S am

Welcome to the world of SAM!

Sam dropped into our routines and instantly became part of the family. He gets along great with our Golden and accepted our house rules right away. For the first few days, Sam spent time in his crate while the family was away, but by the third day it was clear that Sam was completely trustworthy. He and our Golden now have the run of the house while we're gone.

Sam doesn't beg from the table, but the first day, a bowl of dog food on the counter was too much temptation as we caught him helping himself. Just one stern word and we've never seen him try it again.

He loves to be inside with company and everyone wants to pet him. He is great in the car, loves to ride and does not bolt through the door when company comes. Sam did bark at the cat and we haven't seen her in the daylight since, so we're not real sure if he doesn't like kitties or if our cat just isn't sure of Sam.

Sam loves to play tug-o-war - in the photo you can see his playful eyes as he's tugging away at the plush toy. He loves to be scratched, loves to lean against a steady leg and loves to sleep on the cool tile floor. He does great on the lead and will walk as far as you want to go. He does a happy dance as soon as he sees his leash come off the hook.

Get your application in for this dog. You will be doing a happy dance with Sam. Sam comes highly recommended by his foster parents. We think you will love him as much as we do.

Sam Update 06/20:

The world of Sam just keeps getting better and better.

This week, Sam was introduced to the Saturday morning lawn mowing ritual. I had never seen a dog that was not afraid of the weed eater, but Sam was right out there all morning helping with the weed-eating, poop scooping, mowing and sweeping. We spent almost 3 hours in the back yard and I don’t think Sam sat down one time.

As a reward for helping me all morning, I got out the plastic wading pool. The fun really began when I started running water into it; Sam loves to play in the water. He will stick his head under water, jump straight up, shake and dive in again. And after getting soaked, he loves to be toweled off. What a great way to spend Saturday morning. He also enjoyed his afternoon nap after all that exercise.

Our cat has now decided that Sam is no threat. She does get barked at once in a while, but she largely ignores Sam and boldly walks through the room; another vote of confidence for this dog.

As I mentioned, Sam does not eat people-food and usually sleeps through our meal times. But, he will counter-surf if the opportunity is made available and the devil gets to him. “Where is the butter?” I say. “Oh, I set it on the table.” she says. “Where on table?” I say. Then we look at Sam with the butter tub between his paws. Sam says,” It’s not butter, its Parkay!” So much for his diet.

Sam is a very quick learner. I use the Scientific Quantified Analysis Cheerio Gauge to determine a foster dog’s intelligence. If a dog does not know how to catch Cheerio’s when he comes to our home, I take a personal challenge to teach them this art form before they are adopted. A foster dog cannot leave before he/she masters mid-air catches and the ability to calculate Cheerio hang-time and wind affects. Sam watched my Golden catch Cheerios from every possible angle. Then we try Sam. Literally, Sam got hit right between the eyes with the first 5 Cheerios. By the 6th throw, he was popping his mouth open as it approached. And by the 10th Cheerio, Sam had eye-mouth coordination down and was catching 3 out of 4. Sam loves the thrill of the catch, but does not seem overly interested in eating them. I would say Sam has a Cheerio IQ of about 120 on the standardized scale. So, I guess my work is officially done. Sam is one adoptable dog!

Sam loves being an indoor dog. He goes out first thing in the morning and several times during the evening. He sleeps in his crate all night but has the run of the house during the day while we are at work. He has never had an accident, even after eating half a tub of Parkay.

If want a Golden in your family, you need to meet Sam. He will win your heart in about 10 minutes. He is great with older kids but is still a little energetic for a small baby. When he gets excited, we all get excited. When we get the leash out, you better be ready to go for a walk! Come meet Sam...You will be swept away!
 

View Pictures Here