Bye Bye, Sammy
It’s no big secret that I’ve never been much of an animal person. My brother and sister are animal lovers – or at least animal likers. Not me. As a small child, I was afraid of dogs (and must admit, dogs of unknown friendliness still scare me today). I don’t know if I became this way because there were big dogs in my neighborhood growing up, or because I grew up in town as opposed to on a farm surrounded by animals, or if it’s just the way I would be no matter where I grew up. In any case, when my older brother would peruse the classifieds for animals, he had a way of getting me excited about some of the finds he’d come across.
One Father’s Day, over fifteen years ago, I remember Adam found an ad for several purebred beagle puppies at a home about a half-hour away and the owner just happened to be a vet. After talking to mom and dad, and threatening that we’d be happy with a cat if we had to, the family (and our cousin Corissa) were on our way to check them out. When we got there, my sister Marissa (about 1 years old at the time) stayed in the vehicle with a very large box with blankets, etc. I stayed so I could watch her (but really it was because I was afraid of dogs). A while later, the family returned with a dog, whose name was “Boots”. He stood out from the rest of the puppies because he had untied my dad’s shoes.
And so, we had a puppy. On the way home, it was decided his current name was pretty lame. We changed it to “Sammy Sosa” but we’d call him “Sam” or “Sammy” most of the time. (There was no hiding it – the Greggs were Cubs fans.) He was a smart puppy, except for when he’d growl at his reflection in the dishwasher. We kept him in the kitchen, for several reasons. One of the entrances had a door, so that was always shut. The other had no door, but we laid a chair horizontally for a while, blocking his path to the carpeted living room. It was only a couple days before he figured out how to get through the legs and into the living room. Soon after, a baby gate replaced the chair. Eventually, Sam could be trusted to stay in the kitchen without the door shut or the gate.
He was apparently a hunting breed of some sort, (though, we have never been hunting and so didn’t use him for that) so he was always much taller than any other beagles we’ve met. Since Sam’s been our dog for over fifteen years (I had to think about it several times before finally deciding that had to be true – it just seems like such a long time) there have been a lot of memories. I won’t detail them all, but will just list some that come to mind.
- He had intense strength and taking him on a walk was always him dragging you around and almost pulling your arm off
- As a puppy, he found some baby rabbits in our yard – I’ll just repeat that he was a hunting breed and say that there were lots of tears
- When he was small, mom would be petting him on her lap and he’d climb to her shoulder – she joked that he thought he was an eagle, not a beagle. He continued to attempt this as he got larger.
- He was always too afraid of the stairs to go down in the basement unless there was a leash on him
- After every train whistle you would hear a very loud, low howl coming from our dog. I could hear him from the school playground (4 blocks away) during noon recess several days a week
- Dad had set up an extravagant outside cage area and garage cage area, equipped with a heat lamp, heated water bowl, and several variations of roofing. The outdoor cage had a complicated door system so we could let him in the cage with a leash, shut one door, take him off his leash, and shut the other door, then open the one door again. Eventually, he could be trusted without having to shut the first door
- He used to need to be attached to a leash (which was attached to a high wire near the back entrance so he could restrictively roam) to go do his business. Eventually we could trust him to (almost always) stay in the area without a leash. Then about a year ago he darted off and happened to get hit by a police car. He hurt his leg, but bounced back pretty quickly I think.
- Eventually he started associating going outside with getting a treat, as opposed to going to the bathroom and getting a treat – each one of us would let him out in the morning because he acted like he hadn’t been let out yet – he became a much heavier dog
The family got an email last night that Sam hadn’t been eating anything in the last week and yesterday he either wasn’t able to or wouldn’t get up from where he was laying. He had gone to the vet a few days ago and got a shot and medicine. The vet was gone yesterday and so he planned to stop by today if Sam made it through the night. Dad predicted he wouldn’t be able to make it 24 hours. We got an email this morning that he didn’t make it through the night and will be buried out at grandpa’s farm this afternoon after school. He didn’t howl or whimper, all I heard about his last day was that he sighed. Which he did a lot when he wasn’t sick.
The picture above was taken by my dad yesterday. It’s comforting to know that he doesn’t look in pain, although a little sad, and he actually *looks* a lot healthier than he has for a while. Even the cloudiness in his eyes, that had formed since I went to college, seems cleared. Notice the uneaten hot dog, which I assume has a pill in it, because that’s the only time he would get a piece of hot dog.
Bye bye Sammy. I’m sorry that I didn’t show you as much love as you deserved. You were a very good dog. I’m sure we’ll find your hair in our house for many years to come.
September 19th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Thanks for writing this Holli. It brings back good memories.
September 19th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I just remembered one major memory. Mom was making “no-bake” chocolate cookies a very long time ago and left the kitchen for whatever reason. Sam had made his way to the kitchen table and had eaten almost all of the cookies she made by the time she returned. Since then, they’ve affectionately been called “Sam’s Cookies” and even my recipe card was labeled that way. I don’t ever remember calling them any different and certainly don’t ever plan to.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Great post, Holli!
When Killer died last May memories like these came flooding in too. I, like you, would never claim to be an animal lover- but having one around the house for that many years growing up some how forms a strong attachment.
I see he was like you- you both have a fondness for hotdogs. :)
September 19th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
One minor correction: the vet’s kids had named the puppy “Booey” which was simply gibberish and had no meaning. Sam did untie dad’s shoes though.
Other memories:
-Corissa wanted us to name him Elvis. Yeah that didn’t happen.
-The fact that we named our dog Sammy Sosa was a deciding factor in my ability to get the real Sammy Sosa’s autograph. We were at a ballgame in Colorado and as Sammy came in from warming up I yelled, “Sammy I named my dog after you!” and he waived my down and signed my hat. (Side note: we named our dog Sammy Sosa in ’93 or ’94, years before the great home run chase, and also years before Sosa’s eventual demise).
-The baby rabbits are of course burned in all of our minds.
-Sometimes I forget that a reference to “Sam’s cookies” means nothing to anyone other than our family.
-I remember right after we got Sam when our neighbor Mrs. Flynn said it was a cute dog but “Don’t let him pee in our yard.”
-I remember in junior high, one of my basketballs bounced into his pen. Ellie Sanderson jumped in to get the ball. Sam, to my horror, latched onto her leg and, well, did what dogs do. Ellie screamed “Get off me, dammit!” From that day on, Ellie always referred to Sam as “Dammit”.
-One time I let Sam loose in the backyard and chased him around, on the theory that chasing him would make me better at football.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
I have actually not heard a lot of these memories; they brought tears to my eyes as I read them (I just get weirdly emotional about these things). My family never had a dog for that long growing up…it’s really cool you guys had Sammy for 15 years. Goodbye Sammy!
September 19th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I remembered the name “Elvis” being thrown around in the van, but didn’t mention it because I feared the possibility it was my suggestion. I also remember mom wanting “Bambi”, to fulfill her childhood dream of having a dog named “Bambi”. I think I probably was fond of that suggestion.
I remember all of your memories, Adam, except for the last one. And that is hilarious. It makes me wonder if you did that in 7th grade, or in college. It’s probably safe to say, however, that Sam made you a better football player.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
:’( last night dad told me to say goodbye to sam. after we ate at the pizza ranch i cried in my room for a long time. i went outside and sat on the ground by his cage and talked to him for a while. he didnt do much besides blink. then he got up for me and let me pet him, took a drink of water, and layed back down. i told mom and dad not to tell me in the morning if he was dead. i found out reading this. im glad that he died on his own and the vet didnt do it and im glad that he’s being buried at the farm. i feel bad for not liking him when he got old. i didnt think i would cry or be sad when he died but i cant stop crying. he was a good dog.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I remember the night that Sam got hit by the cop car and I’m sure Mom and Marissa do too. Adam and Holli were both off at college I believe. It was quite traumatic to see him sitting there whimpering with a drooping front leg. I didn’t think he’d make it through that night but he did, got a blue cast put on at the vet’s, and recovered completely after several months.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I remember when Marissa wrote a paper or something for one of her classes and claimed that dad told her Sam was HER dog, and that dad “gave” him to her.
I believe I was in London when Sam got hit, and the first news I got of it was a picture of him in his cast!
September 19th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Wow, I guess the cop car incident happened longer ago than just a year…
I think Dad did actually “give” Sam to her and tell her it was her dog in a way to get her to do the dog chores. Or at least, I’m sure that was an extra bonus for a while.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Grandpa found a nice shady spot out on the farm, near the sweetcorn patch for Sam. He dug the hole earlier today and he, grandma, and I buried him a little while ago. I put a spare landscaping stone there to mark the spot.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I remember waking up one Sunday morning to a messy surprise. When Sam was younger, he slept in the kitchen but was blocked from getting into the living room. Sam must have thought that the living room carpet was his personal “throw up bowl” because he had somehow found a way to get into the living room and made “messes” all over the floor!
September 19th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I have a memory of a young Adam trying to utilize some of Sam’s energy by attaching Sam’s leash to his bike and getting a pull! Did that really happen?
September 19th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I definitely remember that and was too scared to ever try it myself. I don’t think he attached it to his bike though, just held on to it. Probably smart because if he had fallen, Sam would have still been pulling the bike.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Sometimes I wish we would have let Sam roam free and maybe he would have reduced the rabbit population in the neighborhood. He would have had fun. Now the rabbits have taken over the neighborhood.
Ironically, I recently completed a new cement block wall for his shelter so it wouldn’t be as drafty for him in the winter.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
No one can argue that Sam didn’t have a great outdoor living space.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
One of my favorite memories–but probably one of Sam’s worst–was when Marissa and I would give Sam a bath using our kiddie pool and garden hose. Sam didn’t like it but he didn’t protest too much. He looked funny all wet and soaped up! Marissa and I had to run when he shook himself off!
September 19th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Our neighbor’s (VB) dog would come over and bark at Sam in his pen like he was the boss. I really wanted to let Sam out so he could teach that little dog a lesson!
September 19th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Well – I do love dogs and it is soooo painful when they die. As I told him last night he was a good dog for us. Thanks for thinking of these things about him. I’m glad we had him at our house. I remember the Sam’s cookies & the fact that he liked to sit on my shoulder. It reminded me of Snoopy the beagle that always sat on top of his doghouse in the comic strip.
When he untied Larry’s shoe that day we knew he was the one for us!
Lots of love to Sam
September 19th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
All this talk of Sam makes me think that sometime soon I’ll be writing a post like this for Patches.
Sorry for your loss, sweetie. I gave Sammy a pet every time I thought of it.
September 20th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Sorry about Sam. You know what our house will be like when one of the four leggeds go…
September 20th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
i remember sam would only eat his food when we ate supper. he would quick pick up a piece of food and eat it like he didnt want us to see
September 21st, 2008 at 9:57 am
Sorry to hear about Sam, this was such a nice post. What a lucky dog to have a family like the Greggs.
September 21st, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Sorry to hear about Sam, Holli!
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Sorry about losing your dog… it’s always a sad day when that happens. Sounds like he lived a long, happy life.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
So sorry to hear about Sam. I am sitting here with tears flowing down my cheek as I am a TRUE dog lover. I always thought he was such a sweetie. Please accept my sympathy.
Michele