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I Have a Shadow

November 3, 2011 by

good boy Sam

I have a shadow. You may have met him already or even noticed his picture above. His name is Sam and he’s our lab/boxer mix puppy. He doesn’t leave my side. I walk room to room and he’s right behind me. I sit and he’s at my feet or his head is resting on my lap. He literally follows me “like a puppy dog”. It’s been a hard road the last couple months with him though. We’ve had countless conversations about the time involved taking care of him, the cost of taking care of him, splitting up the duties to care for him and the everything in between. There have also been some discussions about getting rid of him. Some days he was just TOO MUCH to handle along with the kids, our schedules and everyday life.

The other day was the last straw. The kids weren’t helping, the dog wasn’t listening and I had enough. We told the kids that he was leaving; we had found a family that was going to give him a good home. They were bummed and said they would help. The next morning I was doing the dishes and Shae was bringing her dishes over; I asked her to hand me her plate she said, “No I’ll do it myself”. She proceeded to put it in the dishwasher then said, “I helped you mom, can we keep Sam now”. My heart broke. Shae wakes up each morning and greats Sam with a face rub and a, “my little buddy”.

spoiled brat surrounded by toys


Sam has some separation anxiety we have to deal with and some puppy behaviors that hopefully he’ll outgrow but the decision has been made. We love him, he loves us and he’s part of the family, for good.





Why Do You Just Touch My Dog?

October 18, 2011 by

For the most part I am a pretty friendly pet owner but I absolutely hate people who come up to Sam and just pet him without asking.  How do they know my dog won’t bite their hand off?  Also, why do they assume I even want them to pet my dog in the first place?  People wouldn’t come up if you were pushing a baby in a stroller and just pick the baby up or begin to touch the baby.  Most people would just comment on how cute the baby was and move on.  People need to learn to do the same with pets.

I was telling Melinda that when someone pets Sam without asking first I am going to pet them back without asking and see how they like it.  I am 100% certain they aren’t going to appreciate it and might even get pissed off but I really don’t care.  I actually hope they get pissed and ask why I pet them so I can tell them that they pet my dog without asking so I figured it was ok to pet them back without asking.

Do you own a dog? Are you ok with people petting them without asking?










I Disclose




We Love Samson Sir Doofusshire Too Much!

October 17, 2011 by

Some of you might know that two month back I had a bug up my butt to get a dog.  Melinda wasn’t to keen on the idea but didn’t say no and she let me make the decision.  Looking back I don’t think I fully thought the process through and at the time I don’t think I fully understood how much responsibility it is to own a dog.

I thought owning a dog meant all you needed to do was feed him and walk him.  I knew you needed to house train a puppy and work on commands like sit and stay but I didn’t realize the amount of work that needed to go into these processes.  Owning a dog it like having another baby/kid.  They need to be fed and let out to go to the bathroom 20 times or more when they are puppies so they don’t have an accident in the house.  Sam is a pretty quick learner and for the most part does well will going to the bathroom outside.  Yes we have hada few accidents but most of them are because we weren’t paying attention to him when he needed to go outside.

One of our biggest problems is being able to go when we want.  We no longer can wake up on a Saturday morning and on a whim take a day trip to the beach.  We now need to worry about what to do with Sam for the day.  Also, leaving the house for any more then three to four hours at a time is extremely stressful.  Sam get seperation anxiety and bites on the cage to try to get out.  He bites at the cage so much he soakes his bed and crate with he spit and also soaks the rug.  One time we left him and he chewed on the crate so much he broke two baby teeth (new teeth have since grown in).

Last night Melinda and I were so stressed about Sam I actually put an ad on Craigslist hoping to find a good home for him.  After Melinda and I discussed it we have decided to keep Sam and do what a dog owner needs to do and that is love and protect Sam no matter how inconvenient.  I called kennels today to get overnight boarding fees and we have found a few place so that makes up feel a little better because if we want to go away over night we now have a place to take Sam.

Owning a dog is a ton of work but after talking through all of the good and bad we decided there was no way we could get rid of Sam.  Melinda was crying at the thought of us finding him a new home and I wasn’t exactly happy about it either.

I love Samson Sir Doofus Shire so much and the though of rehoming him will never happy again.










I Disclose




My Boy Sam

September 21, 2011 by

My boy Sam loves cuddling in his crate with his blanket.  He is cute just like his father.







I Disclose




Wordful Wednesday- Introducing Sam

August 24, 2011 by

So the Monday I had a bug up my butt that I wanted a dog. I figured the kids got gecko’s and Melinda got fish so I wanted a dog.  I searched shelters, the SPCA and craigslist and decided to get Sam who is a 10-12 week old Lab/Boxer mix. This whole searching thing took maybe twelve hours then I made the decision on Sam. When we meet Sam’s owner Sam was barely out of the car and Shaun was already saying “I want him.” So far he is awesome but a ton of work, right now we are in the training stage.  Crate and bathroom and boy is it a lot of work but in the end it will so be worth it because he is such a cute dog and I can tell he is going to be an awesome friend.

Sam is a great addition to our family and we are glad we got him. I am sure you will be seeing more posts about him over time.

punishment for bad behavior








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