Meet Samson!

We got our puppy Samson about three weeks ago and he’s been nothing but the best little addition to our family. He has the funniest personality and he really fits in well with Dave and I. I thought I’d share this post to introduce you all to him, since he will likely be making many appearances on the blog. The photo above was our first selfie trio! (if there’s such a thing…)

We got Samson from a breeder, Robertson’s Retrievers. He was in a large litter with 5 brothers and 4 sisters. The picture above is him with 3 of his brothers. (Can you tell which one he is..? He’s the one on the very left!) And my goodness, how cute are they all together? This was the first time we met them and my heart just about melted. I knew I wanted Samson when he came over to me with a toy, and I gave him a head rub, and then he quickly fell asleep in my hands. Dave and I had a mutual connection to him and he seemed to like us back. :-)

We brought him home the day after we got back from the Dominican Republic. We drove two hours north in a snow storm. It was worst driving conditions, but it made the anticipation of getting him even more exciting. Once we got there, we spent about an hour with the breeder discussing his daily routine, his parents pedigree, and what to expect our first week. Then, we wrapped him up in his doggie blanket and drove back home. Samson did pretty well his first night, however when it was time for bed, he cried and whimpered in his crate. We live in a third floor apartment, so to spare our neighbors, Dave ended up hanging out with him to keep him quiet. I will never forget waking up at 6:30 a.m. the next morning and finding the two of them fast asleep, cuddling on the floor. They slept like that the entire first night! I know they both secretly loved it, too.

To be quite honest, Samson has been a real easy puppy so far. Sure, he’s had his fair share of accidents here and there, but for the most part, he really seems to understand right from wrong. He knows how to chill and relax and he loves his nap time. (Which I’m forever thankful for!) Dave and I realized having a puppy is A LOT of work. I don’t think we realized this before getting him. (I know, right now I can hear our moms say, ‘I told you so!’) We were just so focused on all the love, joy and walks we’d get out of him that we didn’t really think about how much attention he’d need and how small his bladder really is. Like I said, we live on the third floor, so when it’s time to go potty (and we go potty a lot!), it’s… grab our coats, put on a hat, slip on boots, make sure we have a doggie bag, carry him down three flights of stairs, stand in the cold, wait for him to do his business, grab leaves and pinecones out of his mouth and, three flights of stairs back up. It gets exhausting but I know he won’t need me to carry him up and down the stairs for much longer, and I keep reminding myself of that. Besides, I secretly love that he relies on me for it because it means I get a sneaky cuddle in every time. And as much as I love complaining about the cold, he makes all the puppy work totally worth it. He’s so fun and such a sweet boy. I can’t even imagine not having him around. What really helps is that Dave and I divvy up the work. Having opposite work schedules has been extremely helpful in raising this little pup, too!

And because I could talk about this pup even more, here are some fun things we currently love about Samson:

1.) He sleeps with his tongue out.

2.) He used to be afraid of the red fire hydrant outside our apartment, but now it’s his best friend.

3.) His ears are too big they fall in his food when he eats, so he always has leftovers on his ears.

4.) He loves nothing more than cuddling. Sleeping on laps or chests is his all time favorite.

5.) He makes everyone smile. I love seeing the pure joy he brings strangers!

6.) He creates obstacle courses for himself in the apartment. He sprints around the room, leaps over his bed, knocks into our blinds, army crawls under the couch, goes around the ottoman, and runs in between the kitchen chairs.

7.) Before he eats, he sticks his tongue out and moves it really fast. (Here’s a video of it in slow-mo).

8.) He has these long beautiful eyelashes any girl would envy.

9.) He often wakes up during the middle of a nap, walks into the kitchen, and takes THE longest drink of water EVER and then he’ll go straight back to his bed.

Such a funny little guy.

Ok, so I know I need to wrap it up here because this has been a lot of puppy, but, if you’re interested in more Samson, follow his Instagram account @samsythegolden or my Snapchat (Melissa Carver) which is pretty much entirely puppy pictures and videos. What can I say? I’m a girl that loves her furry friend.