Sam's Many Lives

I'm remembering how lucky Sam and I are to have been together for so long - and also how many times he scared the b'jesus out of me by using up some of his "lives".  Such as:

• jumping out the passenger's side car window at a stop sign to chase a squirrel in Shaker Heights when he was about 1 year old (I pulled the car over left my dog Sara in the car and tracked him into someone's back yard where I recaptured him)...
• waking up to a trembling (otherwise normally acting) Sampson in the Spring of 2000 - going to the vet and learning that he had most likely ingested a neurotoxin (slug poison, maybe?) and it was too late to induce vomiting so he would either die or not depending on how much he  had ingested (the dogs and I stayed in bed for about 24 hours to keep him calm minimizing the risk of seizures and he recovered just fine)
• finding Sam wandering on the shoulder of Fairmount Road in front of my apartment in an area with poor visibility (Spring of 2000 - back on leash for walks and after a week or two my heart rate came back down)
• also Spring 2000, Sam coming home with a bleeding head wound after about 5-10 minutes loose in the yard (also at my apartment on Fairmount, needed to be stapled closed hence his nickname Frankendog)
• Sam's "fever of unknown origin" event in 2008 (detailed earlier)
• surgery for a growth on his jaw at about 3 years old (~1998) that was likely cancerous in the vet's opinion (it was benign)
• summer of 1998 (age 3 1/2 years) when he spooked three deer during a walk at the Polo Field (off leash, yes, I know that's not allowed) and chased them across Chagrin River Road at full speed (I ran as fast as I could because I knew that if I called him he would come back across the road - I wasn't fast enough and I saw him running back towards River Road and me, so I closed my eyes and opened them when I didn't hear a "thud" or screeching tires - he was safely back across and running toward me full tilt - Good Boy!!)
• disappearing on a walk with me and Sidney at Andrews (also around 1998) - not one of my best judgement days - I had decided to ride Sidney (a horse I was leasing) through the woods and thought it would be fun for Sam to come too - except Sam didn't stay with us and I couldn't go look for him because I was on a horse (I rode back to the barn and someone showed up with Sam asking if he belonged to anyone at the barn - whew!)
• Christmas 2010 - LAST Christmas-time Sam was not sleeping at all at my parents' house every other night - literally - every other night Mike or I would not sleep because he was barking and unsettled, I wasn't sure he would make it to Christmas and then not sure he would make it to New Year's (he did and bounced back stunningly for most of 2011)

Looking over this list, it's AMAZING that we had so much time together!!  I especially relish our last year together.  I'm guessing this gives many of you a glimpse of Sam and I that you might not have had before...  It was a long, long road and I've loved the ride. 

I'm looking forward to the next adventures that Sam and I have before us. I'm remembering to live in the moment - even the scary or sad moments.  Every moment will pass and the only one that's guaranteed is the one we're in right NOW...