Wife Without Borders: Eleven.

Today Samson is 11 years old. Just yesterday someone asked if he was a puppy. Not bad for a geriatric spaniel. It’s unbelievable to me that we are celebrating this milestone. He was 8 years old when our vet in Scotland cautioned us that the end was near and all we could do was monitor his quality of life. Here we are 3 years later and he is still kicking.

That being said, I do feel in my heart that this will be the last birthday he celebrates. While he’s been stable and asymptomatic for years, over the past few weeks we’ve seen a rapid decline in his mobility and energy level. He is starting to lose strength in his back legs making it hard for him to get on and off the couch and to squat or lift his leg to do his business.

Despite his recent difficulty in getting around he is weirdly following us around the house more than ever. Whereas he used to exclusively stay downstairs, now he comes up with us into the playroom and even follows me into Forest’s room when he wakes up in the morning. I’m not sure if he senses something happening with the upcoming move which has him more clingy or if he’s not feeling very well himself and just wants to be near us.

I think we’ve been preparing for the down-turn for years now and feel like we just want him to be able to age gracefully and with dignity. Already we’ve had to cut back on his walks which I know has been a devastating blow to him. I hate leaving him behind when we head to one of the farther parks, but with his mobility and heart issues, I know he would just push himself beyond what’s healthy for him.

But you just never know. Despite his heart murmur he’s been incredible healthy and active these last few years. This could be a minor setback and he could still have a lot of life left in him. We sure hope so because I’ve never met a dog more irreplaceable than Samson. He is just the most gentle, friendliest, snuggliest, beautiful and dignified dog I’ve ever known. If I was ever going to clone a dog, this would be the one.

He is a great testament and example of one of the most loved dog breeds out there. We have certainly been completely charmed in our 7 years with him (he was adopted at 4 years old) and feel constantly blessed that he’s ours. Happy birthday to our sweet ‘Sammy Sammers’.

Thank you for being so adaptable and easy going. It can’t have been easy but you sure do bring joy even amongst the chaos. And you are an all-star in terms of not only tolerating, but embracing the feral toddler who thinks you are the best thing since pull back cars.