MARIAH LYNNE: Christmas

My dog Sam was part German Shepherd, part Golden Lab, and part comedian. From the moment his golden brown eyes met mine, I knew I was in for a heck of a ride.

Sam was ninety pounds, full of energy, curiosity, and spunk. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body unless that is you threatened to harm his family. I watched him lick a baby’s feet and swim with ducks. He did have a romantic side that led to an encounter with a female sled dog in “Sam Tails Vol.1” but since we’re approaching the holiday season, I thought I’d share a Thanksgiving memory.

At that time, we lived in New England so of course November was cold. Sam, a big brown scruffy dog, had a bushy brown and black heavy coat of fur. He loved being outside. Our friend, who owned a local pub aptly called “The Dog House”, had to put his dog to sleep and didn’t want to get another because of his erratic work schedule.

It was the day before Thanksgiving.

Local pub owner Dave had constructed a large heavy doghouse for his late dog out of barn board. One day, he showed up at our house with it on the back of his pick-up. Soon after he met Sam, he knew he wanted Sam to inherit this amazing doghouse. He advised us to keep it filled with hay so Sam could enjoy the wintry outdoors for as long as he wanted. Sam loved it and loved to jump on its flat roof to watch people and pets walking up our quiet street.

We had planned, before Sam’s adoption, to spend it with my mother-in-law who lived about two and one half hours south of us. Sam had only been home with us a short time at that point. We adopted him from the shelter after he was left abandoned and tied to a fence by his former owners who had moved away. He was about one year old and still puppyish.

We knew he behaved in our house but didn’t know how he would do in one with which he wasn’t familiar, so we decided to leave him at home. Our friend Art offered to take care of him. We left late Wednesday afternoon and planned to return Thanksgiving evening. What could possibly go wrong in such a short period of time when Sam had such great care?

We were about to find out. Anyway, Sam had a long metal runner that attached him to his new doghouse. Both my husband and our friend who built it made sure it was secure. Our house wasn’t that far off a road and we didn’t want Sam to get injured.

That Wednesday afternoon, we petted Sam, loaded our car, and thanked Art for taking care of our treasure of a dog. Sam wagged his tail as Art petted him so we figured he and Art would get along fine together.

We arrived at my mother-in-law’s and had a wonderful evening catching up. The next day, Thanksgiving, while the turkey was in the oven, my husband had a funny expression cross his face. He looked at us and said, “For some odd reason, I feel I should call Art and check on Sam.”

My husband then dialed Art from his phone and placed it on speaker. “How’s our boy doing?” He asked our wonderful neighbor.

There was a moment of silence before we heard, “How’s Sam doing? When I came by last evening to feed him, walk him, and put him inside, he wasn’t there. I thought you changed your mind and turned around to come back and get him. That’s why I didn’t call you when I didn’t find him there.”

My husband’s face revealed his concern. He soon asked. “How could he not be there? He’s on that strong chain?”

Art responded, “That’s the funny part, his runner’s gone as well. That’s why I thought you took him.”

My husband then asked Art to take a look around our neighborhood especially the nearby yard with the female English Spaniel show dog that Sam had a crush on and when he was loose liked to visit much to the dismay of her owner. Sam was a ladies’ man after all.

Well, after learning that Sam was missing, everybody forgot about the turkey. We had to find Sam. “What are we going to do?” I asked my husband. I was pretty distraught at the thought of losing Sam or that he might be hurt or worse yet hit by a car.

He replied. “While Art is searching for him, I’m going to call the town police department. Maybe they know something. Maybe they even found him.” He called putting his phone on speaker again. “Happy Thanksgiving, Chief Meadows speaking. If this is an emergency, please call 911. If not, how may we assist you?”

We lived in a small town so my husband identified himself before telling the chief about our problem. “Our dog Sam is missing. He’s a large mixed breed half German Shepherd, half Golden Lab. We left him on his runner yesterday in our yard. When our neighbor went to check on him and take care of him last night, Sam wasn’t there. Did anyone turn in a dog matching Sam’s description?”

The chief replied immediately. “Nope.” He chuckled. “No one turned him in but one of our patrol cars caught him dragging his chain and running down the main road. The officers on duty said the dog looked like he was chasing a car. Maybe yours? Guess he didn’t want to alone on Turkey Day.”

My husband breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Do you have him now?”

“Yep.” The chief replied. “Sure do. He’s locked up in the pound. Today’s a holiday. You can’t get him until tomorrow and there is the matter of bail. A twenty dollar donation to the shelter should cover it.”

My husband replied. “Happy to do that. I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning to get him. We can’t thank you enough for this.” He hung up and called Art and gave him the good news.

Sam lived a long and happy life. He moved as a senior dog to Florida with us. He lived to be fifteen and spent his last six years chasing ibises and barking at dolphin!

He was so lovable and so much fun that a dog based on him is a character in my new feel good holiday romance, “Paws for Christmas.” In these challenging times, this happy holiday tale is sure to bring joy and a smile to the reader and begins the day after Thanksgiving in honor of the day we bailed Sam out of doggie jail. As the back cover reveals:

“It’s the Holidays and Jessica Munroe seems destined for misery. Nonetheless she is trying to make the best of it. Her fiancé Jake, an emergency room doctor, dumped her for his nurse and just two weeks prior, she had to put her dog, her best friend, Mazy to sleep.

Paws for Christmas

The pain of losing both the man she loved and her best friend has taken her to a new low. Jessica, determined not to stay down, is now hard at work trying to push through the holiday season by doubling up on Christmas lights and decorations she’s putting up outside her residence.

As Jessica works, a big brown scruffy dog appears in her yard and refuses to leave when she tries to shoo him away. He’s filthy, looks hungry, and seems like he needs help. A dog lover, Jessica takes him to her vet who discovers a metal bone shaped tag buried in his matted fur. The tag reveals his name, Sam, and a phone number to call if he is lost or injured.

Sam’s owner Trey Musgrove is in the hospital the victim of a head-on collision. Now Jessica’s life is about to change forever thanks to Sam, this big brown scruffy lovable dog.

Side effects of reading PAWS FOR CHRISTMAS are a happy heart, an uplifted spirit, new confidence in the future, and a smile on your face!”

It’s available now where all books and e-books are sold. Great for
holiday giving and you can buy it without leaving home! Thank you for reading the real Sam’s story. I hope you’ll enjoy his character in “PAWS FOR CHRISTMAS”. Have a wonderful holiday season and all the best for 2021!

Mariah