Sammy
Age: 7 months
Weight: 35 lbs
State: Maine
Small Children Under 4?: Yes
Children Over 4?: Yes
Separation Anxiety?: Yes
Neutered/UTD?: No/Unsure
Microchipped?: No
Other Dogs?: Yes
Cats?: Yes
Crate Trained?: No
House Trained?: No
Obedience Trained?: No
Leash Trained?: No
Attending Obedience At Foster Home?: No
Adoption Donation?: $300
UPDATE 9/18/07 - Sam (aka Sammy) has just had an anniversary.
I adopted him in Sept. of 2003. He was a skinny little 7 month old
baby, and weighed 38 lbs. He was tiny! The first thing we did was put
him on medication(Tylan Powder) for his diarrhea. It worked and he did
grow a bit and finally gained a little weight. He kept on looking
skinny for another couple of years.
Meanwhile, he had learned in the pet shop to entertain himself by
chasing his tail! He developed OCD! He was put on medication last Jan.
or Feb. but it was expensive and didn't seem to help that much.
Finally, I heard that there was a generic form of Prozac that could be
given to dogs. He has been on this medicine for several months and is a
totally different dog, most of the time.
He still chases his tail, but only when he gets stressed. He gets
stressed easily, but we now know how to manage it most of the time.
He is not trustworthy in the house, unattended. He is clean, but that
doesn't guarantee that he won't destroy something! So, he gets crated.
He loves his crate and is very comfortable being left in it for a few hours.
That "little" pup is now a handsome big brindle guy that tips the scales
at 60+ lbs. He still is a bit on the slender build, but that is more
than acceptable. We don't want any dog to get chubby fat! He is very
muscular and loves to run and play with Rose.
When I first brought him home he liked to play with Abbi. They would
"body bang" in the back yard! He would run at her and bang into her.
She would just stand there and brace herself, and he bounced off her
chest and would pick himself up and do it again. He didn't get hurt and
she wasn't mean to him. She just let him know that she was the BIG
boxer in the family and he could bounce!
Now, he is the BIG GUY! Of course this big buy is being pushed around
by a 9 lb. cat! Pepper is rubbing his head against Sam and Sam loves
it. Big mean dog!!
UPDATE 10/19/04 - Sam here-I used to be called Sammy. Mum is busy so I am using
the
computer today.
I know it is over a year ago that I was adopted and boy have I changed!
I don't do things on the floor anymore, I ask to go outside and my mum
is proud of me!
I have been to obedience school and have learned a lot, but mum says I
need to learn a lot more. I guess it is because I get so excited over
stuff. But I do walk good on the leash, I 'wait' at the door, I sit,
stay and down.
I also know what ride means and boy do I like to go to the Credit
Union-they always give us treats!
I used to chase my tail a lot, but mum said that I could hurt my spine,
whatever that is, so I don't do it as much anymore.
We have a nice big fenced yard and boy can I run and run and run. Abbi
doesn't run as fast as I do, but she always catches me when she wants
to. She is pretty smart and jumps out at me from behind stuff. Clara
goes outside and plays with me too. I have to be careful or she will
get me. I don't know how she does it, because she can't see! She
doesn't run, but boy can she do a quick turn and lunge at me! She is
lots of fun.
In the house Clara and I wrestle on the carpet. And we share toys a
lot. All of the toys belong to Abbi, but she lets us use them after she
checks them out to make sure they are safe. She is a bossy, but good
big sister. Of course Clara is my big sister, too.
I am a very lucky guy. I have two big sisters and a mum that loves all
of us. We also have 4 kitties that are pretty pushy too, and mum says
that I must not chase them. She spoils all of my fun. But I guess mum
knows best. This computer stuff is a lot of work, so I better go have a
nap (mum calls it a growing spree)!
Lots of love to all, Sam Burgess
Sisters: Abbi and Clara
Kitties: Pepper, Rusty, Callie and Angel (my favorite).
And of course mum: Dot
9/16/03 Sammy has been adopted!
9/2/03 - Sammy is doing very well here & is such a sweet boy. He does have seperation
anxiety afterall though so he will need someone home all day or that works opposite shifts
or can take him with them to work. Sammy does not like being crated & will show very
high stress about it & he does have accidents in the crate too. After another sleepless
night, I got up in the middle of the night & decided to try Sammy on the bed with me &
the rest of the animals. Sammy was as happy as could be & curled right up next to my
pillow (he's very tiny!) & slept the rest of the night without issues. He reminds me a lot
like my last foster, Oscar, who had some of the same seperation anxiety & crating issues.
Sammy loves trying to play with my 2 dogs & my cats too. The cats on the other hand
don't understand why this puppy won't realize when they smack Sammy with their paws
& claws, they are NOT playing like a boxer would! Sammy thinks it's the best game,
he'll even imitate the cats by trying to "paw" them back. I tried to let them all work it out
on their own, but Sammy just thinks they are playing with him, so I've started to step in to
let Sammy know this is not okay.
8/31/03 - Sammy arrived today all the way from NJ thanks to all his
transport volunteers: Carol & George, Mary Jo, Maria, Gizelle & Roger,
Barbara & Fidelis! He is a super cute, tiny brindle boy with a docked tail
& natural ears that was born on 2/1/03. He was surrendered to a shelter we
work with because his family said he had seperation anxiety. We will watch
to see what kind of issues he has before we label him as that.
Sammy's surrender form to the shelter said he lived with toddlers & older
kids & another dog & got along with all of them. Sammy met my cats tonight
& he was curious, but not overly or any more than a normal puppy, so I think
he will be fine with cats. He rode great in the cars for everyone on his
trip to Maine & showed he loves going for a ride. I'll update you more as I
get to know Sammy better as right now he needs to relax from his long day.