After all the helpful advice last weekend we contacted Jan on Monday and bought home a lovely 8 year old boy - Samson on Friday . He really is wonderful and after only 48 hours feels like he has been with us forever. We have walked miles, laughed at his antics and are so grateful that we came across this wonderful site and Jan.
He is such a happy chap and our house suddenly feels like a home again.
Our eldest son who is 18 was a little emotional initally as he fell in love with him instantly and then felt guilty and was worried that Ruskins memory would disappear - thanks to this site we were able to explain that Ruskin will always be special and Samson is not going to replace him but bring along a whole new set of memories.
As I type this he is sat on top of my husband - Rob - who is sat on the sofa watching the motorbikes on TV, his beautiful face is set in a wide grin as if he is the king of the Castle - Samson that is not Rob
Hi Sharon,
Wonderful news. Hope you and Samson have many happy times together. Don't forget the photos, we will alll be waiting to admire him
It's lovely the way things have worked out, for you and him.
xxx
I am so pleased to hear about Samson - he will be a wonderful addition to your family.
You are right about what you said to your son - Samson will never replace Ruskin but will just bring more happy memories. There is nothing like a home with a goldie in it!!
HI SHARON GREAT TO READ YOUR STORY ,JUST LIKE YOU WE LOST OUR DOG SUNNY ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO AND WE WERE NOT SURE IF ADOPTING A NEW DOG SOON AFTER WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO OR NOT, BUT WHEN JAN OFFERD US THE CHANCE TO ADOPT LUCY WE JUMPED AT THE CHANCE AND WE ARE NOW SURE WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE SUNNY WILL NEVER BE FOGOTTEN LUCY IS DIFFERENT IN MANY WAYS BUT SIMALAR IN OTHERS, SHE IS HERSELF IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. SUNNY WAS SPECIAL AND ALREADY LUCY IS IN HER OWN WAY,THEY BOTH HAVE A PLACE IN OUR HEARTS AND ALWAYS WILL. JUST AS YOUR DOGS WILL EACH HAVE A PLACE IN YOUR FAMILIES HEARTS.
Lenny,
That was a lovely post that you've put on for Sharon and family. You've wrapped it up
You know exactly what they were feeling, and summed it up beautifully. Thankyou for that.
Sharon has kindly let me use her login to put my experiences and to post an update on Samson.
Samson is such a lovely well behaved dog who is already a firm friend.He is extremely obedient and we have already built up a lovely trust.
Today Samson has had me in stitches, I took him for a long walk this afternoon up hill and down dale. Mainly we stuck to the lanes around our house, he managed to walk in the mud/verges not the lane at all times. Eventually we went across country. Within 100 yards of him being off the lead he found the biggest puddle he could and plonked himself down in it, mud up to his middle. We then crossed a bridge over a stream. Samson quickly disappeared down the bank and was up to his neck in the stream, a quick call and he was back up the bank and kindly giving me a shower! He managed to find another three streams and test everyone sharing the water with me. The funniest bit was to come, along the side of the fields were drainage ditches, due to the recent weather they were full, off ran Sansom, he found they were too deep to run through so he bounced through them like tigger, I was bent double laughing at his antics watching him enjoying himself so much with a big retriever grin on his face all the time. When we got home he even enjoyed the wash, again sharing as much of the water with me as he could. I only wish I had taken the camera with me today, I shall do next time.
Hi sharon thanks for your kind words we seem to have had the same type of experiencies in the last couple of years, for us the choice to adopt lucy so soon was a difficult one but we are sure now was the right one for us , but maybe not the right one for everyone. She has helped us so much as Sunny was such a special dog, as I am sure Ruskin was to you and your family. Three years on and the pain is still there I have my good and bad days, but the bad days are for the memory of sunny so they are remembering him ,so the sadness is also the way I remember him and that should be a happy time as he will never be forgotten. the times we remember are sad but also special as we carry them with us for the rest of our lives. Is that not what we would wish for our selves. Ruskin will never be forgotten by you and your family, thats what makes him special. thats what makes you special to.
i loved to hear about sampson look forward to seeing the pic's.you never forget your old dogs but hopefully in time you remember the great times you had and like you said a whole new set of memories will happen with sampson.he sounds to be having a good life with you
. He really is wonderful and after only 48 hours feels like he has been with us forever. We have walked miles, laughed at his antics and are so grateful that we came across this wonderful site and Jan. 
