Sampson
When you have a dog like Sampson, you want to share him with the world. Unfortunately there’s not a lot to write about dogs like Sampson on a normal day. Some days though, they do something so wonderful that you just have to share.
I found out on Tuesday that one of the women I graduated with had passed away. It certainly wasn’t the first classmate we’d lost. But it hit me particularly hard.
Not because we were close friends in school, in fact we ran in totally different circles. Donna was a cheerleader and what I considered to be one of the popular girls. I was shy and hung with a lot of younger kids.
But when I went to our last high school reunion (my first in 24 years) Donna was the only one from that crowd who greeted and embraced me.
We e-mailed a couple of times after that and then we became friends on facebook.
Donna was a great supporter of this blog, and gave me lots of encouragement. She got sick a while ago and I knew it was cancer of some sort but I didn’t know what kind. I left messages on her facebook page, sent a card here and there and got busy with life.
I found out from her obituary that she’d been living with recurrent brain cancer for twenty years.
When I went home on Tuesday I laid on the floor with Sampson and I cried, mostly silent tears but every now and again an audible sob would escape my lips and when that happened my sweet, sweet boy would lift his head and enthusiastically lick my face.
I’d know what to say if Donna were a dog, but Donna lived life fast and free. Instead I will say, “Donna, your light will continue to shine in those you love and who loved you in return. Be at peace.”
Photo courtesy of Hartford Courant
Delilah
Tuesday night my friend Arianne, who is also my trainer posted this photo on my facebook page.
Her caption said, “Why is it that I can picture Delilah standing on your counters? ;)”
To which I responded, “well one, this dog looks like Delilah and two, it’s totally something she would do!!”
It also may be because you’ve seen her stick her head in a traffic cone.
You’ve also seen her climb through a folding camp chair looking for food.
Siriusly, the only reason Delilah hasn’t climbed on my counters is that she hasn’t thought of it.
Yet.
When Delilah first joined us we lived in a different house. That house was very small but it had a beautiful bay window in the living room. I always wanted to add some pillows to the window and make a seat for reading but I never did. Mostly the bay window ended up collecting stuff.
Our couch was positioned in such a way that the bay window was on the left and I would sit there in the afternoon and could see Hubby pull into the yard.
One day in her excitement of Daddy coming home Delilah ran into the living room and jumped into the window, where she sat.
Like a cat.
Yes Arianne, I could totally see Delilah on my kitchen counter.
Today we are joining our friends at the 2 Brown Dawgs blog for This ‘N That Thursday. Thank you 2 Brown Dawgs!!
Now that is a first – never seen a dog that size on the kitchen counter 😀
Bless you and sorry for the passing of your friend. Nice tribute you did for her. I cry to my dogs to and that makes me feel so much better, Norman kisses me and Gambler thinks it’s his que to hump me. Can’t win! Great mischief pictures of Delilah, she and Gambler would get along great and yes, yes Gambler is on the counter 3 times a day. You have SEVEN awards awaiting you on my blog today! http://sandspringchesapeakes.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/this-n-that-thursday-18/
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend! She sounds like a wonderful person. And Morgan has the same tendency as Sampson. I find it rather endearing.
I did have a good laugh about Delilah on the counter, though! I’m looking forward to the blog post when she actually decides to try that. You know what I say, “Well behaved dogs don’t make for good blogs!” 😉
I am so deeply sorry about the passing of Donna. That is beyond heartbreaking. I am so happy that Sampson helped to comfort you. Dakota does the same when I cry and it completely melts my heart. He is also like Sampson that he gives me SOOOO LITTLE to write about because for a “high energy” breed, he does NOTHING!!!! I hang my head in shame
(((((hugs))))) of comfort to you.
So sorry about Donna. Just when you started getting to know her she is gone. I guess it is a reminder to live every day like it is your last! On a lighter note, think how boring life would be with completely well behaved pets! Us little problem pets keep you on your toes 🙂
So sorry to read about the passing of a friend. But loved that the story was followed up with such funny antics of Delilah. She looks like such a fun dog to be around … you never know what you’re going to get.
~Rebecca & Teach
So sorry for your loss, Jodi. Sending hugs and comforting energy your way. I don’t go to my class reunions — they’re too far away and the “kids” who still matter to me as adults remain friends on FB or via email and occasional phone calls. My class lost quite a few of the boys in Vietnam, or later. And two or three at the World Trade Center on 9/11 (both genders). And a few to cancer and other illnesses. It’s heartbreaking.
Callie is my female teddiebear…whenever I’m upset (crying or not), she comes to me and “asks” for a hug knowing that hugging her makes me feel better. And she stays there for as long as I need her. Shadow will look up at me with those golden-brown, soulful, eyes and tell me with her gaze that she loves me and all will be okay. Ducky will look up at me with her sweet little puppy-dog face and then go back to whatever. Is it any wonder we love our dogs so much?!
I love those pix pix of Delilah! If Callie didn’t have the hip dysplasia, she would probably find a way to get up on the counters, and Ducky would be right behind her! My sweet Shadow would stay on the floor and wait for whatever her sisters knocked off the counters. 🙂
I’m so sorry about your friend’s passing. It happens more and more as we get older. I’m glad Delilah was there to be near and love you in your grief.
I’m so sorry to hear about your friend. Cancer sucks. I’m glad you had your sweet boy there to comfort you – big hugs to you my friend.
So sorry to read about the loss of your friend. I saw your post on FB. She was too young. What your wrote about her was very nice. I am glad Sampson was there to help.
Delilah is such a silly girl. 🙂
Thanks for supporting TNT. 🙂
Sad for you, Jodi. Glad Sampson was there for you. They always are.
I am so sorry about your friend but glad she got 20 yrs. my dad lived 4 15 yrs with kidney cancer and passed away of recurrence st 65
Urban hounds
So sorry about your friend. Cancer is such a horrible disease. My 30th h.s. reunion is coming up (I’m not going… don’t have super fond memories of that time, and the hubs doesn’t want to go & I don’t want to go alone, so I’ll pass). Anyway, they posted on the reunion Facebook page the other day that we had also lost a classmate to cancer. Way too young. Cancer sucks.
As for Delilah, yeah – I can see her on the counter. 🙂 A friend of my sis has a very boingy dog, and I have actually seen him up on the counter. A bit shocking the first time!
My HS class has a FB page and more often than I’d like I see that a classmate has passed…Even though it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen these folks it’s always sad…BTW, Delilah really is a clown, isn’t she? Those photos have me giggling
Sorry to read about your friend. How sad. Nice that Sampson was there to comfort you.
Best wishes Molly
I’m always so amazed at how intuitive dogs can be which is one of the reasons we have been best friends for hundreds of thousands of years. Of course they are masters of reading body language, but it is more than that. They seem to be able to enter our souls and know how to comfort us. Good Samson. And Delilah makes such a marvelous counterpart to him.
LOL!! I thought that WAS Delilah on your counter! I was literally rolling on the stinking floor laughing! And yet very surprised that she HASN’T done that YET!
I’m so sorry about the loss of your friend Jodi, and I’m glad Sampson was there for you when you needed him.
I never know the right words to say either…but I think you did a fine job.
P.S. I thought it WAS Delilah until I read on. 🙂
So sorry to hear about your friend. Wow, what a lady–to deal with recurrent brain cancer for TWENTY years!! By the way, that picture of her is absolutely beautiful (I can see why she was a cheerleader–haha!). 🙂
Isn’t it crazy to see how totally different two dogs that live under the same roof can be? Our old fart of a dog, Chloe, has always been fairly calm, never barked, independent (almost cat-like), would fetch something 3 times in a row at a maximum then poop out on us. Riley is the total opposite of Chloe…she’s high energy, prey driven, barky, willing to please, could fetch all day until she just had a heart attack and died from playing too much, etc. That being said, you’d think that Riley would be the one who would get into all kinds of mischief and trouble and that old Chloe would just sleep all day…Chloe does sleep probably 20 hours a day, but those 4 hours that she’s awake, she’s constantly getting into stuff! We have a childproof latch on our refrigerator because Chloe knows how to open the fridge. She is notorious for eating reading glasses, paper, tissues, the baby’s toys, and anything else that might remotely be of interest to her! She also pees and poops in the house several times a week. Riley gets into maybe 3-5% of the stuff Chloe gets into! She doesn’t touch the baby’s toys, will stop/drop what she’s doing if you tell her to “leave it” or “drop it,” and hasn’t peed in our house since she was probably 4 months old!
Anyway, long comment…sorry!!
Jodi I am so sorry for the loss of your friend, glad Sampson was there to console you.
I sure hope no one reads your post to Delilah 😉
I am so sorry for the loss of your friend!
Sampson is such a sweetheart.
Delilah is a dog after Silas’s heart. He was also the only dog in obedience class who tried to run off with the traffic cone.
So sorry about your friend. It sounds like Delilah can be entertaining! 🙂
I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.
My dog has tried several times to get up on the counter and she is not small, she also likes to hide out underneath our van.
I’m so sorry to hear about your friend Donna. Sending you a giant hug, lady.