Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Shy Sammy

Since Sammy is so shy with the camera, I do not have many photos of this big black baby! He requires the use of the long lens and quickness is key.

Sammy loves to explore with Little Bear each morning when the sun rises (uhhhh, not a good thing for his mother!) so he pitter patters into the bedroom patiently awaiting freedom. Should I choose to ignore him, hoping for a change of mind that allows me precious sleep, then small, tiny whines barely escape his black mouth. It is never an aggressive bark, always sweet little 'please Mommy, I need to go out!' noises. He is such a good boy unless he decides to consume deer excrement or disobey his mother and heed his urge to chase deer. Sammy is extremely frightened of collars and we are unable to use the underground electronic fence collar on him. The deer know the other dogs cannot get to them so they bravely graze near the borders driving Coty crazy. Finally they are learning to distinguish Sammy from Little Bear after a few close calls. Sammy does obey my loud demands for his immediate return but the excruciating dark memories of Black Jack will forever push painfully forward during these occasional jaunts. Thankfully, with a few years of successful Sammy watch, his desire to leave lasts only minutes and his 'dining room den' of safety beckons for his beautiful sleek round body to join the numerous gracefully curved wooden legs. Why he likes this table is beyond us. At times he will choose a soft puffy dog bed in the living room and rest with the others.

Sammy loves to play with the toys and hoards them in his the dining room den so the others cannot find them. His play growl sounds ferocious when we tug the toys and I call him 'junkyard dog'. Sammy loves to be in 'leg jail'. He finally has settled down so we can pet him without our wrists and arms being trapped between his pointed teeth. He loves to nibble on uncovered toes which is a no-no of course but he always remains gentle.


I am writing about Sammy today because my good friend Sharon (Devil Dog's mother) alerted me to a stray up and across the road that looked identical to Sammy. Worried with fear, she called me to see if Sammy was ok. I saw that dog yesterday. He had a bag of garbage in his mouth and at first I thought it was a small animal. When I looked back, carefully keeping the car on the road, I did notice that he was built exactly like Sam. What a pity. I chastised myself for not having dog food in the back of the car like I usually do. It was getting dark. I had a long day and the chores of caring for the horses and our 13 animals needed completing. I am thinking of driving around that area. This time I will have food.

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