Sampson Simpson (2006-2013)

On Halloween morning we were all up by 6 am talking about how excited we were to go Trick or Treating that afternoon. I was talking to my husband about getting Sampson a last minute costume so he could come along with us. Emery and Sampson went outside to get his bowl, and they came back in because it was a bit chilly. She poured his bowl of food, and we all started to get dressed. Before we left, Emery attached his leash & I kissed him on the nose. I told him to be a good boy for daddy. My husband walked him out, and waved us off at the end of the drive. Thirty minutes later I had just dropped Emery off at the sitter when my husband called. Someone hadn't seen them walking on the side of the road by our house, and they swerved hitting Sampson.  My husband told me that Sampson seemed fine, a little sore, but he wanted me to meet him at the vet anyway. When I saw Sampson, I thought the same thing my husband did: he'd be fine. He was walking around, maybe a little out of it, but nothing that some rest couldn't fix. The X-ray's came back with a completely different story though. He had concussion and they thought there was swelling. The tiny bone on his hind leg was shattered, and there was internal swelling. The vet told us that we could pay $3,000, and have him sent to an emergency facility in Dallas, but there was no guarantee that he'd make it.  The vet gave us the numbers and covered every single possibility. They were super nice and told us that they understood what a hard decision this was for us. In the end, they simply said that Sampson's quality of life, if he even survived, would drastically go down. He'd pretty much have to stay "in bed" for the rest of his life. They highly recommended that we put him to sleep. And so after a private discussion, we decided to let him go.  We cried, and they let us say our goodbyes in the kennel. I was allowed to hold him, and cuddle with him while the procedure took place. My husband and I told him how much we loved him,  how he was such a good boy. He licked my tears, and let out a little whine. About that time a lot of the technicians came into the room to tell him that he was loved, and messaged his back. A few minutes later he was gone. It took two shots before he finally passed, and those were the hardest 20 minutes of my life so far. I'm thankful for the staff, and the vets that showed us such kindness that morning. There wasn't a dry eye in that room, and that showed us just how much our Sampson was loved & appreciated. I am so grateful to those people.  Our house feels empty now. I know that some people don't get why we're so emotional about this, because he was a dog. Not a child, or relative. But Sampson had been with us for seven years. He was my fellow exploring companion when I moved to California. He was our road-tripping buddy when we moved back to Texas. He was our snuggle buddy on cold nights. When I was pregnant with Emery, I spent a good amount of time in bed with his head resting on my belly. When Emery got older, he was her friend and playmate. Anywhere we went, he came along. He was the biggest baby, and lapdog you would ever meet. So his passing, effects us. All of us. It's like taking a huge part of our every day life and ripping it out. And that will take some getting used to. "Dad, I think it's time for Sampson to come home now.  He's tired of Heaven. He wants to come back to me." - Emery