Welcome to our family Sam!

I’d like you to officially “meet” Sam, the newest addition to our family! He is a handsome, sweet, 7-year-old basset hound who we found through the Animal Humane Society. Since Bear passed away back in June, we had been keeping our eyes out for another “senior” dog, but first we had to figure out a way to get my dad on board (when my mom adopted Bear, my dad was on a fishing trip—my mom said she couldn’t pull that off a second time, LOL). It was my mom’s birthday last week and we were out for dinner. I was playing around on my phone and for some reason, I decided to do a search on the Animal Humane Society website and came across Sam. The next day, my dad had to go to Chicago for a trade show, so my mom and I went up to AHS in Coon Rapids to meet Sam to see if he might be a good fit. However, when we arrived we were unable to spend one-on-one time with Sam because someone else had put a deposit on him (which meant that they had until 7:30 the next day to come and adopt him). We were still able to meet him back in the “jail” area (where the cages are—but I call it “jail”) but unable to actually pet him and spend time with him. When we walked up to him, he was barking away and “telling” us all about his time there. Bassets are very vocal and he was no exception, LOL! But his tail was wagging the entire time. Anyone who knows our current basset hound Toots knows how much they “talk.” And then when we started walking away, he started moaning and whining. I was sad to leave him but my mom said that we should be happy that he got adopted and that we had to get Dad on board anyway. She said if it was meant to be, that he would find his way to us and things would all work out.

Well, the people at AHS said that if the people didn’t follow through, then Sam would be put back up for adoption and back on the website by 8:00 the next day. I was thinking about him all day. That evening, I kept refreshing the website to see if he had gotten adopted or not. By 8:02, I found him—he was available after all! I couldn’t believe it! So my mom and I had to figure out a plan to get my dad up to the Coon Rapids Animal Humane Society to meet Sam.

My dad got home from his Chicago trip on Friday afternoon, so my mom and I told him that we were going to go to a surprise restaurant for dinner. He fell for it and off we went. As we started driving to Coon Rapids, he could NOT figure out where we were going (AHS is about 30 min from our house). He finally saw the sign and said, “OMG you tricksters, I know where we are going!” Luckily he was laughing about it…and he agreed to go in! We told the lady at the front desk that we were there to meet Sam. She was going to bring him out to meet us but my mom said she thought it was important for my dad to see the “jail” (cage) area. So we walked up to Sam and he was just like the day before—barking/telling us all about his plight. The AHS lady brought him back to see us and he was so sweet. Smart too, because he immediately put his paws on my dad and was whining and looking into my dad’s eyes trying to hypnotize him, LOL. My dad is a big softie and was like, “Well, you had better find out what his story is” and that’s when I knew we had him. We asked all sorts of questions and learned more about Sam.

We found out that Sam came from a shelter in Oklahoma that lacked the resources to care for him. I am not sure how long he was at that shelter, but he had been at the Coon Rapids shelter for a month. He had a dog “sister” (a border collie named Daisy) who was surrendered at the same time as Sam (we found out she had already been adopted). He was raised with children and it made me sad to think that something really bad must have happened that a family would give up their two dogs. But I am glad we were there to help give Sam a second chance.

We filled out the paperwork, paid the fee, and Sam was officially ours! I was so excited. We finally DID take my dad to that “surprise” restaurant, which was Chik-Fil-A! Ha ha! I was just so happy that my dad let us get another dog that I would have agree to go to pretty much any restaurant!

On the first night, Sam met our existing basset hound Toots (who is 8). They look like they could be brother and sister. Sam walked into our house like he had lived here forever and made himself right at home. He snuggled up by the fireplace and that is still his favorite spot in the house. He and Toots are so cute together and I think he is going to be a GREAT fit. Today my mom took them to the dog groomer (he was pretty stinky after all that time in the shelter but he smells like roses now)! The dog groomer said he LOVED having a bath and was such a good boy! I am so proud of him. He is so cute and loving!

If you are EVER thinking of getting a dog, please consider a shelter dog first. There are so many dogs looking for a warm, loving home and you truly have the ability to change their lives. And I know they will bring so much to yours in return. My motto is Don’t Shop—ADOPT and I believe that with all my heart and soul. It is the right thing to do and you will not regret it!