Samson Is 10!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SAMSON, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

Me: Dearest Samson, you are the sweetest dog that I have ever known. You are patient, loving and kind. You are the best watch dog, you hear everything from far, far away. And, as I once learned, you will protect me should anyone want to harm me. 

You have been ill so much in your ten years on this earth. But you have borne that burden with equanimity. When you went to the eye doctor, he put you on a metal table, put a muzzle on your sore nose, raised the table, turned out the lights and then shone all sorts of lights and put all sorts of drops into you eyes. You went through it all totally calm, you didn't flinch, you didn't move, you just stayed your peaceful self. 

Last week, you were at the groomers for almost four hours. Jennifer said you were so good the whole time, until it came time to do your tail. Almost four hours in, you lost a bit of your patience. You whined to let her know you had just about had it. As had she, so no harm done, she made you beautiful and clean again. 

You are feeling so much better now, but you still have to take steroids, in small amounts, which makes you hungry, so, so hungry. I wish I could explain why you are hungry. Sometimes, I fuss at you when I'm in the kitchen preparing a meal for myself. I tell you to leave, softly at first, then louder, then I may yell. This doesn't bother you, you don't leave, but Faith gets so upset when I raise my voice, I have to behave myself. 

And that's the only problem with you - you are one hard-headed Nordic dog. Maybe you Nordic dogs needed to be this way in order to survive under the harshest conditions. You are not my first Nordic dog. Maybe your ancestors needed to take charge, maybe they understood what to do better than the humans they lived and traveled with. Once a long time ago, when your breed was young and in the process of becoming. 

You are the best of dogs, my sweet Samson. Happy Birthday to you and many, many more.

I will always love you. So very much. ~ Mommy

Faith: Happy Birthday, dear Samson. And if there's any cake, cookies, or something like that ~ don't eat it all, make sure I get some (a lot) too!

Earthquake Addendum:

Friday evening, the earth out in the Mojave desert shook again, this time much more violently, a 7.1 earthquake near the town of Ridgecrest, in our county of Kern. I was in bed, watching TV, and the bed shook for what seemed a long time. This quake was so strong, everyone felt it, even in Mexico and Arizona. The dogs were fine, and I was too. So all is well here.