Sampson the Wonder Dog

Sammy is the most interesting Pug I've ever met. Jason got him when he moved to Kansas City in 2001 when we moved there for medical school. A pug wasn't his first choice but according to him it was the "manliest dog he could get that wouldn't get over 30 pounds!" Sam lived with Jason for two years in Kansas City and then moved to Augusta when Jason's training took him back to Wichita to an apartment that was pet free.  In 2004, Jason got a job at Hospira, a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in McPherson, and moved Sam with him. At this point Sam had the run of the house - no kids, no other pets.

In 2005, Jason and I got married and when we got back to Kansas from our Honeymoon we did something that rocked Sam's world - we got another puppy. When we brought our new German Shepherd, Jager, home the first night he was about the same size as Sam, maybe a little smaller, and nothing but a ball of fluff. Sam's dominance immediately reared it's ugly head. Jager was forced to wait until Sam was done eating to begin on his and was chased off from any "treats" that happened to fall to the floor. Until Jager arrived, Sam had been known to randomly tear through the house at top speed until he wore himself out and  lay down in the coolest spot. He tried that one or two times after Jager entered the picture and when he found out that the rapidly growing ball of fluff would chase him down and tackle him Sam gave that up for good.

Hayden came into our lives in 2008, further disrupting Sammy's once cushy lifestyle. In fact, the first time Hayden cried the day we brought him home, both dogs barked at him because they didn't know what else to do! After the first few days, both dogs pretty much dismissed the baby and left him alone. That was until he became mobile. Sam quickly learned to stay away from the munchkin as much as possible.

Jager is about as good of a dog as anyone could ask for. He knows basic commands, he's good with kids and his bark is loud and gruff enough to scare off anyone. (The only problem with the dog, other than the shedding, is that he does NOT play well with other animals) Sam really doesn't have any good tricks, especially now that he's gotten older and almost completely blind. He does have one unique talent, though, and that is yodeling.

I don't remember how Sammy's talent came about exactly but I do know that Jason's brother Scott was the first person to get him to do it. How do you get a dog to yodel? you ask - that's easy! In an incredibly  high pitched, slightly off-key tone yell "wanna go outside?" Drives the poor dog nuts! He starts howling and yodeling and it's hilarious! Well, hilarious to everyone but Tucker. This is Tucker's response to Sammy's talent:

I guess not everyone's a fan!