Samwise: The Not-So-Great Pyrenees

We've got a new member of the family at the Kaiser Haus - a puppy that has been christened Samwise (after Samwise Gamgee, faithful friend of Frodo Baggins). Yes, we're Tolkien nuts over here! We have a cat named Frodo as well. Our other pets have normal names, though, like Steve, Ginny, etc.

Sam is a not-so-Great Pyrenees. One day he'll be great, but for now he's a 9 week old pip-squeak that can hardly get all four limbs working together.  But, he looks like a little Polar Bear, and is therefor irresistible.


My wife is an emergency Veterinary Technician. And as such she comes across plenty of perfectly good animals who's owners want to Euthanize for no good reason. We've never "purchased" a pet (well, not the big ones); they've all been rescued. Including our 95 lb. Golden Retriever, Jackson - who is, by the way, the greatest dog in all of dogdom or dog history! Sorry, your's may be a fine dog, but Jackson is just better. There's always someone or something that is better than the rest, and Jackson is that dog. As is the case with Jackson (the Super Dog) - who's owners wanted to put him down as a 12 week old puppy because he was vomiting - Sam's owner wanted him put to sleep because he had the nasty Canine parvovirus. Untreated, its almost always fatal; with treatment the survival rate is 80-95%. "Well, ma'am. This cute little bear looking puppy only has an 85-90% chance of surviving and thriving. What would you like to do?" "Um... Like, I can't be bothered with such slim chances. You'd better KILL IT."

To cut it short, the wife treated Sam, he survived, she called me to see if she could bring him home, I said "nope", she said "well, you have to see him 1st before we decided, she brought him home, and now we have a not-so-Great Pyrenees named Samwise. And he's cute as a bug's ear, too!

See how those things work?