When I first got married, I felt we should have a dog. it is the American way. A friend of mine had some puppies, so I adopted one of them. It was of mixed parentage. The father was a wire hair, and the mother was a beagle. The result was a dog that looked like a small Australian pulley. As the dog grew he brgan to exhibit some interesting abilities. One thing, we lived with our backyard running into Alpine Park. We found out that Sam was going into to the park to beg food from the picnickers there. He also had learned how to climb the ladder on the slide and slide down it with the kids. This came as an asset later in life when he was able to climb fences and keep the neighborhood female dogs pregnant. His mooching in the park was reported to us by our best friends Ron and Nancy.
During my days racing boats, Sam would ride with me as I shook down set ups and selected props for competition. He drank beer, and loved peas as his vegetable of choice. Half the neighborhood knew him as Hairy, and kept him well fed.
We had him so many years, that when he was dying, I couldn’t take him to the vet to be put down. Martha did that for me. I have always been grateful. It is still why I can’t see getting another dog. I am still faithful to old
Sam.
