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So, when Jeff and I moved in our new house about a year ago, there was a little stray dog that had taken up residence in our garage. The morning that we closed on our house, while standing in our soon-to-be garage with our builder, Sam, this little guy popped his head in and it was love at first sight! His little sad eyes quenched my heart and screamed for me to take him in and love him forever. The only problem was, he was scared of EVERYONE! Whenever anyone would get within 10 feet of him he’d run away. Turns out, the whole neighborhood had been trying to catch him for months but nobody could ever get close enough to get him.

So for the next week, I bugged and bugged the builder anytime I saw him around our neighborhood, “have you seen my little doggy?” He would always laugh and shake his head. I made builder Sam promise me that if he ever got close enough to the little dog that he’d bring him to me. Sure enough, about a week later, our doorbell rang at 7:30 am. I knew instantly that it was Sam and that he’d caught the dog and I was right!

That first day he was SO mangy and dirty. He had fleas and ticks and probably some other small creatures hidden in his fur. I instantly took him to the vet and then to the groomers. I’ll never forget the shock that I felt the first time we got him shaved. When they brought him out, they had to convince me that it was the same dog. I laughed and laughed and laughed. Before his grooming, we really weren’t sure what kind of dog Sammie was, but it was made very clear to us afterward that he is a poodle!

Now, almost a year later, I can honestly say that I A•DORE this little dog. He is my shadow and has such personality, I just love him to death. I can’t, for the life of me, understand why anyone would have put him out or allowed him to get lost. Anyway, since it’s summer and it’s like 100 degrees outside, I’ve known for the last few weeks it was time to get him shaved again. I L-O-V-E shaggy Sammie but I don’t want him to be too hot. So today, when I picked him up from the groomers, I chuckled just like I always do and remembered that first time. It never gets old, everytime, it’s still funny.