Sam Made the Paper!

Today's paper had an article about Dogtoberfest, and Sam was mentioned! Not by name, but there's still no doubt it was him:


In the space of a week Sam's been on TV and in the paper. I've got an up-and-coming celebrity on my hands!

Here's the link to the full article if you'd care to read: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-10-09/story/dogtoberfest-draws-costumed-canines-downtown-jacksonville

In the article there's a link to some photos of the event, including The Hulk French Bulldog and the little pirate pug I thought was adorable.

Now if you'll excuse me, my little starlet has gotten his rawhide stuck in a corner and is barking at it, and I've got to go get it out for him.

Dogtoberfest

Today First-Coast-No-More-Homeless-Pets held their annual fundraiser at Metropolitan Park: Dogtoberfest! Of course Sam and I went, along with a couple friends of mine who wanted to meet the infamous dogger.

Sam didn't wear the banana hat this time
because he kept trying to paw it off

The event had costume contests and a trick-or-treat walk with a bunch of booths set up sponsored by pet stores, grooming boutiques, adoption agencies, and the like. Sam trick-or-treated and picked up a ton of loot. In addition to the bandanna and T-shirt (for me) he picked up for donating, he got six or seven goodie bags of different dog treat samples, some green dental treats, a bunch of coupons for dog supplies, and of course the free treats people gave him as he walked by. (As for me, I scored some lollipops and caramel creams. And a promotional pen.)

I had a checkered bowtie, but evidently it fell off at some point...

I dressed up as a soda jerk/fountain girl to match Sam's chocolate sundae costume. (And I am very proud that my entire get-up was under five dollars because I made it myself. Thank you, burgeoning sewing skills!) Most everyone who saw us thought we made a great pair. Even though we didn't win the costume contest, we still had fun dressing up and meeting all the other costumed doggers.

Waiting to see who the costume contest winner is

Every fifty feet or so were kiddie pools filled with water for dogs to drink from, most of which were kept stocked with ice. Sam, being a Labrador, felt the need to actually get in every kiddie pool we passed. Drink the water? No! He'd rather attempt to swim in it. He pawed at the ice cubes, much to the amusement of onlookers. As he was attempting to stand in a normal-sized water bowl after having dipped into three previous kiddie pools, one of the booth proprietors called out, "You can definitely tell he's a water dog!" And boy is he.

Sam in the kiddie pool

We certainly had a lot of fun. We even got our picture taken in a photo booth. And for those of you keeping track, Sam has hit the 90-lb. mark. I should know, I had to help lift him onto the platform in the photo booth. At any rate, we will definitely be returning for Dogtoberfest next year. What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Pretend It's Still Friday

I know it's technically Saturday morning, but I haven't gone to bed yet, so it's still Friday night for me.

Tomorrow Sam and I are going to Dogtoberfest and wearing costumes, so hopefully pictures of that will be posted once I take them. Currently they do not exist.

What does exist, however, are some random pictures I took of Sam outside today. I brought out the good camera and the long-distance lens to take some pictures of a pair of hawks circling overhead, then turned the lens on Sam once they got too far away.

There really isn't any other point to this post, other than the silly Sam pictures. Enjoy.

My favorite Sam pose. "I can juuuuust reach it....!"


Basking in his own adorableness


Ack! It's the Loch Sam Monster!


This is the face I can never resist.

Blessing of the Animals

Okay, Sam's thank you letter is in the mail (and there are inky pawprints on the kitchen floor), so now I can show you those blessing pictures I meant to post yesterday.

In observance of the feast day for St. Francis of Assisi, our church held a Blessing of the Animals Sunday afternoon. Everyone was encouraged to bring their pets--there were plenty of dogs, a couple cats, some hamsters, a guinea pig, and even a rabbit on a leash (who was terrified of all the dogs, no doubt).

The parking lot entrance

Sam had a great time meeting all these new animals. Surprisingly he didn't seem to care for anything smaller than a beagle, and gravitated instead toward the other big dogs. His favorites were a thirteen-month-old black Lab named Duke (whom he wrestled with for a bit) and a setter of some sort. He liked the big shepherd and chow mixes, and of course the pit bull mixes, and completely ignored the dachshunds, chihuahuas, hamsters, and the rabbit. Does this mean Sam is (gasp) size-ist?

Hallo there fellow big dog! Join me in ignoring
that small fellow behind us

Nah, I don't think so. After all, he did make friends with a good number of small children.

Hallo there little one. I'm just a youngster, too!

Once everyone was gathered in front of the church, the priest read the blessing and the choir sang a hymn, then the priest went around sprinkling holy water on all the animals. When Sam got sprinkled, he immediately assumed it was raining and started trying to lap up the droplets from the sidewalk. But at least he got blessed, because heaven knows he needs it!

Sam getting blessed by Father Jan

First Coast News was also on the scene, and Sam and I got interviewed. I said I came to get Sam blessed because he's been such a huge help to me in overcoming my panic disorder. He's been a blessing to me, so it only seemed fair to return the blessing to him. I was originally going to post a clip of the video, but it wasn't posted on the news' website, and it'd cost $50 to order a DVD copy. Needless to say, I didn't order a DVD copy for a roughly 10-second interview in a 30-second segment. But Sam has now been on TV!

Chocolate Banana Split

I was going to post pictures of the Blessing of the Pets today, but those will just have to wait, because Sam got mail!

Sam's got mail!

What could it be? I let Sam have a shot of opening the box, then helped him out when it became apparent that the masking tape was too much for him to handle.

Opening the box

We opened it up and found a card from my little second cousin Brooke, who lives in Texas and to whom Sam sent a letter after her Florida visit and signed with his pawprint.

Sam thought Brooke's card was very pretty

And what else was inside the box?

A costume!

An adorable Halloween costume! Presenting Sam, the Chocolate Banana Split!

Sam without his banana hat


I had to bribe Sam with milkbones to keep him
from chewing his banana hat


Sam didn't quite understand the banana hat but
it cracked me up


Chocolate Banana Split!

Thank you so much John, Jenny, and especially little Miss Brooke! I'll make sure Sam writes a thank you card and sends it to you very soon!

I've Really Got to Start Locking My Hamper

Sam's getting blessed at our church tomorrow, which is a good thing given his recent thieving has taken a turn toward the sinful:

You're just digging your hole deeper, Sammy.

Sam already wears a Guardian Angel medal on his collar, and I figure attending the Blessing of the Pets couldn't hurt. That dog needs all the help he can get.

Never Too Big for a Lap

Usually in the evenings Sam chills out in the kitchen with Dad while I'm elsewhere in the house--tonight I was in the sewing room. But every time I enter the kitchen, even if it's just to refill my drink, Sam gets up from whatever spot he's been sleeping in and comes to sit at my feet. It's the perfect example of canine loyalty, and one look at his sleepy face is normally all it takes to get me to sit on the floor with him.

Once I sit down, he scoots forward and circles, then turns and plops down in my lap. Or rather, what's left of my lap after I try to accommodate him. As of last week Sam was 87 pounds, and when he jumps up he's nearly my height. But he still sits in my lap, even though he barely fits anymore. Even if he ends up bigger than me, I'm sure he'll still sit in my lap.

Me and my sleepy Sam

Nothing quite warms your heart like a faithful dog who just wants to be near you. It isn't the kid-brother annoying sort of clinginess; it's more the "You like me, you really like me!" Sally Field sort of awe that this creature you love so much is just as attached to you. And it doesn't matter that he was sound asleep on his pillow a moment ago, and that you're sitting on a hard tile floor, he just wants to be close to you if he can. He follows you, even when you're just going back and forth from the sink to the pantry, sitting at your feet each time, unwilling to be even five feet away. And you stroke his head and rub his ears and he heaves a big sleepy sigh and closes his hazel eyes.

I'll just say this: it's nearly impossible to have a bad day when you've got a dog like Sam.