Happy Tails
Letter to Sam’s first mom
By Susan G.
Sam, the black lab was surrendered to Pet Haven by an owner who loved him dearly. Life circumstances became overwhelming and she was faced with the most difficult decision, and with a heavy heart she surrendered Sam to Pet Haven in hopes that he would be placed in a loving home. A year later her heart still aches for Sam, and asked Pet Haven if we could provide an update on Sam.
The following is a letter that Sam’s new guardian asked us to pass along to Sam’s first mom, and with her permission, we share this heartfelt letter:
To Sam's First Mommy:
Sam continues to be the light of 
our lives. In September we moved into a larger home, complete with a huge, fenced in back yard for Sam. Sam adapted well and spent many hours this fall barking at the squirrels running through the trees. Sammers enjoys his daily walks (or bike rides) and receives a lot of attention wherever we go.
Sam Sam likes to sneak naps on the couch (even though he knows he's not allowed on the furniture!), and can be quite naughty at times. Most recently he has taken to grabbing food off the kitchen counter. It started with a half dozen corn muffins, progressed to my homemade Christmas cookies and just this evening a pan with cooled bacon grease. Yet he still remains at a healthy 80 pounds!
Sammer Jammer has become very attached to our good friends who live just a few miles away, and their Golden Retreiver Lola. Our friend's 4 year old daughter calls Sam 'My Blackie' and always wants to know if he's sleeping over night. Sam and Lola love to chase each other around the yard.
A true testament to the impact Sam has had on our lives came over Thanksgiving when my sister-in-law remarked that we'd been talking about Sam for several hours. We can't help it - he's just so lovable!
Although it's been almost a year since we adopted Sam, my husband and I are still amazed at our luck. From day one Sam was a well trained dog. And although we've considered adopting another dog, we know we would never be so lucky as to get another Sam.
and in response to reading the letter, Sam’s first mom shared the following with Pet Haven:
“He looks absolutely wonderful and I can actually see that familiar playfulness in one of the pictures. To hear of his sneaking food makes me chuckle, reminded me 
of the day I questioned what happened to my ham that was in the refrigerator!! He had pulled on a hand towel (draped on the door handle of the refrigerator), opened the refrigerator only to discover at eye level a wrapped ham. What a completely fun afternoon for him, home alone with a ham all to himself!”