Shue's Suede Samson

In Loving Memory

SAM
aka: Shue's Suede Samson
2/21/89 - 2/25/97

Our sweet Bubba

On 2/25/97 we lost our beloved Sam (Shue's Suede Samson, "Bubba" to the family). He was a 120-pound fawn Doberman. He was one of the most intelligent dogs I've ever known. He had a heart the size of Texas and a sense of humor to match. What a clown he was! And of course, he was absolutely gorgeous. He loved everybody and everybody loved him. If he found someone who was afraid of him, or didn't like him, he just couldn't stand it. He wouldn't give up until he had made friends with them in his gently persistent way.

The day he went to wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge, there were tears on faces all up and down our street. But his departure was kind of a victory for him. His hips were gone and he had rapidly become so weak that he couldn't walk. So that last day he was surrounded by people who loved him, and whom he loved. As the injection entered his blood, I held his head and stroked him. I told him I loved him and kissed him goodbye as he closed his eyes and lowered his head. And I could feel his spirit rise into the clouds where he could run and play again with his sister, Tasha, who had gone before him. His tired old body is buried on a beautiful hilltop near our home in West Virginia, but the real Sam is in that sunny meadow beside the bridge. We miss him terribly, but it's getting better. Maggie especially misses her big brother, but she's a great comfort to me, as are CJ and Blarney. Blarney is a lot like Sam in personality, but one thing we all agree on, there will never be another Sam. He was one of a kind.

A Funny Sam Story - I've always talked to all my dogs, especially Sam, as if they were two-legged people. And they often seem to understand much more than they are "supposed" to. Several years ago, my husband had a job which kept him on the road a lot. It seemed like it never failed that he would call whenever I left the house. One night I had an irresistable craving for a salad from the fast-food place downtown. So Sam and I got in the car to go get me a salad. On the way home, I said, "Bubba, I bet Daddy called while we were gone." Sam just looked at me with that dry Jack Benny expression of his. But I continued, "I'll bet you an ice cream that there's a message from him on the machine when we get home." Still the deadpan face. When we got home I checked the machine, but no messages. So I told Sam he had won the bet, and told him to remind me next time the ice cream truck came by. This was all just silliness on my part (or so I thought). And I had never bought ice cream from the truck before. But the next day, as I was sitting by the living room window reading, Sam came tearing past me to the front door, absolutely having a fit to get out. I thought this was strange, because he wasn't allowed in the front yard since it wasn't fenced. Since I was sitting by the window, I knew nobody was at the door. But Sam ran to me and barked, then back to the door. So I got up and opened the door. As I did, I heard it...the bell on the approaching ice cream truck. I opened the door and Sam raced to the curb where he sat down to wait, right at the spot where the truck always stops for the neighbor's kids. So I went out and bought him an ice cream, which he ate then walked calmly back to the house. He wasn't going to let me out of paying up on my bet! Oddly enough, though, he never showed any response to the ice cream truck again. But he never won another bet with me, either. I learned my lesson about betting with him!

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends, so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they each miss someone very special, someone who was left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly he breaks from the group, flying over the green grass, faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into those trusting eyes, so long gone from your life, but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together....

Author Unknown