This letter from B to Sammie was written on Monday, July 8, 2013Sammie

Dear Sammie,

It has been just over a week since we lost you and just over 10 years since we found you. What a loving and joyful dog you were! I am struggling with the guilt of the way that we lost you, the operation that didn't save your life and mostly the fact that I wasn't with you when you passed. Knowing your loving and sweet disposition, I recognize this as my stuff not yours. I have a hard time thinking of one particularly happy memory of you because every day you found ways to enjoy yourself and share your enthusiasm for life. I love that in the last year or so you discovered the joy of belly rubs and could just relax and enjoy them instead of trying to trade every scratch for a lick of my face. Two of your most endearing quirks were the "flop and roll" that you practiced on almost every walk, kicking your feet in the air on your back and bringing a smile to the face of people driving or walking past. The second was what we referred to as the "snappy snap" where you would snap at your tail, left side, then right when you were feeling excited or trying to engage us to go for a walk, let you out so you could chase a bunny, feed you. The range of that move decreased as you got older due to your stiff spine, but you still used it regularly and it always made me smile. You knew nothing about living in the house or walking on a leash when we found you. Teaching you to walk on a leash was an eye opening experience for me. You were so impulsive and so strong! You would break my arm for a pizza crust! You taught me many lessons in patience, in finding the key to motivate you (food, duh!), in trying again. You were the first and sometimes the only pet in our house to welcome a foster brother or sister. You invited them to play and would let them snuggle with you. You had a very maternal streak. I wonder if you had puppies before we found you. By far the most important thing you did for us was to teach our socially inept existing dog how to be a dog. You knew just when to push her, just when to back off and your ability to make friends with a dog we thought would have to be our only dog, earned you a spot in our family. We were lucky to have you. Who ever your first owners were who lost you and never came looking have know idea what they missed out on. Love my Sammie, miss you every day.

Love,

B