Lost a friend today...

He was thirteen. Old age for a German Shepherd dog. He actually belonged to my daughter but, for his entire life, we shared him. When she worked during the week, I took care of him. He stayed at both our houses. I did the obedience training, she did the spoiling...of which Sambuca, got plenty of. We called him 'Sam' or 'Sammy' for short. He was a 'coated Shep'. His fur was long unlike the standard Shep. coat. He was a large boy with a dark face. Most people were stand-off-ish when first meeting him until they got to know him. 

Soon after purchasing him as a pup, he began displaying the typical Shepherd behavior. Protection and loyalty. He was friendly and playful with everyone but, at the same time wouldn't let strangers approach my daughter's car when the two of them were out for a ride. I always felt confident when my daughter went for walks in the woods near our home. He was always by her side. She had certainly won him over. They were practically inseprable.

In the last few years he began suffering from seizures. Many trips to the Vet. Several types of treatments but, the seizures became more frequent and yesterday he had several. He became unresponsive and the difficult decision was made to put him down. We drove to the Vet. Emergency Hospital. We were with him at the end, my daughter and I. He was calm but, didn't really know us or what was happening. I was ok with that. It was probably for the best.

Today we buried him in the back paddock where other family pets are are buried. He will be missed by our entire family...after all...he was family...R.I.P. Sambuca...);