Sammy came into my life in a very special way. My 6 year old German Shepherd, Teddy, was dying from relapsed lymphosarcoma, and I was desperately doing research to find a breeder whose GSD's did not have a history of cancer. I found a reputable breeder that fit that criterion. I put a deposit down on a litter that was due in late June 1996. I told the breeder I wanted a healthy, happy, intelligent dog with a wonderful temperament. I wasn’t asking for much, right! The breeder owned Sammy’s father (a champion) and five of Sammy’s uncles and aunts (most are champions), and I could see that they were all beautiful dogs with great disposition. However, they were all extremely thin. I didn’t put much significance on that fact because the breeder told me that most GSDs are overweight and should really look like her dogs did. Sammy’s mom gave birth to a small litter on July 2^nd, which was several days late. One puppy was delivered stillborn. That scared me. However, July 2^nd would have been Teddy’s 7^th birthday. He didn’t live that long, but to get a new puppy with the same birthday was like a sign from Heaven. I believe that Teddy is Sammy’s angel who guided me to him.

Sammy came home to live with me when he was 10 weeks. He was top show pick of his litter, and was very gentle and incredibly smart. The breeder had been feeding him a home-cooked diet that included raw chicken necks, calcium-magnesium supplements and Prozyme - a plant source of digestive enzymes.  That and the thinness of her dogs should have tipped me off to a possible pancreatic disease problem much earlier than it did. Sammy’s appetite was great, but he didn’t poop for 3 days. I was told not to worry about that – it was just the excitement of a new home that was keeping him from pooping. When he finally did poop, he had diarrhea. I had had so much prior experience dealing with GSD's with diarrhea that I said to myself, no problem, I can handle this; I just can’t handle any more cancer. Sammy’s diarrhea persisted and he was clearly not thriving. I therefore brought him in for testing, and found out that Sammy had giardia. None of my previous dogs ever had that problem and I hadn’t taken Sammy anywhere but my yard so I knew he had contracted the giardia before he came to me. We put him on Metronidazole, which eliminated the giardia but not the diarrhea. Sammy was getting thinner and thinner by the day.  I took him to a specialist in an emergency clinic in our area. Testing showed that Sammy had very low blood IgA (Immunoglobin A) - which is a sign of possible lymphangiectasia. The specialist suggested that I put Sammy down. The thought of killing my beautiful new boy was something I couldn’t bear. So I went to another vet and then another. I told each one that Sammy had been given a diet containing raw chicken necks. (I stopped that diet at the first sign of diarrhea.) It didn’t occur to any of the vets to test him for Salmonella. I was at my wits end trying to save my puppy who was dying in front of my very eyes. Then I found a new vet in the area - a board certified internist - who ran a test for Salmonella. It was positive and Sammy was put on Clavamox. His diarrhea went away, and for about a year and a half, he did pretty well. However, he was always on the thin side, even though he ate like a horse. Then he developed horrible anal gland problems, which drove him crazy. He freaked out when I tried to put an Elizabethan collar on him to keep him from licking the area, so I tried the next best thing -- jockey shorts. I cut a hole in them for his tail and slipped his legs through the leg holes. I went through several sizes before I found the size for Sammy - size 36. They don’t fall off, and they help deter licking. Not many dogs would tolerate wearing jockey shorts around the house, but Sammy is and has always been a saint. He is incredibly good-natured, and patiently allows me to wipe his rear end, and put Desitin on the area. Sammy also adores his vet, and he is the only GSD I have owned who is friends with the UPS driver. They play ball together whenever I get package. Sammy thinks the UPS driver has come to visit him.