at his exam. His basic physical came out with good results. The vet explained that Seizures are pretty common and that it is possible that the stress of his resent life coupled with poor nutrition could have factored in. Some dogs will have seizures as infrequently as once a year. If Sami has them more regularly that we will investigate further. The vet took some blood and some of Sami’s levels were off. Again, the Vet felt that poor nutrition could really be a factor. So we will bring him back in a few weeks of good living and healthy eating for a recheck.

Sami gets his stitches out from his neuter surgery on Tuesday. Hopefully after that we will be able to get him into a groomer. He is looking a little scruffy. He is not a PB. The original boarding facility in IA thought that he was a Golden Retriever/Samoyed cross. He is golden size at 49# and has the golden face and sweet temperament. However he does have a beautiful coat of fur on him that is much thicker and longer than a typical Golden. I will have to take a photo shoot after he gets into the groomer as I suspect he will be absolutely gorgeous after.

As long as every thing goes well Sami and I are planning on being at the RAGOM education booth at the Highland Park Petco next Saturday March 22.

At a Glance #08-139

Mixed Breed Born: March 2006
Male Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Sponsored by: Carl and Mary S.

Sami made the long trek from Jewell IA on March 9. I picked him up on the third leg on his journey in Albert Lea, MN. After taking care of some ‘business’ he willingly got into the back seat of my car for the ride to his new foster home. Sami did a great job on his trip to my house. He rides in a car better that any foster I have had to date. He sits nicely looking out the window enjoying the scenery.

Not much is know about Sami’s history. Not even his age. (The Vet estimated he was @5years old) He was a stray whose time was up when he found his way into the RAGOM program. Sami’s not much of a talker so he hasn’t told me a thing. In fact I don’t think he has barked once in the week since he has been at my house.

When we arrived home I introduced Sami and my dog Baxter (ragom 07-312) in the back yard. After greeting each other with a bit of sniffing, Baxter did his finest play bow and the two have gotten along great since. When it came time to come inside, Sami came right in but immediately went down to the basement. In fact I had to go get him and bring him back upstairs so he knew it was OK to hang out with the rest of us. He continued to do this the first day when he came in from outside, but quickly learned that at my house he could hang out upstairs with the rest of the family. He is quiet and well behaved in the house. And does really well when I have to leave and no humans are at home. He is housebroken. So far the only ‘bad’ behavior I have seen inside the house is some counter surfing. But come to think of it he only did that the first few days and responds well to redirection.

On Tuesday Sami made a trip to the Vet. He had had what I believe to be a seizure on Monday night while I was making supper. It didn’t last long, and he was back to normal within the hour but I wanted to check things out. Sami did great at his exam. His basic physical came out with good results. The vet explained that Seizures are pretty common and that it is possible that the stress of his resent life coupled with poor nutrition could have factored in. Some dogs will have seizures as infrequently as once a year. If Sami has them more regularly that we will investigate further. The vet took some blood and some of Sami’s levels were off. Again, the Vet felt that poor nutrition could really be a factor. So we will bring him back in a few weeks of good living and healthy eating for a recheck.

Sami gets his stitches out from his neuter surgery on Tuesday. Hopefully after that we will be able to get him into a groomer. He is looking a little scruffy. He is not a PB. The original boarding facility in IA thought that he was a Golden Retriever/Samoyed cross. He is golden size at 49# and has the golden face and sweet temperament. However he does have a beautiful coat of fur on him that is much thicker and longer than a typical Golden. I will have to take a photo shoot after he gets into the groomer as I suspect he will be absolutely gorgeous after.

As long as every thing goes well Sami and I are planning on being at the RAGOM education booth at the Highland Park Petco next Saturday March 22.

Updates

Sunday, May 3, 2009

This is Sami. We adopted him last August, and he brought a lot of joy and laughter into our lives. (How can you not laugh at this little "clown face?") He showed this to us often to let us know just how happy he was to have found his furever home. Plenty of tasty doggy food (although he would have loved to have more!), a treat each day, lots of walks, and TONS of love and attention. Doesn't get much better than that! He let us know how appreciative he was of everything with little licks to the hand and face, tail wags, and clown grins.

Sami was a special needs boy, as he was deaf and had a history of seizures. The deafness proved to be pretty much a non-issue. He was very well-adjusted to living in a quiet world, and focused on visual cues to communicate instead. Plus, we really enjoyed the fact that he didn't bark! His deafness however didn't stop us from talking to him any less, and we still called him many names, even though he never responded. (Sami Pants, Sammers, Buddy, Budders, Sami Davis Junior.) :) Also, his seizures were minimal. In the 6+ months that we had him, he only had 2 seizures, and they were very very mild. With the vet's recommendation, we were even able to cut his medication in half, so he was able to feel a little more "normal" and less "woozy."

We joked that Sami was our child in training. He taught us how important it is to have the garbage out of site, and to anticipate his moves on a walk, as he loved uncovering good things to eat! (Dead fish included - yuck!) These "opportunities" taught us the art of negotiating. Sometimes a firm "Drop It!" was enough; other times, we needed to do a trade. Occasionally even that wasn't enough - he once found a dead mouse during a road trip potty break and after trying to get him to unclench his jaws for a half-hour, he was able to chew quickly and swallow it down!

Sami was also a reliable alarm clock, waking us each morning at 7:30 so he could get his walk and get his breakfast at 8 a.m. (It was so cute, as we wrapped up our morning walks, he would start jogging back to the house so we could start breakfast ASAP!) And he always made sure we wouldn't forget to feed him his dinner, moving over by the kitchen at 7:30, giving us the subtle hint that it was almost time for his supper! (We know buddy, we know.)

His calm nature and friendly and happy ways made him such a joy to be around. He LOVED snow (particularly eating it) and occasionally made snow angels, but only when he was feeling extra silly. His paws got cold from time to time, so we picked up some booties for him, and he was happy to put them on!

Sadly, Sami's health went downhill quickly in March 2009. His energy levels quickly subsided and after ruling everything else out, the Vet determined Sami was anemic due to Multiple Myeloma, a form of bone cancer. After weighing several factors (his age - the Vet guessed he was much older than we thought he was; a poor prognosis after chemo; the pain/suffering of treatment/quality of life during treatment; the cost; etc.), we decided the best thing for Sami would be to make the most of his time left, and we would let him go when he showed us that he was ready. He got to experience yummy foods like cheeseburgers, french fries, scrambled eggs in the meantime, (as he wasn't eating his regular dog food) and we would go outside just to let him lay in the grass and enjoy the warm sunshine and the approaching Spring. In his decline, he showed us how to live with grace, and to make the most of each day. We were heartbroken with his diagnosis and I bawled all the way home from the Vet's office; when we got home, Sami came up to me and laid his head on top of mine, trying to comfort me. (That speaks volumes about what a special doggy he was.) We helped him cross The Rainbow Bridge on a Friday, and afterwards Nate and I talked about our favorite memories of our Sami, his silly face, and toasted him with Champagne that we had in the fridge to celebrate our anniversary. He is now buried at my parent's home, in their little pet cemetery, and will forever hold a spot in our hearts.

A special thank you to Sami's Foster Mom Maggie. She was a great source of comfort before and after his death, and her kind words helped Nate and I deal with his passing. You are an angel Maggie! You helped us feel peace with his passing and that means more than you'll ever know. Also a special thank you to Sami's sponsors, Carl and Mary S, and to all the RAGOM volunteers who helped bring Sami into our lives!

Janna

Friday, March 27, 2009

Hi,

We adopted Sami August 5, 2008 and I wanted to let you know with a heavy heart that Sami crossed the Rainbow Bridge today, after a battle with Multiple Myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer. He has forever touched our lives, and we could not have asked for a better doggy. He was a trooper until the very end, and taught us many life lessons and showed us how to live life with grace and compassion. He is very much missed.

We love you Sami!

Janna & Nate
   

 

 

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Sami has been adjusting to his new golden life well.  On Friday he went to the dog groomer for a beauty treatment.  WOW, he looks so handsome!  Saturday he went to the RAGOM information booth at Highland Petco.  Everyone agreed, he is a very good looking boy.  I was concerned that the outing might stress him a little and was prepared to leave early.  But Sami loved being there and we stayed the entire time.  He enjoyed the interaction with the other dogs and people as well.  With the help of others I was even able to get some good pictures.  (As I am the worlds worst photographer I had to take a lot of pictures to get a couple of good ones!) 

Ragom volunteers bearing treats - now that's my kind of people!

My foster mom took my gentle leader off to try and get a good picture of my face.  But there were so many great dogs and people there to look at I just would hold my head still for a picture.  I really just wanted to make friends with them all and to play. 

  
I met a lot of really nice people at the PetCo Highland Park event!