Our Memories of Sammy.

There is no way to describe Sammy without Taifun. They were with us and each other for 12 years.
We first met Sammy at Royal Kennel in Moscow on our way to retirement in Colorado. Taifun had been with us a year and was a big pup. While we visited with Pam, Taifun was harassed by dozen young Shibas playing pick on the new kid. One young Shiba sat next to Irmi the entire time just wanting to be petted which she did. Our old Shiba Joshi had passed a couple of months earlier and we still weren't thinking about another dog.

A few weeks after arriving in Colorado, we decided that Taifun needed a companion; we spoke with Pam who told us she had special little Shiba who was very sweet but had suffered some bad luck and been in and out of her kennel. He was Taifun's half brother, a year older and very accommodating. We agreed and Sammy was flown to Salt Lake City where we met in the Luggage Terminal Office. When I opened his cage, cautiously, he licked my hand and I put on his leash. He came out of the cage and never went back. That night he slept on the bed with Irmi, Taifun and myself..

Sammy was a great traveler; he would fall asleep within 5 minutes of getting in the back seat. He didn't care where he was as long as his brother and people were with him. I always said that Sammy would storm Hell with a bucket of ice to stay with his people. Sammy deferred to Taifun when they met new people; Tai was the meeter and greeter, but after 30 seconds he moved off and then Sammy would remind them that he was there and wanted to be petted. Sammy would sit/lie for hours next to some one willing to pet him. Tai stayed close but just out of reach.

Sammy was always a bit more independent than Tai; a few weeks after he came to us, he bolted through an open gate after one of the many cats near us with Tai in hot pursuit. I called to them and Taifun returned, unusual in a Shiba. Sammy disappeared and we spent hours searching for him on the canyon rim, (mountain lion country). He showed up several hours later, totally unconcerned.

For the next 10 years we took Taifun and Sammy on all our RV trips: Bisby and Tombstone (13) , Grand Canyon North(14) and South, Las Vegas (15) , Bryce, Zion(16), Arches, Canyon Lands, Mesa Verde and on Jeep trails in the Rockies(17) yellowstone, badlands. The Shibas were always with us. Sammy was always a good (relaxed) traveler; Taifun, however, became increasingly anxious riding in the truck and was usually exhausted at the end of each travel day and immediately collapse and slept in the RV.

Sammy's only real concern seemed to be "not to be left behind". He showed real fear the first time we went to the vet, but relaxed once we returned him to the car. As it became increasingly clear to him that we were truly his furever home and family, he became absolutely comfortable in whatever surroundings he found himself. In later life, he would fall asleep during his acupuncture sessions. It should be noted that Sammy was never alone for the rest of his life after Salt Lake City. I called him my little "Boll Weevil" because he came lookin for a home and he found one with Taifun, Irmi, and Scott.

Sammy passed in his sleep, as he had lived much of his life, lying next to Irmi.

Please also visit Joshi (We-Sedso Joshe).