I am devoting this post to one of my favorite breeds and to one of my favorite dogs – Samantha.
How Sammi came into our lives was definitely different. No breeders, pet stores or friends were involved. In fact we had no intention of getting another dog when we set off to the dog park on a Sunday with Trixie and Wrigley for our dogs’ favorite activity.The park was busy, as usual, and as we strolled along we were thoroughly enjoying watching our dogs run and play with the other dogs.
I felt a touch on my lower back and turned to see a very small girl clutching a Boxer pup. “Will you buy this puppy?” she asked earnestly. “We need the money for food.” The child had a strong accent.
My husband had walked on, but I called him back and together, with our dogs in tow, we followed the small girl to find her family. I had no intention of buying the Boxer pup she was holding, but I thought I should check out what was going on with the child and why she was trying to sell her puppy. Did her parents know what she was doing? Was she this hungry that she would sell her puppy for food?
We walked quite a way, following the little girl until she ran up to a couple with a bunch of pups and an adult Boxer. There were other children there, also. The little girl rattled off a bunch of words to her father, which I couldn’t understand. The man looked at us and smiled. “You buy puppy?” he asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t need another dog, but the child had said they needed food. Who could walk away from that? Then I saw her, sitting on the grass, looking up at me, and fell in love.What a perfectly sweet puppy. I asked permission to pick her up. The woman smiled at me. “My favorite,” she said.
“I must have $200 today. It is very important. Please you buy puppy. $200,” the man said. There was a note of desperation in his voice.
My husband, Pete, was sitting on the grass with all the puppies on his lap, Trixie and Wrigley were wagging their tales, and the pup I had picked up seemed to be glued to my arms. I couldn’t put her down.
I asked Pete how much money he had in his wallet and pulled mine out to check how much I had. Pooling our resources, we handed over the money and left the park with the adorable puppy still in my arms. The children were jumping up and down with excitement. The woman said “Thank you,” many times. She had tears in her eyes. We couldn’t have a conversation as their English was limited and I had no idea what their language was. What they didn’t realize in their gratitude that it was me that was the winner. I brought home the sweetest Boxer pup in the world.
The next morning, I took the pup to see our vet. The man had shaken his head when I had asked if the puppy had had her shots. The vet confirmed the pup was a healthy Boxer and welcomed her into his practice.
The Gift that kept on Giving
A really good friend of ours, Loraine, had lost her dog, a golden retriever who had passed away. It was her birthday. We decided that since we had two dogs, we would make her birthday the best one ever. Her instant adoration of the pup made it all worth while . However, Loraine worked, so would need puppy day care. We were happy to include this in the gift.
Loraine named the pup Samantha. We had Sammi by day and Loraine took her home at night and also had her for the weekends. Sammi was a healthy dog who is very intelligent. She learned all the usual commands quickly and I have to admit, she was the best dog in behavior we had ever had.
Cover Girl
Of course, I chose Sammi to be the cover girl for my book AstroPups, which matches personalities to dog breeds (available at Amazon Books in paperback and Kindle).
She always has a noble look, a kindly look too, showing her sweet personality. She has no interest in other dogs, though, except for her best friends with whom she spends so much time. Also strangers are tolerated, but not appreciated.
As she aged, we noticed she had trouble getting up, and jumping into the car. We took her to the vet who diagnosed arthritis and put her on a joint health supplement which has been amazing. They have really helped her senior years.
Cosequin DS is great for older dogs or dogs needing a supplement from an injury or illness. Our dosage for Sammi was two pills a day and although it took a little while, it was not long before we noticed the change in her ability to enjoy life again. Cosequin DS put the spring back into her step. There is a cheaper version of Cosequin DS ($24). Click on above to find this.
Sammi has a lot of grey and white hairs nowadays, but she is still an amazing dog. It was one of our luckiest days that we found her in a dog park and helped a family in need. We did not have to wait for Karma. It was instant. We had Sammi in our lives.
Boxers were suggested for Libra in AstroPups (available on Amazon Books in paperback and Kindle. I am a Libra so that magnetism was definitely apparent on that day.
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Until next post 🙂
Thanks for the lovely story about how Samantha came into our lives! She is the best birthday present ever!
First time we have had such joy from someone else’s birthday gift!
This is such a beautiful story!! You are such a good friend!! Dogs do make our life whole <3
Thanks, Valerie. I agree, a house without a dog seems empty. Check out my post of today. It will touch your heart. I always smile fondly when I think of this dog and his story.