Video of Sam, Buddy and Willow running to the house b/c they're ready for dinner.
The above video is terrible quality but you can see Sam running for the house b/c he knows it is dinner time. I've been meaning to try to capture this moment forever. It always makes me smile to see all of them running for the back door but especially Sam bc none of them love to eat more than him. Excuse the quality but I did manage to capture his excitement. He is the 1st yellow dog running towards the house. He shows up just as he is approaching the garage and Buddy our black lab is running up there too. Then I let Willow off her leash and Buddy is running back to me. Buddy always runs back to me. This video was shot on 9/20 or 9/21 I think.
Sam will be 15 on 11/10. Yesterday we got up as usual and went for our walk. He seemed fine. Mid-morning I took him out again and he didn't walk very far. When we got back in the house, he laid down and when I gave him his usual 1 piece of shredded wheat from my cereal bowl, he didn't eat it. My thoughts then were confirmed that he did not feel well.
I left to go to work and Don kept an eye on him. He let me know that Sam wasn't doing well and that he could no longer stand up. He'd lost the use of his back legs. By the time I got back home, things did not look good at all. I took him to the vet and we discussed the options. Dr Laura at Atrium Animal Hospital didn't feel like Sam's time was up yet. She recommended metacam (doggie aspirin) and acupuncture. She brought in some food with the metacam in it and I wondered if he'd eat it. He did! I knew then that she was right. Sam's time was not up. We've always said that when Sam stops eating, we will know.
By the time we left the vet's office, Sam was walking on his own. She cautioned that it could be adrenaline helping him out. He slept well last night and he was ready to walk this morning. It was a slow walk and we didn't go very far but the fact that he wanted to walk at all was a victory. He also gobbled down his breakfast. Victory #2.
He is still not out of the woods. He'll go for another acupuncture treatment on Monday and we'll keep him on the metacam. Thank God for prayer, metacam and acupuncture.
Sam has always been a happy dog. We want to make certain he is still happy. His tail was wagging this morning. I'll take that as a good sign. I am thankful for every day that I get to spend with him.
For anyone whose dogs I am seeing right now, I can assure you they are getting lots of love from me.
We found out Monday 8/13 that Buddy our black lab has cancer. It's a type of skin cancer called mesenchymal neoplasm. He will have the 2 tumors removed tomorrow. I hate this for him but the prognosis is good for him once the tumors are removed. We love you little guy and we'll be with you every step of the way on your road to recovery.
Today is Willow's birthday. She is 7, we think. We were originally told that she was 5 but the birthdate we were given for her makes her 7 today. Regardless, Happy Birthday to our girl!
12 years ago today, I picked up Sam from the Humane Society of Charlotte and brought him to my house. I will never forget introducing him to Sloan and watching the 2 of them chase each other around my backyard. Actually Sam chased Sloan.... Sloan was always the chase-ee, Sam was the chaser. I have pictures from that day that I wish I could figure out how to scan. Sam's face was all yellow. Now it's all white and distinguished. We love you Sam I Am, our 14 year old guy.