Thursday, October 7, 2010

Good Bye Sampson

The hardest thing about being a pet sitter is saying good bye to my pet friends. I had to do that this weekend. I had Sampson, the big 11 year old pain in the butt Golden Retriever that I've been caring for for the past few years. Sampson weighs 110#. He is an old guy that thinks he is still a puppy. His owner, Randy, inherited him when a relative died. He was actually second in line. The first relative had him for a short time before realizing how big, in both personality and size, Sampson really is!

Sammy kind of reminds me of the golden lab in the movie, Marly. He is kind of naughty. He loves to bark, and every chance he got, he would go run to the fence and bark at the dogs on the other side. He had to get his barking in! But, as he got older, the barking became less, and his long days of sleeping on my cool tile bathroom floor, with a fan blowing on him, increased.

Last weekend, Randy brought him over for the weekend. Sammy's left eye socket was drooping...a condition that is common in old goldens. He looked a bit sad, but, thankfully, the condition is not painful. I did notice that Sammy slept almost all weekend though....maybe to help heal the eye, or maybe just being an old guy.

I knew Randy would be moving to Seattle soon, but I didn't realize how soon. When he picked Sammy up, he mentioned having to get a crate big enought for Sammy's plane ride to Seattle for the move. I asked Randy, "Is this the last time I will see Sammy?" He said it was. Neither one of us realized this until that minute. It made me sad because I knew it was true.

So, good bye my friend....have a good life and don't stop barking. Love ya bunches.