A boy and his dog. Ke'ano met Sam when he was 2 days old. Sam came to live with us a year later. We've had our ups and downs. We've tried to give Sam away. We've loved him and been beyond annoyed with him. Before little babies came along he had a much more...affectionate standing in the family. He has tolerated two little ones pulling his hair, kicking him and tugging him around. He was always some what of a neighborhood philanderer and I'm convinced he has at least a dozen offspring wandering the streets of Los Angeles county. He had more than one love affair with Ke'ano's stuffed animals and all three of our chickens. He was the Houdini of escape artists and ticked off mailmen wherever we lived.

We always absolved those who watched him that if he ran away it was not there fault. He was simply too difficult to contain, the pursuit of procreation too intense for his little chihuahua terrier mix. We always said that if one day he took off and never came home that would be okay as he probably died happy doing what he loved. And in all reality the dog has lived years longer than we could have imagined for his temperament and desire to roam the streets.

I came home today to find him on the porch, belly swollen. I knew this was a bad one. I thought he'd been hit by a car because of the lack of blood. We took him to the vet for the second time in his life. The vet found the puncture wound on his back where a dog had for once succeeded in making the little punty dog submit. His intestines were herniated. Our little family pathetically stood in the vets office for over an hour, waiting for David to come. We talked about Sam and our favorite stories. We said our goodbyes. We tried to answer hard questions like "when they put him to sleep and his heart stops beating does he feel like he can't breathe?" and "Is there a special heaven for dogs." Even Ale "got" it and cried which surprised me for some reason. Sheesh, these things get harder when kids are in the picture.

I'm glad that Ke'ano was there for it though I don't think he wanted to be there (who does?). Pets passing away is a good way to help children learn to deal with death. Ke'ano has had a rough year, first his hamster now the dog. We let Ke'ano choose whether or not we stayed to watch them put him to sleep and he chose to leave which was fine. (And who knew they actually charge extra if you stay and watch).

Little Sam Sam, you were the biggest pain and greatest love. I hope you got a shot in on the dog. You are missed.