"Sam Cocker was my buddy, the buff Cocker Spaniel with a tail who captured my heart at eight weeks old, having already had 4 homes in his short life. He announced that he was going to be the agility dog in the family at 3 months when he jumped off my husband's lap and tore after our German Shepherd, Nique, who was ascending the A-frame at a SCAT practice. He followed Nique up and down, eager for more, and we never looked back. "

  Sam was not only a superb couch potato but a superb athlete in that he was one of the very few dogs in agility, due to his size, who had to jump 3 different heights in 3 different organizations: 24" in USDAA (before jump heights were lowered to 22", 20" in NADAC (before they relaxed the rules), and 16" in AKC. He seldom pulled a bar. I loved feeling his little body tremble in anticipation when I restrained him at a start line. I loved watching his fur fly as he soared over a jump. I'm so glad we were there in the beginning days of Tien Tran's photography career as I have priceless photos of him captured by her expert eye. Sam seemed to be the picture of health until just days before he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Hemangiosarcoma had invaded, doing its ugly work on his heart. We said good-by on Valentine's Day, 2008. Rest well, my sweet boy. We'll meet again.

 

Sharon