Sam I Am

"I saw Sam the dog this morning," I said to The Mr. when I returned home from my walk this morning.

"Oh, really?" he said. I'm not sure he really knows who Sam the dog is, though. I mean, I think he knows that there's a dog named Sam that I occassionally see on my morning walks, but I'm not sure he really knows the significance of Sam the dog.

One morning last winter shortly after my diabetes diagnosis I was taking my morning walk. And since it was winter and somewhere between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., it was still pitch black dark. I felt safe, but it's still dark and I'm still a woman walking by myself. It helped that I had a dog with me. Sure, he is pretty docile, but strangers don't know that.

Since I'm not quite a morning person and my walks tend to allow my mind to wander, I was off somewhere else when I hear the kind of yell that stops you in your tracks while simultaneously making you jump out of your skin: "SAM! NO! SAM! STOP!"

Well, Sam didn't stop, but I did. I turned and saw a large, black dog bolting toward me and Tanner. I was torn between wondering if this dog simply wanted to meet Tanner or was about to maul us. My heart was racing and my whole body got flush and tense in anticipation of an attack.

Turns out she just wanted to meet us. Sam is a big, black Lab who is well behaved when not on a leash, but when she sees another dog you can forget about it.

Tanner and I would see her frequently and I would talk to her person--sometimes her mom and sometimes her dad. The dogs would sniff and say hello and I would always pet Sam and say my hellos to her.

A few days after Tanner left, I saw Sam and her people walking quite a bit ahead of me. Sam, as usual, was being well behaved off her leash. I wanted her to see me, though, so she'd come and say hello, but she didn't.

This morning, just as my walk started, I saw Sam and her dad. I stopped while they crossed the street toward me and I practically mauled Sam saying hello. Her dad said something to Sam about me being alone today. I told him that Tanner had run away. We talked about Tanner and continued walking; I stopped at least once to turn around and love on Sam again.

Apparently I'm going through a little doggie withdrawal. Which I think is pretty clear from the dreams I've had the last two nights in which Tanner came home.

Turns out I am a dog person.