Our
son and his wife, (Marty and DeeAnn), were married on
December 3, 1993 and moved in with us, while DeeAnn
finished College. He bought Samantha, a Maltese puppy,
for DeeAnn as a Wedding Gift. She was such a sweet,
smart dog. We warmed up to her immediately, even though
we had never had a dog in the many years we’d
been married. Samantha was the beginning of the love
we had to give to these precious animals.
Marty
and DeeAnn had a daughter 2 ½ years after they
were married, After 4 years, DeeAnn graduated from College,
so they moved out on their own, taking Courtney AND
Samantha with them. They worked very hard to make a
home for their little family. A few years later, they
gave us another Grandchild, Austin. Austin had some
medical problems and they felt it best to find another
home for Sam, so they gave her to someone who lived
near them. That was the last time they saw her….well,
almost.
Over
3 years after they had said their good-byes to Sam,
DeeAnn came home from work to a message on her Answering
Machine. It was from a woman, who lived in a small town
30 miles away. She had found Samantha at the side of
a very busy road, still wearing her old Dog Tags. The
lady had contacted the Vet’s Office and they’d
given her Marty/DeeAnn’s phone number. The message
said that if she didn’t want Sam any longer, to
let her know and she would find a home for her.
DeeAnn
called her back immediately and told her that she’d
come get Sam, that she knew someone would definitely
want her. She called us and of course, we jumped up
and down with excitement over the idea of getting Sam
back. An hour and a half later, DeeAnn was pulling up
in our driveway, with Sam.
Sam
had ridden in Courtney’s lap all the way back,
with Courtney petting her. She put her down in our driveway
and Sam acted as if she knew right where she was. I
immediately took her into the Bathroom to bathe her
and we took her to the Vet the next day. We were a little
disappointed with the Doctor’s diagnosis. She
had Congestive Heart Failure. Her weight was down to
5.5 pounds. I asked the Doctor to be honest and tell
me how much time he thought we’d have left with
Samantha. He just shook his head, saying, “Maybe
3 – 6 months, with some medication…”
We
have 2 other Maltese Dogs, too…Li’l Bit
and Sugar. Li’l Bit actually mated with Samantha
a long time ago and Sugar was the ‘runt’
of that litter, so we have the entire family back together
again.
I’m
telling you that NO animal has ever felt so much love.
That Doctor’s visit was over a year ago, September
22nd, 2004, & Samantha seems to be thriving. More
than that, her medication has decreased from 1 –
2 a day, down to 1 every 2 or 3 days! Samantha just
turned 12 years old on August 20, 2005.
Well,
that’s our story and we’re sticking to it!
Sam has enhanced our lives more than she’ll ever
know. We’ll continue to love this precious little
‘fur-friend’ forever! Thanks, Samantha!
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