Good-Bye Samson

Well, when rough seas are all around can another big wave actually make things worse??? Sometimes...

This morning I had to make a very tough decision to remove our first Brewton family pet, Samson, from the home. Sometime within the past several weeks something in Samson turned, and he started acting very aggresively towards the other dogs. I don't know if he finally figured out that he was the biggest and strongest in the yard and could throw his weight around without consequence, or if his desire for being the center of our attention made his jealousy towards the other dogs come out.

Whatever the situation, I had to made a decision for the safety of our other animals. As much as I love Samson, especially since he was our very first pet, removing him now was the better option than waiting until something happened to one of the other dogs. I don't think I would have been able to handle that.

So this morning Alec and I put his leash on, drove him to our local Animal Shelter and put him up for adoption. It was difficult and made even more difficult by the fact that Samson rode with his chin on my shoulder almost the entire way there -- something he's never done before when in the car. It made me wonder if pets have some sixth-sense about things like this.

When I said good-bye to him, he wouldn't stop kissing me. I was "this-close" to taking him back home, but I knew that even though my heart broke as I watched a volunteer take him away, that I had made the right decision. What was even harder was watching my son go through that same heart break. This was his first dog, a dog he helped name... and he had to say good-bye too.

Samson... you brought joy to us through your constant smiles. And we pray that God brings you to a great family who will spoil you with love.