when i was young, my father came home with a present
Tue May 15, 2007 at 01:31:48 AM PDT
it was so small, it fit into the palm of his hand - from fingertips to wrist - sleeping.
yep, that was my introduction to sam - samson, cuz who knew WHAT he could do if his hair ever grew! sam, the chihuahua, became an integral part of my family's life. confident, secure in his greatness, he would frequently chase german shepherds from our yard - never realized the reason they ran away was due to my father being on the other end of the leash... but we let him believe in his own courage. all 11 pounds of it.
sam talked. not barked. talked. he was singing for a handout one day when a member of the family walked by and said, if you're going to make him talk, then make him SAY something... and something he did.
he developed an amusing vocabulary... screaming at the top of his tiny lungs "i RAWNT it! i RAWNT it!" when someone had a tasty tidbit within his clever grasp! and, he always GOT "it", too. we'd say, "SIC'm sam! and he'd yell back "ALLRIGHT!!!" he freaked out more than one person holding some tidbit when he marched up to them and demanded his share!
his elocution was so good, he went to speech class with me and proudly proclaimed his desires in front of a classroom of astonished girls!
but, sam was not only clever, he was wise.
as a young exuberant pup, he would scamper up to the neighborhood cat (the one grown men crossed the street to avoid - but that is another story for another day) and worry tom until he had put up with enough... tom would, with claws sheathed, simply bat away the ratsized bundle of energy and look bemused.
no ice cream cone was safe from sam - humans got the part ABOVE the cone - at cone level, it was his... and he never failed to let us know, either with the insistent demanding "i RAWNT IT!" or by simply reaching up and grabbing our hand with his paws and TAKING it! many a time, his head became stuck in the cup while finishing off our cokes - but that was no problem for the unflappable sam. he just lifted his head and let the sweet liquid pour down his throat!
he judged every date i ever had - if he passed the sam test, sam would sit contentedly between us. if he sensed something i had missed, that poor guy couldn't get within arms range of me. sam had the best judgement of anyone in our family. he never proved wrong!
of course, for family members - cousins, and the like - he would hop into their laps, get all compfy and stay there. he stayed until HE was ready to leave, since if the poor unsuspecting relative or guest tried to get up, he or she was met with massive snarls and threats. no one moved until sam was ready to depart that lap!
now, between my sister and i - he took another tact. my sister and i were so much alike, we fought constantly... each accusing the other of stealing our ideas - never realizing we shared them equally. sam was no fool. when we broke out into massive discord, sam would join in. he always picked the winning side of the argument. never once did he try to protect the one who was being bested. he knew that his strength lay in siding with the prevailing winds.
he grew frail at 12 1/2 until we brought a new resident into the house - a little abused bichon frise... and, suddenly, hormones kicked in and sam grew strong and brave for another 4 1/2 years. our little warrior was so amazing - from turning down his own covers (flinging his blanket high into the air and swiftly circling and curling before it landed perfectly over him) to putting on his own sweater (could get head and one leg through, but then needed some assistance) to knowing which were HIS christmas gifts and sitting and watching them with great anticipation until the big day arrived when he could open them... sam was an extraordinary addition to our lives.
here's to you, sam - the little reindeer chihuahua who rode around in my father's hand as he stole all our hearts as we grew much wiser in his company.
Permalink | 13 comments