April 29, 2009

Andy had his stitch removed. The doctor recommended physical therapy two times a week. Hopefully, this will stimulate the muscles and nerves that have collected over his pointer-finger to go back into place, as it appears the muscles have gathered around the knuckle. It looks strange, but is not causing any discomfort.

I don't want to downplay Andy's situation, as it was pretty severe (although he is incredibly lucky)... but, just in case I didn't mention it before- we are figuring that Sampson had over 125 stitches altogether. Approximately= 35 down the right pelvis/rump area, another 35 down the left pelvis/rump area, and 65 down his left side where his arm was removed. Pretty incredible, especially seeing how well the skin has healed in all three areas.

Tough guys!

April 28, 2009

Not much new to report. Our friends Abe & Kjer came over to visit, and we BBQed. This has become a frequent Tuesday evening occurance that we look forward to.

Andy's hand is healing well. He will have his single stitch removed on Wednesday, and will then discuss physical therapy. He was able to enjoy playing some video games with his friends while Sam watched- which is one of Sam's favorite things, because he gets to hang out with the guys :)

April 26, 2009

We enjoyed a very low-key weekend. Sampson spent most of his time lounging in the sun, while Andy and I played cards, listened to music, and watched movies. Life is slowly going back to normal. Andy's hand is looking good, and Sampson is recovering well. Andy plans on heading to work tomorrow - back to the daily grind.

xoxo Thank you everyone for checking in on us.

April 24, 2009

Sampson's plumbing seems to be just fine, and he's such a great dog- he cries, barks or growls at us when he needs to be taken outside, which he did today at 7pm. He's standing up on his own and trying so hard to figure out his balance with his single front leg.

The swelling in Andy's fingers has gone down. His knuckles are still swollen. He's able to bend and stretch all fingers, and he is spending more time with his hand out of the brace, moving it around as much as possible.

We're looking forward to sleeping a bunch this weekend.

April 23, 2009

Shortly after I posted my update last night, we took Sampson outside and he had a successful #2! Things are looking good for both boys. Sampson is getting up on his own- although he still needs a little help balancing once he's up. Andy's hand is looking much better and he found out yesterday that he does not need to get a hard cast afterall. Good day.

April 22, 2009

Andy and Sampson are resting together. Andy's hand is looking relatively "good." Swelling is pretty bad, but wounds are healing. Sampson is getting stronger by the day. He's becoming a handful to deal with when we take him outside, as he wants to move faster than we can keep up with (which is good). We are now concerned with his #2's, as he hasn't gone since Friday. We contacted the doctor and she told us to give him pumpkin pie filling as a laxative. Now we're waiting.

April 21, 2009

Okay- NO accidents today!!! All limbs still in tact!

Andy rested with Sampson today, and this evening we BBQed with Abe & Kjer. Lovely.

April 20, 2009

Got off to a good start today. We took Sammy outside for his morning pp. Got him into his kennel where he rested well. Andy checked on him during his lunch break.

At 3:30, I called Andy to check in, and he informs me that he's on his way to an emergency clinic, and he may have broken his hand. Wow. We're NOT having a good month.

I meet up with Andy's boss in a parking lot outside the clinic near the granite shop. He tells me that Andy is in a ton of pain and will need to be transported to a hospital immediately. After receiving a shot in his arm and a few meds, we're off to the emergency room where I drop off Andy and head home to check on Sammy. Abe & Kjer come to my rescue- as I was having difficulty carrying Sampson around on my own. After 4 hours of waiting, Andy calls us to get him. Apparently, his hand got stuck in the "CNC" machine (used to shape granite) at work. The machine had crushed his right hand, and he's LUCKY to have walked away with only one broken bone (near the base of his thumb) and a few stitches. He is now in a cast, and will be for a few weeks. He is on the mend with Sampson- they are keeping each other company!

xoxo Nurse Linsey

April 19, 2009

We were told that Sunday (today) would be the big day- to hear whether or not Sampson's bladder had shown improvement. We needed him to show us that he could go pp on his own, instead of allowing his bladder to get so full that it would leak out.
The doctors gave him meds to relax the stretched muscles around his bladder, and today they told us that he was able to stand up outside and release a stream of urine on his own. This sounded great. But, taking him outside with the help of a nurse and actually WATCHING him pee a full stream on his own was the icing on the cake! It appears that he is able to hold enough urine in his bladder, and since he is now able to stand on his hind legs (he's still pretty weak), he is comfortable enough to assume the pp position on his own terms and release! Great news. He even stood up on his own to greet us when we arrived!

The hospital was very understaffed today, so we were unable to talk with any of our doctors. But, they promised to call us tonight, and we may have him home this evening, or tomorrow morning. We'd like to hold off until Monday, as our surgeon will be back from vacation, and we would like to discuss with her how often we should be encouraging Sam to stand up.

Great news today- we finally feel a bit at ease, and Sampson looks wonderful. (see pp pic- Andy is looking at the nurse with excitement!)

(6:00) We received a call from our doctor, informing us that Sampson was doing so well that she didn't see the need to keep him in the hospital. We brought him home, and put him in his "new" digs, no longer in the kitchen where he couldn't see us, but rather, out in the middle of the living room. He's lovin his new pad.

April 18, 2009

We just got back from visiting Sam at the hospital. He was situated in a pen in the Intensive Care Ward, which was much different than the Intensive Care Unit. Here, there were many more animals, VOCAL animals. Panting dogs, screaming cats, and then our peaceful, sleeping Sam. We are were with him for about two hours.

We talk with two of the doctors that had been caring for him since the beginning. They remark that they are not happy he is back in the hospital, but they are excited to see him again. We have heard from numerous doctors and nurses that Sampson is their "favorite" patient. I have even received emails from nurses, letting me how how special they think Sam is.

Dr. Arnold informs us that they emptied out his bladder the day before with a catheter, and now we must wait to see if he will pp on his own. He may have nerve damage that is causing his bladder to fill up completely, until it's so full that urine constantly seeps out and he is unable to relieve himself. They have given him medication to relax the muscles around his bladder. They hope that this will give the nerves time to recuperate from having been stretched out to the max.

Other than that, he's one cool guy. No complaining. Just smiles and kisses.

We will see him again tomorrow.

April 17, 2009

Finally, I am caught up. I realize that the last few blogs did not provide much detail about our time with Sam, as it was mostly dedicated to snuggling and making him happy (laying with him in the sun!).

Today, Andy took Sampson to the hospital to have his stitches removed, and to look at xrays to determine how his pelvis is healing. We have mixed emotions about the doctor's discoveries. Good news- Sam's pelvis is looking great. Hardware that was inserted is still in tact. The doctor asked Andy to go ahead and stand him up, and he did so. He's still nursing his back left leg, which is a concern. But, he has shown us, during his #2's, that he can bear weight on both back legs. His front leg is strong, he will have to become familiar with balancing & compensating for the lack of a second front leg. Bad news- his bladder is stretched out, possibly inflamed. The fear is that he could have nerve damage to the bladder, meaning, his brain is not communicating with his bladder as to when to pp or not to pp.
The doctor advised that we leave Sampson at the hospital over the weekend. They will insert a catheter to relieve the pressure of the expanded bladder, and then they can watch him to determine if it is a nerve issue, or simply a behavioral matter.

We will see him tomorrow during visiting hours, and will talk with doctors again on Sunday.

In the meantime, we are keeping busy, enjoying a nice meal, and sleeping in our bed for the first time in weeks.

xoxo

April 16, 2009

More snuggling. This time we try to sleep with him in the kennel (in the living room and closer to us). Andy sleeps on the floor while I sleep on the couch. Sampson wakes up at midnight crying. We take him outside to pp- to no avail. We move him to the pen and he sleeps well.

April 15, 2009

Another day of working and rushing home to snuggle our boy.

More fun in the sun.

Still concerned about his pp.

April 14, 2009

My parents (Bob & Cindy) come up again at 7am. They are very pleased with his progress. He is now confident in rotating his hips/pelvis from side to side in order to get comfortable. I witness my dad snuggling with Sampson before I leave for work, which makes me feel soo good. My mom has become tough nurse Cindy- she's not fazed by anything crazy Sampson does, while I still jump up and run over to him. My parents have been so incredible during this entire ordeal, and we love them so very much.

I call my mom around noon, and she tells me that Sam has been crawling from corner to corner all day, trying to push his way out of the pen. What a brat!

Andy gets home, relieves my parents, hops in the pen, takes a quick nap before I get home, and we take him out to lay in the sun.

April 13, 2009

Sampson's pp-ing is becoming a concern. I talk with the doctor about whether or not this could be an issue. She informs me that it could be a few things. 1. it could be behavioral- that we have told him it's "ok" to pp, so now he feels comfortable doing it at his leisure. 2. the pelvis surgery could have damaged his bladder. or 3. bladder infection. He is no longer holding his pp, but rather, pping CONSTANTLY, and then trying to clean it up. We fear that he doesn't even notice that he is doing it. Also, we make an appointment on Fri. the 17th to have his stitches removed.

Today, we leave him alone in his kennel for the day and plan to meet up during our lunch breaks. We come home to a stinky house. Sam has performed a #2 in his kennel, and he has smudged it all over my new expensive kennel pads! Ugh. We spend our break cleaning him.

We come home to snuggle. Another great night of sleep.

April 12, 2009

Today, Andy's friends Abe & Aaron come to hang out. We put Sampson outside on a sheet for a few hours and he catches some serious zzzz's! He's LOVING the backyard.

Andy builds a platform to raise up the kennel in order to make it easier on his back to get Sam in and out.

We are ready for another week of nursing.

April 11, 2009

Cherie & Bob (Andy's parents) came up to help us today. They bring an Easter basket full of goodies (oh boyyy!). I end up running around to get the necessities for the week- pp pads, food, etc. We enjoy a lovely meal brought to us by Cherie & Bob. Sampson is looking energetic today. He's starting to demand the backyard.

Cherie snapped some great pics of my boys. :)

April 10, 2009

We gave my parents the "day off" :). Because of this, we must put Sampson in the kennel while we are at work. This was VERY difficult. Sampson struggles a bit either from the awkward way we tried to put him in, or in fear of being locked in for the first time in his doggy life. Andy leaves for work, and Sampson puts up a big struggle. I watch him from outside the cage, and he makes his way up on all three legs. He does a #2 in the kennel. Andy comes home and we spend the next hour cleaning.
We leave for work, and come home to a relaxed puppy. We take him outside to enjoy the sun.

April 9, 2009

The usual- parents arrive at 7am to watch him. We take him outside to pp. Now, he has become "comfortable" enough to do his pp business on the pp pads. Good or bad? He will no longer hold it until we get him outside. The pp is freeflowing and we are changing the pads every hour. Parents watch him during the day.
Neil & Janelle come to visit him. They have been anxiously asking to see him, and Sampson is very excited to see them in return. They bring us dinner, and after we all sit around to keep him company. He falls asleep with a smile on his face. His stitches are looking very good, no irritation or redness.
He sleeps all night.

April 8, 2009

This morning, the lack of sleep & food really hits me. I feel ill, therefore I stay home from work to sleep a bit. My parents show up again at 7am. Andy goes to work and I sleep a few hours.
My mom called the hospital, concerned about how little we are feeding him, and they recommend feeding him much more. She also discusses the fact that he is trying to get out of the pen, often. My dad and I decide it's time to purchase a cage (kennel) so that he would be secured during the days that we are unable to watch him. We also purchase padding for the walls to make it more comfortable for him. The kennel is very large, intended for a 90 pound dog, and Sampson is merely 40 pounds. We prepare the kennel for him, and realize how difficult a task it will be to get him in and out.
Andy comes home. More snuggle time. Good sleep.

April 7, 2009

I think we got a good solid 5 hours of sleep, only having to take Sampson outside twice. My parents arrive at 7am. Andy goes to work. I buy pp pads to put under Sam, as he was having trouble pp-ing. We try to train him that it's "ok" to pp on the pads. I go to work. My parents watch him. He is moving around the pen a ton, scratching at the doors, trying to get out. Andy comes home on his lunch break to carry Sam outside.

We both come home from work to relieve my parents. We take turns snuggling with him. He's starting to get back into the schedule of awake during the day, asleep during the night. He sleeps well that night.

April 6, 2009

We wake up, extremely exhausted. My parents drive up from Napa, and get to our house at 7am. They knock on the door and we are all thrilled to hear Sampson bark! Before the accident, he was our doorbell. They are happy to see him. I fear that I made his condition out to be worse than it actually was, but I did not want them to be suprised/scared when they saw him.
We carry him outside, hold him over the grass with a sling that was given to us at the hospital, and he goes pp.
We go to work and my parents take turns watching him in the pen. When we come home from work, we have a resting puppy, a fixed hot water heater, a fixed toilet, a cleaned kitchen, folded laundry, and dinner on the table. Yes, I have the most amazing parents in the entire world.
We snuggle with Sampson for a bit, take him outside to pp, and he sleeps a bit- Andy in the pen, me on the couch, switching places at around 4am.

April 5, 2009

FINALLY! We bring our boy home today. We have been instructed to keep him confined in a pen, so that he cannot try to stand up, for as long as 2 weeks! We thought this was going to be the most difficult part- trying to keep our mischevious pup laying down for 2 weeks. But, he definitely knows that standing up is difficult for his back legs, and balancing his front is now foreign to him.
We bring him home around noon after consulting with the doctor about his medications (all four of them!) and put him in our makeshift pen. We put a futon mattress on our dining room floor, with closet doors closing in on two sides, walls on the other two. He rests well during the day, but keeps us up all night. Andy sleeps in the pen with him as I crash out on the couch. At about 4am, we switch places. He seems agitated- I'm assuming he's just exhausted from barely sleeping in the hospital.

April 4, 2009

At 11:00 we go to see him. Again, he looks comfortable. The doctors are amazed by his progress. They are gushing over him- they tell us that he had never complained during the entire process, and that he seems to enjoy watching them work. Nurses take turns snuggling with him, and he seems to have it figured out- if he whines a little, they will give him attention. We are told that we can take him home on Sunday afternoon.
Andy and I decide to get out of town for the day, and we drive to Berkely to enjoy a wonderful BBQ with his sister Leslie, her husband Chris, and Andy's parents Cherie & Bob. I can't control my emotions around family and the tears are freeflowing during our visit. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from both families.

April 3, 2009

Nurses tell us he rested well during the night, which is great news.
At work, my wonderful co-workers/friends take me out to lunch to show me that they have put together a donation website to help us with our rapidly increasing hospital bills. I am completely overcome with emotion- incredibly touched by their actions- and will always feel indebted to them. Roger, Wendy, John, Lisa, Ben- you are some of the most generous people I have ever known. I will always be there for you, as you have been for me.

And to all those who have donated/emailed/written/called- words cannot express how much we appreciate your love & support.

We go at 6:00 and are shocked to see him. We never officially counted the stitches, but he has well over 100- lining both sides of his rump, and from his neck down to his belly. His fur is shaved and he has a tube down the middle of his stitches where his arm used to be. He looks comfortable, tries to stand up when he sees us, and he is very generous with kisses. We feel a bit of relief.

April 2, 2009

We are unable to see Sampson today, as they discourage anything that would excite him after surgery. We receive a call from the surgeon in the evening to inform us that the surgeries went well, and he is now resting. We can see him tomorrow.

April 1, 2009

We receive a call from the hospital. Sampson's front left leg has been unresponsive to any touching/poking. They run tests and determine that he has massive nerve damage in his armpit (as this is the side they determined he was hit on according to the damage on the left side of his pelvis). Shocking news- they would have to amputate his arm entirely, and they plan to do so while he is put under for the pelvis reconstruction. They plan to perform the surgeries on Thursday, given our "go ahead." After much discussion with the doctors & family members, we feel confident that depending on how the surgery goes, Sampson (the tri-pod dog) would still have a great quality of life. He rests, now entirely off the oxygen, and we prepare for his surgery.

March 31, 2009

We hear from doctors that the bruising on Sampson's lungs is improving. They are able to take him off the oxygen, but keep him on to make him more comfortable, especially while he sleeps. We visit him at 11:00, and again at 7. Surgeon scheduled to talk with us on Wednesday.

March 30, 2009

The waiting begins. Surgery on his pelvis has been discussed, but at this time, his lungs are so badly bruised that they not strong enough to survive going under anesthesia. He has fluids, pain meds, oxygen, and a catheter hooked up to him. They removed ticks from his fur. His left shoulder is causing him some discomfort, and he is not responding to touch on his left paw. He is resting when we visit him at 11:00 and once again at 6. The surgeon will meet with us on Tuesday.

March 29, 2009

(2am)
My cell phone rang near my bed. On the other line, a woman named Star:
Me: "hello?!"
Star: "Yes, do you have a dog named Sampson?"
Me: "Yes.. I do." (about to vomit)
Star: "I have Sampson, I mean I have found Sampson. He is injured, bad."
--- I'm standing up on my bed shaking, crying. Andy is staring at me in shock.
Me: "Where is he?"
Star: "I am at the VCA animal hospital. You need to get here as soon as you can. He is injured bad."
Me: "Is he alive?"
Star: "Yes, he is alive."
Me: "Where did you find him?"
Star: "He was hit by a car on hwy 50. I saw him pulling himself to the side of the road."
Me: (weeping) "But, he is alive?"
Star: "Yes. Is he a very friendly dog? He let me walk right over to him and pick him up. He was crouching and trying to get off the fast lane on the freeway. Where do you live?"
Me: "Rosemont."
Star: "Rosemont, wow, how did he get all the way down here?" (I'm assuming she was confusing Rosemont with Roseville, as we discovered that the hospital is about 2.5 miles away from our home.
Star gave me directions, and Andy and I drove to the hospital to hear the fate of our baby boy.

(2:20am)
We arrive. Star is waiting for us in the waiting room with her dad (we think?). We talk to her, she cries and we do too. She tells us that she was heading back home from the bay area. She saw Sampson on the freeway, pulling his injured back legs with his front legs, to the side of the freeway. She got off the freeway at the next exit (Bradshaw), doubled back to Watt Avenue, got back on 50 Eastbound, pulled over in the fast lane, picked up Sampson in her arms (I don't know how she picked him up- she was skinny & Sam is like a slippery fish when picked up) and drove him to the hospital.
(2:30am)
Doctor sees us. She looks upset. She informs us that he is alive, but injured very badly. Star leaves at this point- and we are still searching for her to say a more sufficient "thank you" since we were unconsolable that evening. Dr. Rockwell tells us that she wants to look at more xrays to determine exactly where the most damage was caused. We wait alone- well, with each other- BEYOND distraught. How could it end like this? Andy had been so strong during the entire week- looking tirelessly for our baby. He told me that he was saving his tears for the reunion. Now, he was crying uncontrollably. How is THIS the way that we would be reunited with him?
(3:00am)
Waiting. Feeling terrible knowing that we are in the SAME BUILDING as our baby that we had been looking for and missing, for an entire week.
(4:00am)
I call my parents. I waited as long as I could to call...
(4:30am)
Doctor Rockwell tells us the news. He was hit on his left side near his rump, he has a broken pelvis, possible dislocated front shoulder (from impact), air seeping from his lungs into his chest, possible spinal injury (as seen in his strangely dilated pupils). He is breathing shallow, and is mostly unresponsive. She shows us xrays and discusses where we go from here. She says that from the outside, he doesn't look so bad- a few spots of "road rash" on his side. She asks if we want to see him?
I don't know if I can handle seeing him. Andy comments "if this is the last time I get to see him, of course I will see him."
We are brought back to the emergency room, where Sam is situated on a platform, hooked up to a heart monitor. He is covered in blankets. He takes one look at us and begins crying. Suprisingly, he begins wagging his tail, which pleases the nurses and Doctor. He definately recognizes us- which is a great sign. We talk to him, pet him, snap a picture of him, and discuss possible surgery options with the Doctor. She tells us to go home and get some sleep. She will call us with any news within the next couple of hours. We leave
(6:00am)
Sleep? How can we sleep? Sampson is fighting for every breath in the hospital. We feel- overwhelmed, tired, scared, helpless. We fall asleep on the couch for an hour.
(10:00am)
Visiting hours are about to begin at the hospital. We go to see Sam.
(11:00am)
We are brought back to the Intensive Care Unit, where Sam is resting. He is very skinny, asleep. He is hooked up to oxygen & pain medication. We are told they had to perform a "tap" on his chest cavity, which requires a valve that goes into his chest to relieve the pressure from oxygen that has accumulated. He looks at us and cries out. We lay with him for 4 hours that afternoon, and go back to see him from 7pm-9pm.

March 28, 2009

Early start to Saturday. Andy met up with Linda and her hounds, near where Sampson was last seen playing in a creek near Bradshaw/Jackson. They spent the entire morning picking up various scents and following her hounds. After a few hours, they called off their search.
My brother, Neil, volunteered to help me hand out flyers while Andy was looking. Later, Andy met up with us again, and we put flyers in every mailbox near the quarries. Abe & Kjer joined us once again, as did Jesse & Jon. At this point, we had handed out or posted over 800+ flyers.
Andy, Neil & I decided that we needed to venture out into a quarry today, since we had driven the perimeter many many times. We hopped a fence, jumped a beaver dam, and climbed up the side of one of the quarries. It was HUGE. Imagine land the size of 10 football fields, with old dilapidated equipment used to excavate stone/slate/rock. We found dog poo around an old bridge, and a few spots where the grass had been matted down (as if a curled up animal were sleeping here). Linda had told us that coyotes were a concern in this area- not good. We decided to head home, grab some items to use as a weapon, and post up in this spot for the evening.
The boys went back that evening (Andy, Neil, Aaron, Matt). They waited in the quarry.
7 days No Sam.

March 27, 2009

More searching near creek/Bradshaw/Jackson.
Andy spoke with Linda, the hound- dog lady, and he prepared various items to bring with him on his Saturday morning trek with her.
6 days No Sam.

March 26, 2009

I received a phone call from a woman who had seen our postings on Craigslist. She has trained hound-dogs that would be able to recognize a familiar scent. She offered to volunteer to help us in our search over the weekend.
At 4:30, I received a phone call from a woman that had seen Sampson on her way home from work the day prior. Apparently, he was spotted in a creek off Bradshaw Rd. near Jackson. Bad news realized- Sam had crossed Jackson Rd. and was now lost in the quarries, which made our search even more difficult, as there were miles of open space that was inaccessible.
Andy searched up and down the creek that evening. He saw dog paws in the wet mud. We moved our search away from Hedge over to Bradshaw/Jackson.
I made new flyers with this updated information. Our newly married friends Jesse & Jon joined our search out near the creek.
5 days No Sam.

March 25, 2009

More searching, mostly in the Hedge/Jackson area.
4 days No Sam.

March 24, 2009

The local shelters and SPCA are not open on Sundays or Mondays. But, they post pictures of the animals that are brought in. We checked about 1,425,784,340 times each day. No Sampson.

On Tues, March 24, I was able to search the cages at the Bradshaw Animal Care and Regulation Center. It was horrible. So many animals desperately wanting me to take them home, and my heart racing as each cage was a new opportunity to be reunited with my baby. No Sam.
The SPCA walked me and another sad dog-mom through the building in search of our boys. No Sam.
Went to work, hoping to get my mind off of my lost boy. I have amazing coworkers who offered all they could to help.
We met up with Abe & Kjer after work (who had been searching Hedge all day) and continued searching well into the night.
3 days No Sam.

March 23, 2009

I (linsey) could not even imagine going to work that day- knowing that my dog was roaming the area, lost, scared, probably hungry. I enlisted the help of Andy's mom, Cherie, to xerox more flyers and give them to every single person in the Hedge neighborhood.
I started out early with the remaining flyers that I had, and went straight over to Hedge before Cherie had arrived. I spoke with three men in a culdesac off Hedge that informed me they had seen Sam on Saturday evening (around 10pm), near their house. They had tried to catch him-but he is skiddish, and he does not listen to strangers. He got away and ran out of their court. Good news- Sam is alive. Bad news- he is getting closer to Jackson Rd. which has high traffic. Even worse news- on the other side of Jackson was OPEN SPACE, for miles. Granite quarries, livestock, creeks...
Cherie and I handed out flyers in the Hedge neighborhood, and by the time we got home for the day, we had many volunteers helping us in our search. Thanks Matt, Kjer, Abe- Great friends who have treated Sampson as their own since he was a pup. Abe & Kjer are Brodie's parents; Brodie is Sampson's sister. They were just as upset as we were, which made them search just as vigorously as us.
In the meantime, we had Craigslist posts updated nearly every three hours. No calls- no Sam.

March 22, 2009

Of course, I am writing all of this after this horrific ordeal- so my memory may be a bit distorted, as we didn't get much sleep for days. I just wanted to get all of this out into the cyber-world as a means of therapy (for me) and to notify our friends and family of all that has happened these past couple of weeks.

On Sunday, March 22, we began our search just as the sun came up. Our friends Val and Steve delivered my (linsey's) car which was left at the wedding, and they consoled us for a moment. Andy and I pulled ourselves off of the couch where we slept (with one eye constantly looking out our front window) and headed to Kinko's to make flyers for our LOST DOG.
We distributed copies around our neighborhood, and headed for the neighborhood strip mall, posted flyers on the grocery store windows, Straw Hat pizza, Ace Hardware, etc. Headed over to Blockbuster. As we were posting a flyer on the Blockbuster window, the clerk asked to see the picture of Sampson. After a brief moment, he exclaimed "I saw this dog jogging through my neighborhood around 5:00 Saturday evening. Hedge & Jackson area. I know it was him because he had a blue collar on." We looked at him in shock, as Hedge is about 2 miles away from our home, and definately a neighborhood that Sampson was not familiar with. We ran out of Blockbuster and drove to the neighborhood that he was last spotted in. Thus, beginning our painstaking search for Sam.
We searched the area the entire day, to no avail.

March 21, 2009

On the evening of March 21 2009, while Andy and I were enjoying ourselves at a wedding, our 3 year old golden retriever, Sampson, had dug his way out of our backyard. A close friend stopped by the house to check on him around 10pm and discovered that he was gone. We rushed home from the wedding to begin the search for our baby boy.
Andy and Aaron searched the neighborhood that evening, as I (Linsey) was completely distraught. After a few hours of driving around calling his name, they decided to wait until the morning to come up with a new game plan.