We miss her still

Three years ago today, we said goodbye to Allie. She was kind, loving and a little mischievous. However, a finer dog you will never know.

The last few years of her life were difficult on us and her, but she was always a good dog. We miss her still.

Allie

It was a year ago today Allie left us. She was able to spend the last few weeks of her life at her favorite place on Earth: On Lake Michigan running after birds on "her beach" and chasing her Frisbee. There was nothing we would not do for her, but in the end, there was nothing we could do for her, other than kiss her goodbye and make sure that she knew that her last moments with us that she was surrounded by love. She was kind, gentle and a little mischievous, but a better dog you will never know. Allie, we miss you every day, but we know that even now, you are keeping the birds off your beach.


"Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears
but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you...
I loved you so... 'twas Heaven here with you"

Isla Paschal Richardson

Things that Samson likes to eat

This afternoon we took Samson in to see our vet for an inocculation for Bordatella and a wellness exam. We are getting ready to introduce Samson to boarding and doggie day care, and the place where we want to board him required an updated inoculation and exam. Samson had been seen by Dr. Rick in November, soon after we brought him home. Samson was still borderline feral, and he was none too happy to be poked and prodded by Dr. Rick. Today was a completely different story. I went to Dr. Rick's office from my work, as Deirdre went home to get Mr. Handsome and took him in her car to his office. The last time Samson paid our vet a visit, he was barking and agitated. He was fearful of anyone touching him and was generally a pest. Today, Samson bounded out of Dee's car and he was eager to get inside and meet new friends. We were the last patient of the day so as soon as we got inside, we were taken to the exam room. However, before we went to the room, Samson was weighed. Today, his weight was 103lbs. In November, he weighed 76lbs. Yep, Samson has been living the good life with us. Truth be told, Dr. Rick told us last November Samson was "a little thin," but we were surprised to see that he had gained 27lbs!

Back to the exam. Dr. Rick's able bodied assistant Jen came in to speak to us and to say hello to Samson. The last time Jen saw him he wanted nothing to do with her, cowering in the corner of the exam room, trying to avoid all contact. Today, Samson immediately went to Jen, licking her face with his ears flat back on his head. As soon as Jen started to pet him, he rolled over on his back, a complete expression of his submission to her. Jen was so happy to see Samson and she said, "You guys have done great things with him." We discussed with Jen, in-between puppy kisses and licks, what we needed done. Jen left to brief Dr. Rick, and in a few minutes they both returned.

As soon as Dr. Rick and Jen returned, Samson had to go say hello to them both, as if re-acquainting himself with long lost friends. Samson was docile and loving, twice rolling on his back as if to say, "Please rub my belly. Please?" Dr. Rick gave Samson a quick once over and then prepared to give him the Bordatella inoculation. Samson was a good patient and in no time, Dr. Rick had given Samson his shot. Dr. Rick then wanted to look at Samson's teeth, but he was a hesitant as at the last visit, Samson was not a very cooperative patient. This time, things were different. I told Samson to sit, he immediately complied and Dr. Rick was able to carefully and thoroughly examine his teeth. Checking a dog's teeth is not an easy task if the dog does not want it done. However, Samson was all to happy to comply. Dr. Rick was very happy with the change in Samson's deportment since our last visit, and he said to us, "Samson is a completely different dog. Frankly, I was worried about him and you when he was last here. You have done great things with him. His new temperment is a testament to you as great pet owners." Dr. Rick took care of our beloved Allie the last 6 years of her life and he knew how she communicated with us. Samson was a clean slate. He was also an almost feral slate when we got him. What a difference 8 months makes in changing a dog's habits.

We also spoke about Samson's weigh gain, as Dr. Rick thought that he could afford to lose a few pounds. Allie was one of those few dogs who are totally self regulating. We did not feed her twice or three times a day. We just kept food in her dish and she ate when she was hungry. Samson, however, is fed twice a day and the kibble and soft food in his dish is quickly eaten. Allie also suffered from terrible food allergies. We could only feed her a soy based dry food, and then only organic puppy treats. Allie would look at us with huge eyes whenever I cooked chicken or salmon of steak, hoping that we would share a few morsels with her. Unfortunately, we could not as her resultant allergic reaction might last for days. Thanfully, Samson does not suffer from any sort of food allergies. He can eat pretty much anything. In the course of the past eight months, here is a partial list of foods Samson likes to eat:

Beef, in any form
Chicken
Tuna fish
Apples
Strawberries
Zuchinni
Romaine lettuce
Iceberg lettuce
Red leaf lettuce
Boston leaf lettuce
Corn
Rice
Cous cous
Milk
Ice cream (especially ice cream)
Peanut butter
Carrots
Celery
Blue cheese dressing
Ceasar dressing
Beer
Diet Coke
Toast
Bread
Ice cubes
Tomatoes
Olives
Cheese

Again, this is a partial list. No doubt it will expand in time. Life agrees with Samson.

SAMSON, OUR NEW DOG

As some of you know, just a week after I got home from Illinois we had to put our beloved dog Allie to sleep. It came as quite a shock to Deirdre and I we told ourselves that it would be a while before we got another dog. Allie was such a sweet and gentle animal who taught us all a lot about how to live and die with dignity. Well, last week, Dee heard about Samson (who was then named Danson) who was a rescue dog living at the West Michigan Regional Laboratory (WMRL). The WMRL is located on the Calvin College campus and it is a joint venture between Calvin College, Michigan State University and Spectrum Health of Grand Rapids. The lab will use dogs to simulate service animals and they will train first responders on what to do if their service dog is injured or incapacitated. One of Dee's co-workers told her about Danson, who is a German Shepherd Dog mix who had been at the lab for a little more than two months. The WMRL is a "no-kill" lab, so all of the animals it gets it keeps until a suitable home is found. Well, we met Danson and he touched us both. He is about a year old and just full of energy. After seeing Danson and knowing that we had the resources to give him a good home, we adopted him as of Monday, 12 November. We brought him home and he was racing all over the house, checking out all the new smells and sights. It is clear that his original owners, whom we found out just abandoned him as Danson was a stray wandering around Grand Rapids, had taught him a few commands., but he also has some bad habits we will need to correct.

As is often said, there are no bad dogs, just bad owners. Allie was such an easy dog to train and we are hoping that Samson is as well. He is already recognizing his new name (neither Dee nor I liked his shelter namd of Danson!) and he knows how to sit, stay and come. We bought him different kind of collar, called a Gentle Leader headcollar, and I just tried it out. What a difference! Samson weighs about 60 pounds and he has incredible strength. When we took him out for a walk last night he was pulling us all over the place. Well, the Gentle Leader is a different type of collar and it boats "Immediate gentle control that is painless to the dog and never chokes." I just fitter Samson with the collar (you can see it in the photos) and we went for a walk. It was so easy to take him on a walk. This morning it took a lot of strength to control him with his traditional collar, but on this most recent walk I literally controlled him with two fingers! For any of you who are "dog people," you gotta check out the website for this collar. Samson is a completely different dog when he is wearing this headcollar!

This is the first of many posts about our new dog. He really is sweet and with a little training on both sides of the leash, he will be a welcome member of our family.

P.S. The option to upload photos in Blogspot seems to be having some technical difficulty. Look for some photos of Samson soon!