Sammich

Sammich is a little Cocker Spaniel that Jake found on a dark, freezing Sunday night out in the west desert.  He was driving home from the copper mine and saw her dash across the road.  There weren't homes are businesses within miles of where she was.  He coaxed her to the truck with the turkey sandwich he had, hence the name, Sammich.  She was terribly matted and there was even some frost in the mats.  She had no collar, so he brought her home where she could warm up while we looked for her family.  Sammy was very polite when she arrived.  She never barked and she loved Daisy, left the cat alone, loved the children, and REALLY loved Jake.

We posted her on KSL with no response.  The vet checked for a chip and gave her some vaccines to make sure she was healthy and wasn't a risk to Daisy.  And, we had her cleaned up at the vet.  Sammy was very polite every where we went, even when they took out her one claw that had grown out and back in twice over on her back paw.  After spending a couple of weeks with her we'd guess that the vet was a little off when he guessed her age.  She had to be older than three.

No one claimed the pup and because she wasn't real well in the ears and such, we decided we couldn't take her to the pound.  We gave a really good effort in giving her a comfortable home.  And, after a few days, her and Noah were the best of friends.  She still had never barked or caused a problem but had a little potty problem.  Because we decided to keep her, we had her fixed.  While she was asleep they worked on her ears and back claws.  In the vet's opinion, she would never be comfortable and would have pain in her ears forever.  He recommended removing both of her ear drums for the low cost of at least $1700.00.  Jake and I decided to keep her happy and when her tail stopped wagging and her ears were too bad, we'd make her more comfortable (?).  I don't know how to say that without really saying it.

I cried and cried when I saw her after her surgery.  She was 100% deaf from being swollen where they had cleaned her ears.  Sammy was the most pitiful thing I've ever had to see in my own house.  She seemed to be doing well, eating and sleeping comfortably.  A few days into recovery she still had open wounds and had re-opened her incision.

By coincidence, Jake had to go see Quinn at the farm the next morning and we thought a ride might lift Sammy's spirits.  She enjoyed the cone-less, medicated ride.  Upon arrival, a nice farmer met Sammich and fell in love with her.  On a farm, Sammy would be free of crate training and could sniff at her leisure. That farmer just wanted to keep her so much, so Sammich stayed and Jake came home.  Unfortunately, a week later we heard that Sammy hadn't healed from her surgery and passed away peacefully.  We're glad that we got to have her for a little while and give her a warm house and lots of food instead of her being alone in the west deseret.  RIP Sammy.