In 2000 I was on my way to pick out that adorable female black lab from a co-worker whose dog had a litter of 8. They put all the male labs out in a box in the yard and kept all the girls out on the patio with little red bows. Well, needless to say there was a male puppy who was not going to let me get away with out seeing him. He broke free and all the other male puppy's. With all of them playing the girl's bows eventually fell off. I kept picking up this little male dog saying ohhhh she's so cute and then finding out it was a male. After an hour of doing so finally my co-worker's wife said I think you are meant to have "him" and not a female puppy. I agreed. I drove him home to anxiously show him to my husband. He opened the garage door and said let me see her. I immediately corrected him and said you mean "him". Soon after we named our sweet boy "Sampson".
Sampson was a little stinker the first two years. We went through 3 Petco training classes; which were all the first class. We seemed to never excel to the next level. But we still loved him. We didn't need to have that certificate. We had patience and most of love for him. He was my Best Friend! Finally when he did turn two all those classes paid off. Sampson listened and obeyed so well.
He took my husband and I on an 8 year journey filled with laughter and love. When he passed suddenly on January 17, 2009 we lost everything because he was EVERYTHING we lived for. We bought our house because it had such a huge yard for him to run around and we even put in a pool because he loved to swim so much. Tennis balls, what can I say. When he had one it was like a kid in a candy store. The tennis ball was his identity. We lost Sampson to a terrible twisted stomach that took him from us. He died in our home in my husband's arms. He hated going to the Vets and I am grateful that GOD took him when he did because we were getting ready to take him there to help him. I'm just terribly heartbroken that we only had 8 years with our precious Sampsoon. We miss him so very much and only hope he knows that he meant the world to us. There will never be a replacement and he has imprinted our hearts forever. We love Sampson, Sampsonite, Kitty Cat, Kid, Grumpy Old Man. And Sampson, THANK YOU for teaching the biggest lesson in life, how to love! Your Dad and I love you so much.