

	Featured Story		Dog of the Day

Susan Kramer and Samantha

Please Note: The dog in the accompanying photograph is the subject of the story, but the person pictured is probably not the patient in the story.

I found Samantha at a rescue organization when she was only eight weeks old. She was all alone, as her littermates had already been adopted. She looked so cute with her very short legs and her long body. I picked her up it was love at first slurp! She seemed so special that I named her after my grandparents, Sam and Anna, who were farmers and always had a cherished kinship with their many dogs. If LO4P had existed then, I’m sure my grandparents and their dogs would have participated.

After adopting Samantha, now called “Sami”, I immediately took her to the veterinarian who told me that she would need leg surgery to keep her tiny limbs from bowing outward as she grew older. This would enable her to walk and run and jump like other dogs. So she had the surgery and now, almost ten years later, she can still run with the best of them.

Sami still has short legs and a long body, but being low and long has a big advantage –-- she’s just the right size for little kids, like the youngest children at the Frances Blend School for visually handicapped children. A full class of children can all gather around Sami at once for petting and identifying body parts. They can feel her ears, paws, tail, and wet nose. She’s just the right height and long enough for everyone!

One of the most memorable and moving experiences we’ve had as a therapy team is when the children in room 1 at the Frances Blend School presented us with a thank you card, which you can see pictured here. At that moment, I could not have been more proud of the students and teachers, or more grateful to have Sami as my miracle worker. She may look a little funny, but never judge a book by its cover … or a living thing by its shape.

LO4P