People say a dog is just a dog, that its nothing more. LIES. A dog is a best friend, a companion, a family member you name it. It is the one thing that will always be there for you. This can be said for all animals, but for me it was Sam.
All they want to do is show you how much they love you. Not once do they expect anything in return.
Sam.
One of the most amazing pets i could have asked for. We got him when he was 8 weeks old . So small, innocent , in need of guidance.
As he grew up he became a very smart dog- he knew how to open a door or a dog gate. He knew who was coming in the door at any time of day.
You may think 8 years is a long time to have a dog but to me 8 years was definitely not long enough.
We still had so much to do: so many beaches to go to on family holidays, So many new walks to go on , So many more Sundays to lie about in the house doing nothing while the rest of the family were out.
He may not have been able to talk but you always knew when he was happy, excited or even hungry . The one thing he wouldn't let us see is the times when he was weak , ill or age was starting to get the better of him.
I grew up with sam, we all had the same daily routine. Get up , Get breakfast , Get ready , Brush your teeth, say BYE to each other then head to school.
It was the same from the year we got him when i was in primary school and most of the way through high school.
He would see us once we got home from school or work; it was his favourite time of day. It included all of us. Cuddling him, giving him kisses, telling him we missed him and he was a good boy.
On the 23rd of March 2016 this routine we had been doing for the past 8 years changed.
We had done the usual in the morning. Woke up, had breakfast, got ready, brushed our teeth and went to school. Except there wasn't going to be the same, coming home from school routine that we usually went through.
Sam had Hemangiosarcoma. An intense fast developing and deteriorating Cancer. Common to most dogs. He had tumour on many parts of his body which continued to grow as the days went on.
From the days we thought he was just tired from walks and was just getting old turned out to be him battling Cancer like a Soldier on the frontline. He was strong , didn't hint he was in pain, he was loyal.
The worst part about it was we didn't know he had Cancer until it was too late.
Once we had left to go to school the next thing on the list of daily routines was The Postman. A dogs worst enemy. As soon as the letterbox starts moving a dogs first instinct is to run to the door and bark. This was what Sam done without fail everyday.
But , just this one time the speed he ran and the way he jumped up to the letterbox was just too much for him.
The cancerous tumour which had been seeping fluids into his body a few weeks before, had once again ruptured but this time , was not able to control the rate it leaked harmful fluids around his body.
In the heat of the moment Sam fainted.
This was the moment the 8 years Sam and my family had spent together was coming to an abrupt and heart breaking end.
My mum was the only one in the house with him and as soon as she witnessed him faint she scrambled to the phone and phoned my dad. She knew this wasn't just one of his clumsy falls to the ground he would do when he was too lazy to go to his bed. It was way more serious. My dad came home and they both went to the vets wrapped Sam up in his favourite blanket with his favourite teddies to keep him comfy in the time where he really deserved the love and loyalty he always showed us through his 8 years with us.
