Brookehaven National Secret
December 19, 2006 – February 3, 2021
Sammie (Sam, and on rare occasions Samantha) became the oldest dog we’d ever owned at just over 14 years and a month when she passed. She came to us in 2010 after we returned from an overseas trip and were ready to increase our pack. She fit right in, of course. Initially, it was with Helen and Dagmar, and later with Chester.
She was known for what we occasionally referred to as her “machine gun” barks as she ran down the hall. We often joked she had the Corgi bark equivalent of an eastern European weightlifter, as they were deeper and louder than her small stature would suggest.
Sammie was always low-dog in the pecking order, which she handled with grace. While she didn’t really like car rides (especially not to the vet!), she enjoyed being in other places, like Pacific Beach. It was there that she and Dagmar would occasionally let loose with a romp in the sand.
Maybe it was the water. Like many of the dogs before and with her, she loved getting “hosed” in the summer months when it was warm & dry enough for that to be an option, and enjoyed the snow on the rare occasions we had some.
She was diagnosed with IBD in late 2019 and started to slow down significantly. She’d make sure to be with us, wherever we might be, but spent more and more of her time sleeping. We can’t really point to one thing, whether it was her IBD, failing kidneys, or something else, but in the end, it was clearly time.
She was with us for 11 precious years, and honestly, one of our least dramatic residents. She was steady, she was loving, and she was always a good girl. (Except, maybe, for the in-house peeing, but by then she’d earned an old dog’s pass — we accommodated her.)
Needless to say, she is missed.
Thank you to
Helping Hands Veterinary Clinic, Lynnwood, and Dr. Cherie Guidry and her entire staff for their help and support.
Animal Emergency Services (AES), Kirkland, for their care and compassion.
Animal Medical Center of Seattle, Shoreline, and Dr. Spry, for her diagnostic efforts.
And of course Brookehaven Corgis for the honor of having Sammie.
What a beautiful tribute to wonderful dog and family member. My heart goes out to you and your family.
What a wonderful tribute to a gorgeous girl .we have two rescues and don’t know their exact ages our Hannah favors Sammie so much .she’s probably 14 right now .I cherish every moment
thank you for sharing your lovely girl she will be forever in your heart✨
Rachel, Jim and I send our sympathy for your loss – and watching that video, she was clearly a great herder!
My only Sammie story goes back to a Corgi Aid picnic, when there was a brief kerfuffle and Kathy took Chester (I think) inside to check for wounds – and Sammie and I followed to ask if she needed any help and had Sammie been backing up Chester? Kathy said, Sammie would never hurt anyone….a tribute indeed.
Leo and family,
I’m so sorry for your loss. What a wonderful, wonderful tribute.
You gave her a good life and she responded with all her corgi love. So sorry.