Comfort and Joy (aka Sam and Roscoe).........by S. Warner

Nine months after our beloved Molly (a Westie rescued by friends) crossed the Rainbow Bridge, I could no longer stand to be without a furkid in the house. I called our local shelter to find out if they had any dogs available for adoption. I had heard of Animals Need Help of Bear Lake but never actually visited until it was time for one of their rescued dogs to find me. ANH is a small, no-kill shelter run by a fabulous group of women – all volunteers – who work tirelessly to help dogs and cats find forever homes.

The day I went in they had 4 dogs (I wish their count was always this low) and one was a beautiful white golden retriever mix. I knew he was the one but my husband needed to meet him and agree (a no-brainer, really). And that was the beginning of our love affair with Sam. We learned that he was found by a local farmer who wanted to shoot him because he was chasing deer and eating road kill but, thankfully, he decided to take him to the shelter instead. Sam was thin but healthy and was determined to be just under 1 year old and doing his best to survive our harsh Idaho winter. I'm convinced that he was saved just for us. He is a smart, gentle companion and will gladly bring home any shoes, toys or other treasures left unattended. I can't imagine life without him.

Sam

One late September night, 7 months after we adopted Sam, a car parked down the street from us. We live in a rural area with mostly summer homes so there were very few people around. Sam was outside and started barking at the car in a very suspicious way as if the occupants were up to no good. I brought Sam back in and on our walk the next day we saw a small Jack Russell terrier running around.

Some neighbors were trying to catch him, as they figured he was lost, with the intention of taking him to the shelter the next day. Once they were successful my husband and I decided to take him for the night and, needless to say, my husband bonded with him immediately. We put up fliers, checked local newspapers and websites, and had no response; so we welcomed Roscoe to our family.

Roscoe

Three weeks after he showed up in our neighborhood we found out where he came from, and when I called his first “owner” she said we could keep him as they really didn't have time for him anyway. Thus, we were able to surmise that this poor little 7-month-old puppy was left tied up in his yard all day and probably barked the whole time which explains the suspicious car and why Sam seemed so agitated. The neighbors probably got so tired of hearing him bark that they took him from the yard and dropped him off in our area. Fortunately, their irresponsible solution to the problem had a very happy ending.

And now, 3 years later, we have 2 happy, healthy furkids who love to howl and run and make us laugh. Sam and Roscoe give us a great deal of comfort and joy and our lives are so much fuller because of them.

The first day Roscoe and Sam met!

Sam and Roscoe

And thanks to Sam, I am now involved with Animals Need Help – donating 10% of all my jewelry sales and writing grants as they rely almost completely on donations. You can check out their website at www.anhbearlake.org and see some of their wonderful, adoptable furkids for yourself.

Submitted by: Sandi Warner, an avid crafter and animal lover with a big heart for rescuing, pet adoption, and volunteering with her local shelter in writing grants and caring for the animals waiting for adoption.