Entered: 10/26/2014
Status: Adopted
Age: 5
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 73 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Goochland, VA
Health: UTD, HW-, treatment complete for a positive Lyme screening, receiving an inexpensive medication for anxiety
Temperament: Good with people as young as 8 (younger unknown), good with other dogs, good with cats
Original: “He sleeps on a dog bed beside his foster parents’ bed at night and makes sure he follows his foster mom if she goes on a midnight bathroom trip.”
When his Maryland owners had no time for Sam, they relinquished him to a shelter where he was absolutely terrified. One of the shelter’s foster homes took Sam into their care for a couple of months and worked with him on his anxiety. Sam became a MAESSR boy when the shelter staff decided it would be better to let a group familiar with the breed place him.
His foster parents have found Sam to be an absolutely wonderful house guest. He is totally housetrained but does not like to be crated. He is so well-behaved that his foster mom would not have crated him anyway! He sleeps on a dog bed beside his foster parents’ bed at night and makes sure he follows his foster mom if she goes on a midnight bathroom trip.
Sam was an excellent patient at his vet appointment as long as they went slowly with him. Although he was very anxious, he did not act out. His exam was within normal limits except for some hyperkeratosis of the nose and a large lipoma on his left side. The vet said that if the lipoma gets bigger, it may need to be removed. Since Sam tested mildly positive for Lyme disease, he will be receiving an antibiotic for 30 days to treat it. He is currently on an inexpensive medication to help with his anxiety which seems to be making him feel much better. He has been friendly with new people coming into the home so he is expected to do even better with continued use.
Sam’s foster mom asked the vet to check his thyroid levels to see if they were possibly low which could account for his large size. He has been losing weight, though. When he first went to the shelter, he weighed 78 pounds. By the time he came to MAESSR, he was down to 72.
Additional work with leash walking is in Sam’s future as he currently “pulls like a freight train” when out for a walk. His car riding skills need no improvement, though, since Sam rides well in the car.
This sweet boy loves to be close to his people and he will be a wonderful addition to any family.