Aaaahhhh, Sammy.
Meet one of my two “boys.” 
And behind this picture…more stories than I can possibly begin to tell you.
I could tell you that the reason we have him is because he and I fell in love one night in a pet shop in Bandung, Indonesia and how I had to take him home in a taxi…and how the taxi driver charged me double for the simple reason that he didn’t like dogs and he could.
I could tell you about the utter heartbreak we experienced when he was stolen from us and missing for six days…and how we paid a ransom, literally, to get him back. (That story is in the book… ;))
But today, I’m just going to tell a bit of the silly and sweet of this crazy, lovable, completely loyal pooch named Sammy.
We tell people that he is our Indonesian dog, which is true. Andre is from America, Sammy is from Indonesia…
and I kind of think it’s cute that it ended up that way.
Sammy has been, from day one, all kinds of mischievous and loyal and ornery and loving, rolled up into one, big, lion-ish golden retriever with Really. Big. Paws.
No joke.
For years we’ve found it hilarious that he will lie in the direct sunlight when it’s HOT out, and take a nap.
That would be what he’s doing in this particular photo. 😉
Andre is usually lying nearby in the shade because he gets that lying in the sun is…well, it’s HOT.
Especially when you have golden retriever fur.
Not that I would know…I’m just imagining here.
He would do it on a daily basis when we lived in Indonesia. (Read: when the temperatures were pushing 95 or 100.)
We would watch him and think he was crazy as we still-sweated in our not-outside-in-the-sun living room. Yet a good part of his days were spent basking in the glorious (and did I mention HOT?!) tropical sunshine.
Maybe he was soaking up all he could because he knew eventually we’d stick him on a plane bound for the Midwest. And snow. Which he loves, by the way..
The truth with this dog is that he’s always been a little odd.
The first time we offered him ham, he wouldn’t eat it. What dog turns down meat?
His first interaction with Andre, as a twenty-or-less pound puppy, began with him trying to jump on top of our poor, confused, American dog. We still laugh about that.
He always has to have something in his mouth…usually in the form of a stuffed animal. (And he will steal one of Maelie’s if he can’t find one of his four or five.)
He still lives to greet us at the door in his usual, run-full-speed-and-almost-knock-us-over, manner…whether we’ve been gone for a week or two minutes.
The truth is, this crazy dog wormed his way into our hearts immediately…
And we love him like the crazy that he is.
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It’s Tuesday, and this link up at my friend, Crystal’s place is becoming one of my favorites. It’s pretty sweet (and sometimes tear-jerking, so bring tissues) to read the stories that come with the photos of life…especially the photos where there’s so much more going on than what we see.
Social media and online relationships can make us feel like everyone else has it all together. We’re edited, proof-read, Pinterest-perfect versions of ourselves (or so some might think!) when – in reality? There is an unfinished pile of laundry around the corner. That cute toddler smiling for the camera just had a massive meltdown seconds ago. That yummy breakfast-for-dinner you just showed us on Instagram? It’s because the cat licked the chicken that was supposed to be for dinner.
“Behind the Scenes” is a fun link up where we show those photos – but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it.
Take some time and come on over to check out the silly and sweet of what goes on behind the camera lens…I promise you’ll leave smiling.
