Andrew Rondeau
Andrew is the owner of this website and has been a Leader, Manager, Coach and Consultant for the last twenty-five years.
What I Learned From Sam The Border Collie Dog
- By Andrew Rondeau
- Published 06/3/2008
A great topic!
I’d like to take you back
just over one year ago when our Border Collie dog Sam was still with us (he
died in March this year – you can read more here but it is sad).
Sam was a very intelligent,
smart and active dog. He was a real live wire!
Here is Sam’s last year in his words.
What can you learn?
Hi, I’m Sam, I am 12 now,
and you know what the best thing in life is? Playing with my ball. I just love
it – fetching, catching, dropping – I just don’t know when to stop. Oh
sometimes I can’t move the next day due to my aching muscles.
I love learning new
tricks – I can tell the difference between different coloured balls, I can play
dead, I can go to the toilet when I hear a particular command. I must know the
meaning of at least 50 commands.
And I love people. I love people more than I do other dogs. When we go to the park I’m not interested in the other dogs – I like cuddles from the dog owners. It makes their dogs jealous.
I Became Unwell Very Quickly
Just over a year ago, I
began to feel rather unwell and subdued. I was also drinking loads and a few
nights I wet my bed! So my owners did the normal thing and took me to the vets.
I was poked and prodded but I didn’t mind, I just laid there. In fact, it was
quite nice really, I smelt lots of new smells!
My parents faces looked
really worried so I thought it must be serious. I was diagnosed as being
diabetic. Didn’t know what that meant so trotted off home.
That night I didn’t get
my bedtime treat. I thought that was a bit strange.
Next morning, I had some
new strange food – it was nice so I ate it all up. Then my dad stuck a needle
in me and I felt this really cold liquid inside me.
What were they doing to me – I thought I’d be a good boy and get a treat! I didn’t although I did get a big cuddle – that was nice.
I Got Used To New Habits
This started to become a
habit – strange food twice a day quickly followed by a needle in the neck and a
cold feeling inside.
And I missed all the
treats in-between meals.
After a couple of months,
I noticed my eyes were not as good as they were. I could only see things when
they were really close. Often my dad would throw the ball for me to catch and I
would miss it – it would hit me on the nose. I used to be the best catcher in
my town!
I Could Not See
Then I woke up one day
and it was just black – I couldn’t see a thing. That was scary. I just bumped
into things, so I was off to a new vet. A special eye vet. It was miles and
miles away – a long car journey.
We went to this new vet
many times, I just got in the car and fell asleep – it was nice.
One time I was there, I
had a really deep sleep, woke up and could see! I saw my mum and dad again. I
could catch the ball, I could see what I was eating – not that it had changed
in any way but it was nice to see if I had eaten it all.
So not only did I have
needles poked in me twice a day, I had drops put in my eyes 6 times a day. But
look, I could see and play and everything!
One thing I did notice
though was that I was always hungry. I would look for food around the house –
check the bins, look in the bedrooms, just for any crumbs of food.
What A Mistake I Made!
One day I found a tennis ball. Now I love tennis balls – I was hungry, so I ate it. That made me really, really ill. Back to the vets we went. They didn’t know I had eaten a tennis ball, they just knew I was not very well. They couldn’t find anything wrong – so they shaved off all my hair on my belly and chest and some of my sides. I looked stupid. They then put this really cold thing on me that looked inside me and they kept me in the vets overnight. That was lonely.
Eventually the tennis
ball passed through me and I was then fine.
Then you never guess what
happened next. My left eye began to really hurt and back to the eye vets we
went. It was really painful, that left eye, but I didn’t know how to tell them.
Luckily, they took it out, but I can still see with my right eye.
But It Is Not That Bad...
So I have
had a rather eventful year but that’s life isn’t it. You just deal with these
things and get on with it. I’m still loved, get loads of cuddles, fed, played
with, lots of sleep. It’s great!
This is what I have heard
my owners say about me:
Sam has had to deal with
a lot of change in the last year.
He has never moaned,
never complained, never refused, never run away from the injections. All the
vets comment they have never seen a dog so happy no matter how unwell he is!
When Sam was with us, if you gave him his ball, he was still a puppy at heart.
We learned so much from him - over and above staying calm in a crisis - accept change: it happens to you; sometimes you can’t do much about it - but just carry on, life is all about having fun and that is exactly what Sam did no matter what he had to go through.
What Can you learn from Sam the Border Collie?
Spread The Word
6 Responses to "What I Learned From Sam The Border Collie Dog" 
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said this on 09 Jun 2008 7:20:38 AM EST
He has never moaned, never complained, never refused, never run away from the injections. All the vets comment they have never seen a dog so happy no matter how unwell he is!
that's a great lesson to learn. Sigh, if only it were easy! |
Author/Admin)|
said this on 09 Jun 2008 5:33:51 PM EST
Jansie,
Thanks for commenting and I hope you are well! I suppose we could all look at life and be just a little bit happier, couldn't we? Andrew |
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said this on 18 Jun 2008 2:24:48 PM EST
Andrew, I've corrected the link on the wrap-up post now. Thanks for calling my attention to it; I would have hated to leave you out, Buddy!
Cheers! Robert |
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said this on 20 Jun 2008 5:09:16 AM EST
Hi Andrew, I have just read about Sam and so sorry he has now passed on, but what an inspiration he was. I am Diabetic myself and was very ill last year until I was diagnosed and with 2 tablets a day, I am back to feeling more my usual self. My own baby (my German Schnauzer Ollie) is an absolute inspiration too. He is almost 11 yrs old now and like Sam still loves to play, but when he was just 4 yrs old, he was 'stricken' with Epilepsey and didnt take just 1 or 2 every now and again, he took what they call 'cluster seizures', which means he could take any amount one after the other, infact in 1 day he had 23!!! This means he cant be treated at home when they start,he has to be taken straight to the vets and be kept in and sedated for 4-5 days to give his brain a rest, this can happen at any time, but usually every 4-5 months. In between you wouldnt know a thing was wrong with him. He has to be medicated 4 times a day maybe 4 tablets at any one time. Like Sam he just stands there and causes no struggle and takes them for us, with of course plenty of hugs and kisses. I do hope we have him for a few yrs more, I just wish you still had Sam, but he will always be in your heart, and you will always remember him like the brave wee 'soldier' he was.
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said this on 20 Jun 2008 1:45:36 PM EST
Rosemary
Thanks for writing. Ollie sounds like a brave little soldier himself. The fact that he makes no fuse about taking his medication, makes him an extra star! We just came arcoss some old video of Sam - it was mixed emotions - funny, happy and sad - to watch them. I might have to put them on youtube because they are funny. Andrew |
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