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I would like to inform all of my friends and family with the changes that had
taken place over the last week. Samson, our Majestic Great Dane, is sadly
no longer a part of our family. I would like to explain to you why, and I hope
this sad story, will educate new comers about the Great Dane Breed.

In mid-December of 2000, while at work, I received a call from my wife. She
had informed me that Samson had bit my son twice. Once on his arm, and
once on his thumb. I immediately left work first to see how my son was, and
secondly, decide what I should do with Samson. When I arrived home, I
tended to my son. The bleeding had stopped before I arrived. I made sure
my son was well taken care of before I decided on what I should do with
Samson. As you all may know, and for those of you that don't, Samson
has gone through a 9 week course at an obedience school. I thought how
could this happen? Well, I had found out that the reason for Samson's
biting my son was due to food. Human food. My daughter had gotten some
crackers out of the cupboard and took them into the living room. Samson
decided he wanted a few, so he helped himself. My son tried to get the sleeve
of crackers from Samson when Samson bit him. I called a good friend of
mine that lives in Kentucky. Our mentor, Gwen Strickland. We talked for
hours on what we should do with Samson. My first thought was to remove
Samson from my home. However, after hours of deep thought, I decided
to take Samson's training to another level. Puppy Boot Camp. I felt that
with Samson being 8 months old, he is still trainable, and I didn't want to
give up on him. There were many new methods of training for Samson.
Basically, we took everything away from him, and he had to EARN
everything from that point on. I also ensured that my kids were invovled
with every step of Samson's Boot Camp. I went very well. After 2 months,
Samson really came a long way. He became the gentle giant that the breed
is known to be. This past Saturday, March 10th we attended a dog show
located in Kentucky. We planned on meeting our good friend and mentor Gwen Strickland. After a 5.5 hour drive, Samson was a little high strung from
the ride. I gave him some time to unwind, before we proceeded to the show.
As the day wore on, I noticed he was starting to get a little aggresive towards
a few little kids that were there and a few dogs. We were all standing there
talking when a little girl and her father approached Samson. Samson licked
the father and allowed the father to pet him. Then the little girl approached.
She began to pet Samson, and Samson was giving her wet slobbers on her
cheek. Then the unbelievable happened. Samson lunged at the little girl almost
bting her face. I immediately brought Samson to the ground, and I had to
regroup my thoughts before I escorted him to the car. All I saw was this little
girls terrified face. She most likely will never trust another large dog. As we
all know, The Great Dane is not known for this type of behavior. My wife
and I had a long talk. A 5.5 hour talk. I decided the next day that Samson
must go this time. After crying many tears, I made the call to the vet, and
scheduled the awful appointment for Samson. Approx. 45 minutes prior to
Samson's last car ride, I returned a phone call from an angel, Nita, located in
Arkansas. She had read my posting in regards to Samson, and she new of a
rescue in my State that might take Samson. I have received e-mails from
other rescues, but they could not take a dog that has bit someone and drew
blood. So putting Samson to sleep was our only choice. That's when we
received a call from Samson's Angel, Nita. Res-Q-1 came to Samson's aide;.
They were as distraught as I was concerning putting Samson down. They
immediatley made arrangements with me to take Samson in. So this is where the last chapter of Samson's life with us ends. I will never forget that day for as long as I live. We talked with our children, and to tell you how hard they took it, they cried themselves to sleep, and so did my wife and I. Samson will be so dearly missed. To this day, we all still shed tears for Samson. For
saddness of losing our BEST friend, and happiness for all the good times we
have shared. We know that Samson is in good hands, and will get the proper
training to become another family member with a family without children.
There are so many people that have came to our aide, when Samson's life
was coming to an end, Nita, you are Samson's angel. Gwen, you are the
best friend any person can have. Terri, you will always be in our heart. As
you can see, I never mentioned Samson's breeder. Why you ask? Because
she never offered any help. Yes, Samson's own breeder. How sad is that? We
were new to the breed, and Gwen gave us the knowledge to grow, in regards
to the Apollo of Dogs, The Great Dane. Samson comes from a very bad
breeding. We studied his pedigree, and we now know what partially caused
his aggressive behavior...poor breeding. So for those of you that are looking
to become a Great Dane owner, please be careful with your selection. If
you are unsure on what to look for, e-mail us, or Gwen Strickland, and we
will lead you down the right path. Not only you may purchase a puppy with
health issues or aggresive behavior, but you may also experience the heartache that we are going through. This site will remain alive, in dedication to Samson. If we should receive updates in regards to Samson's adoption,
we will pass it on to you. For you Samson, you will always remain in our
hearts. Thank you for giving us so much knowledge concerning your breed.
We love you, and our hearts will always be with you. I love you Sam.

Dad, Mom, Thomas, Jacob, Mallory, Morgan, and Magnum