Samson

Adopted!

New Name:
Age: Young
Sex: Male
Breed: Doberman Pinscher
Weight: 74 lbs
Current Location: Caldwell, Idaho
Adoption Date: February 16, 2020
Adopted by: The Holbrook family
Latest Update:

This story is a bit of a long one so gather round and hang with me., I think you will enjoy it..

I’m sure all of you remember Samson being adopted and immediately returned. It was a heartbreaker for all of us but mostly for Samson and it set him back a great deal. Wes took him back home and started over again with calming him down with his anxiety about being separated from whom he loves, which happens very fast for him by the way. This dog wants nothing more than to bond hard and love his people.

Wes always mentioned to us in passing that he thought the family that adopted Star Sapphire would be a good match but they had 4 dogs already and we knew that was enough for them. A couple of weeks went by with us asking for applications to come in and wouldn’t you know it we get an inquiry from Star Sapphires family.

This is what she told us:
“I got this little weiner dog. She was the most feisty little thing with a huge attitude. I bonded so tight with her. She was my Baby and her name was Baby, but I lost her to cancer at age 12 in August of 2018. Life hasn’t been the same. I have cried so much. I love the dogs we have and Star is very special. But Star is Chad’s dog. Everyone knows it. So I was missing that bond. I was going to get a puppy. But then couldn’t decide. Big puppy, little puppy, what breed. I just wallowed and couldn’t decide.

So when we saw Samson, we had the convo of wouldn’t it be cool to have a matched pair of Dobies…Then was like, nah I need a puppy so it will bond with me. So then he got adopted and I was happy for him. Then he came back and I thought wonder why. Then Renee explained. Something struck me since Star did that too. We just handled it and now she is fine.

Then Wes sent me videos of him. Omg, I need this dog and he needs me. I need to bond. I am very hands on, affectionate with my dogs. If he bonded with me, it would fill the hole from losing Baby. And I think he would flourish. Him wiggling his nub made me cry, he needs someone to love him unconditionally and teach him how to be a dog. I think I understand his brokenness. I knew when I saw the right dog, it would make sense.

After I talked with Wes on messenger, I watched all the videos again with the cat and just starting crying. The look in his eyes, his wiggly butt. He wants to please so badly. He wants someone to give him all the reassurance. I know I will need to be firm with him at times, I can do that part. Star requires that on occasion as well. She sometimes thinks she makes the rules and has to be reminded otherwise”.

The Holbrook family lives very far away all the way in Caldwell Idaho which is a 20 hour drive, they discussed Samson and his issues with Wes and they felt like it wasn’t anything they couldn’t work through and they were willing to take a chance on this boy knowing that she could very well have found a dog to love again with a very strong bond like the one she lost.

Travis offered to drive him halfway to Colorado to meet them helping make this adoption possible. So this very busy weekend with Travis gone, and our employee out with the flu we have juggled like crazy people with rescues and intake days and adoptions and a swamped holiday weekend, and it was all worth it when you see this sweet boy with his new family.

Samson is now home in Idaho and he will have two Min Pin’s named Minka and Rambo to play with and will get to go on camping trips and hikes with his new family, they know that he will have anxiety, they know he will require patience and they are willing to put in the work which is just what Samson needed to have someone dedicated to him and with that he will give them all the love he has..

Thank you to the Holbrook family for driving 10 hours to meet Travis. Thank you to Travis for driving 12 hours to Colorado to get him there and thank you to Wes for putting your heart and soul into this boy to help him find his forever family..sometimes its meant to be, and today we have had two of those stories with dogs finding their way…

Happy life Samson…

About Samson:

The life of dogs in the valley continues to send us stories of just how bad it can be.

I will begin this post welcoming the two Dobermans Samson and Delilah to Dog Ranch Rescue and then I will tell their story.

We were asked if we could help with these two Dobermans down there, their “owner” got them to breed them and obviously make some extra money but it turned out to be too much work and didn’t want them anymore and wanted them gone.

Delilah was obviously pregnant by the photo provided to us. It takes a little bit of time to pull together this kind of rescue. Both of them were in Mission TX which is way down near the border of Mexico. Ricky began his drive down yesterday to spend the night down there and then begin the long trek back after picking them up. Yesterday evening we got news that it was too late and Delilah had given birth to 3 puppies and a picture was sent to us with her babies dead in the dirt.

Yes, they are disturbing and yes some people will be offended but I will never not share the reality of the lives of our rescue dogs. They live it, the least we can do is look at it and acknowledge it.

We learn nothing by looking away..

Ricky rushed to pick her up at the home where she lived last night regardless of the fact that he wouldn’t be leaving with all of the dogs until this morning. She needed to be looked at, x rayed for any pups that might still be in there and have some bloodwork done. Ricky did that last night and said the poor girl was full of milk but she had no puppies left. They were all dead in the dirt yard.

Ricky let her stay overnight in the ER and then picked her up this morning and then went to the home where he picked up Samson to get him out of living this life.

Ricky also picked up 7 other dogs and will drop them to two other rescues waiting for them in San Antonio.

He is on the road now and of course we cannot thank him enough. Ricky is such a valuable asset to this rescue and has saved countless dogs single handedly with transporting all over the country.

Samson and Delilah will arrive late this evening after a long road trip but it should give all of us peace that they will never suffer again.

UPDATE

Dogs that come from this kind of life have absolutely no skills, they aren’t housebroken, they have no experience on how to behave with other dogs, they have little experience with humans and they have absolutely no clue on how to be a pet in a home.

Samson in a matter of a few hours would bond with any of us at the Ranch, he doesn’t care which person it is he loves them. It’s not uncommon for dogs like this who love humans to quickly develop separation anxiety and Samson is no different.

We realized right away that he had to have company in order to not freak out and try and get out of his den. Thankfully his companionship just needs to be another living being, it doesn’t have to be a human, he’s just as comforted by another dog being with him. If he’s not alone, he is good and will stay in his crate nicely. The second issue we have realized about him is his life as a macho stud dog has him to be difficult with males who have not been neutered yet or were recently neutered.

Samson needs to live with other dogs in the home that are calm, and can show him how to behave.

Dogs that have little skills with other dogs need to live with dogs that don’t have that issue, they need to live with a dog that is confident. Samson is a sweet goofy boy who only wants to be loved and have a human to call his own. He is sick with heartworms from living outside in the shanty and we will be treating him for that.

UPDATE:1/28/20

I think we need to have a long conversation about Samson. When a dog is returned it’s important for people to understand that I have two things that I have to do, the first one is to protect the adopters from being attacked, the second is protecting the dog from being labeled.

I’m sure you can understand the predicament I am in but unfortunately with being vague about why he was returned it has labeled him anyway, and he gets no applications that would suit him. If people don’t know why he was returned then many assume the worst and look away from adopting him.

I am going to do my best to explain to you why he was returned and I would ask you if you don’t have anything nice to say about it then please don’t comment.

First and foremost let me talk about Samson, when he first came to us he was a mess and had no idea how to behave in a crate or a den. He completely freaked out and he could not stay at the Ranch or the Sanctuary and Wes had to take him home to try and work out all of the issues of being confined and not be so incredibly anxious that he would do anything to escape. The first thing that was very, very clear is Samson loves very hard very quickly with his person. He bonded to Wes immediately and he then went to work on teaching him how to be in a crate, and for him to understand he was safe, and that he would not be abandoned in a crate, Wes would leave him for small periods of time, and over the weeks and weeks Samson calmed down and understands that he will always come back.

He is excellent in a crate now and waits patiently for Wes to return and he has left him for as much as 5 hours with no issues. He takes a great deal of comfort from other dogs in the home too, the bottom line is Samson doesn’t want to be abandoned and he needs the be reassured that this will never happen to him again. When he loves, he loves hard and he loves quickly and his devotion is everything to him..

Now let me talk about what happened in his adoptive home, he loved his mom, he loved his little boy and one day the mother of the adoptive mom came to visit, this was a new person in his house and he was worried about his family, he growled at her and backed up, his mom texted Wes and was very worried. Wes told her to try and stay calm and have her mom walk Samson which she did, he did fine but they came back to the house, ( his house) and he got anxious again and growled some more. His mom then crated him and said this made her too nervous and wanted to return him.

Now you have to understand this of course could be worked through, Samson was worried about his people and was feeling protective, never did he attempt to bite anyone nor would he ever do that, but what matters is if the adoptive mom is afraid of him this situation would just not work and we asked for them to return him.

This caused a big set back for Samson, just a couple of days with his family meant everything to him and he then lost them and he reverted back to his early days when Wes first had him and Wes has worked hard to bring him back to a boy that knows he is safe.

Here is what we need for Samson, we need a person or a family who is patient, and understanding what this dog has been through. You need to understand that he has some anxiety, and new people coming into his home will need the proper introductions and the patience to allow him to become comfortable with them. Samson loves kids, he is good with other dogs, Wes has cats in his home and Samson shows little interest in them but we would take that information in a home on a case by case basis.

He is a gorgeous boy, he is large for a Doberman, his vetting is all finished including treatment for heartworms.

He is loyal to a fault, he is very smart, and he needs a home that understands what we are saying and is willing to give him a great home.

As I said above, if you have something negative to say about his failed adoption keep it to yourself, the last thin I have time for is people fighting on the page.

Let’s find an application for Samson that works for him.

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