Sammy

Sammy will be out of state for several months so please hold off on applying for him.

Quick Facts:

  • Breed: Lab/Terrier mix
  • Gender: Male
  • Age: 3 years old
  • Size: 27 pounds
  • Good with…
    • Dogs? Yes!
    • Cats? Sorry, no.
    • Kids? 6+

My name is Sammy (aka, “Scampers”) and I am a delightful and adorable little guy!

History

I am the most delightful, adorable, sweet, funny, silly, loving, affectionate, and friendly little guy! I used to live in Katmandu, Nepal, on the streets (like a ton of dogs there), and life was awfully hard.

I had no idea how much harder it could get, but then I was struck by a motorbike or motorcar and became paralysed from the waist down. Oh boy, that was really rough. But when faced with challenges, you just kind of figure it out, so I learned to drag myself around pretty well using my front arms! Thankfully, a wonderful Nepal rescue group found me dragging myself around like this, scooped me up, and took me to a local shelter. From there, a fabulous volunteer contacted Cayuga Dog Rescue, and they said that if she could get me to them, they would be delighted to take me into their foster program, since they have the best vets in the world right here at Cornell and a wonderful dog-loving community.

That lovely woman raised money for my very long international flight and off I went to New York City on April 2nd! Wow, what an adventure…scary and loud and dark and upsetting, but soooo worth it because when I landed, I was greeted by the nicest CDR volunteers and from that moment on, life has been unbelievably wonderful!

Personality

I am such a little lovey-dovey guy! I LOVE affection and attention! I make adorable and very passionate squeaking sounds of delight when my foster parents come home from work, scamper (fast!) right over to them as they walk in the door, and nuzzle into their legs like crazy. When they rub my face and neck (my favorites!), I close my eyes and lean my face into their hands more and more, it feels SO good. I cannot even believe how good it feels to have my face and neck rubbed, I could have that 24/7 and never tire of it.

I have a nickname…it’s “Scampers!” This is because I scamper about the house in the most adorable fashion. I scamper over to the door to greet them when they come home, scamper along behind them as they move from room to room, and scamper along with the other dogs in the house (really fast) when they get excited about something going on outside! My foster parents say my scampering is hilarious, me zipping about the house on my butt or with my back legs folded under me, sailing by as if I’m motorized! They say if they put a little white sheet on top of me, I would totally look like one of those cartoon ghosts!

I have a lot of new, cool gear (thanks to the wonderful donors who sent in money for my care …thank you, thank you thank you!) that helps me have a pretty regular doggy life despite my disability. I have two favorites: 1) the hind-end harness which allows you to hold up my butt/hind end when I walk or run so my back legs don’t drag. You would be amazed at how fast I can run when my foster mom is holding my hind end in the harness…she has to break into an actual run alongside me to keep up even though I have little legs and she has big ones! 😊 And 2) the pet stroller that I get to sit in so we can go for longer “walks” so I can get to know my new neighborhood and new country! Going out in the stroller is amazingly fun…we go to the park once a day, and I sit up in the stroller the whole time, super observant and super interested, watching and listening to everything! An added bonus is that the people we stroll by all “ooooh” and “aaaah” about how cute I am sitting there in my stroller, and they want to hear my story and meet me!

I’m very easygoing, extremely adaptable, and a generally chill guy. I do my scampering around in the house and yard a bit, and sure love going out in the pet stroller for my daily “walk” in the local park, but otherwise, I am super content to lay around in one of the very comfy dog beds and just relax and nap. If something interesting happens and the other dogs get to barking, I’ll check it out for sure, but then am happy to scamper back to a dog bed and get back to my relaxing. Since I love people so much, love meeting new people, and am so chill and adaptable, the rescue folks think I would make an amazing therapy dog. I would love to earn my CGC and be a visiting dog to children, the elderly, or folks in hospitals!

I like dog toys like stuffed animals and bones and chew sticks, but the other dogs in my foster home get jealous over toys, so my foster parents explained that unfortunately they can’t give me toys to play with, but that maybe in my forever home I will be able to have toys again. That’s ok, I understand!

Cohabitation

I love people! So very, very much! So far I like women and men equally (though I do give slight preference to anyone who rubs my face and neck, haha)!
I have been around some little kids and was just fine with them, and would be happy to live in a home with kids over 6. Since my daily care (see medical section below) takes some time, the rescue folks think it makes most sense for me not to live in a home with toddlers, who require a lot of daily care themselves!
I am really good with other dogs! When I meet new dogs, I will often growl when they get near to me, which the rescue folks say is very understandable given how vulnerable I am due to my paralysis. When the other dogs are respectful of my nervousness and give me some space, I go on and make friends with them pretty quickly. I just need to make sure that they are nice dogs before I let my guard down!

I think cats are the same as chipmunks and squirrels—critters to be chased and barked at, so I need a cat-free home please.

Medical

Given my past, I am in pretty spectacular health! I’ve had full blood work and chemistry panels which look “fabulous!” according to the vet! I’ve had a few urinary tract infections since arriving, which is pretty common for paralysed dogs and get treated with a course of antibiotics. The vets are working on figuring out a plan for me that hopefully will help me stop getting these so regularly.

Here’s the deal with my paralysis—I spent a bunch of time being looked at by the wonderful doctors up at Cornell Sports Medicine Clinic, and they say that I have an injury to my spine (most likely due to being hit by a car or motorcycle) that cannot be surgically fixed. The injury makes it impossible for my brain to send messages to my legs and vice versa, so I can’t regain normal walking ability.

BUT, the good news is that I have lots of reflexes functioning very well in my legs and feet, so if I do daily exercises that strengthen my leg and hip muscles and reprogram healthy leg movement patterns, I could very possibly become what they call a “spinal walker” which means I could end up being able to walk to some degree (if a bit awkwardly), based totally on muscle reflexes! My foster parents think it extremely likely that this will happen, since they are seeing improvement in my ability to bear weight on my back legs (once they get me into a standing position) already.

I get 15 minutes or so of at-home PT every day, which I will need to continue probably forever. It’s really easy, and has three parts: 1) they move my leg and feet joints around for a few minutes, a few times each day, 2) they stand me up (on carpeting or grass, not on slick floors), and let me practice putting weight on my legs and feet for a minute at a time, a few times a day, and 3) they take me out in my hind-end harness to walk and run around the yard a few times a day. That’s it!

The only other care I need relates to going to the bathroom. For peeing, my foster parents express (aka squoosh!) my bladder 3-5 times each day to help me empty my bladder so I don’t dribble urine too much. I also wear a belly band much of the time in the house to catch any drips that happen. For pooping, they keep me on a regular meal schedule, so know when I need to poop. They learned a little trick that gets me to poop on command, so there are rarely any accidents, no muss, no fuss!

Favorite Activities

  • Getting affection! Nuzzling your legs! Having you rub my face and neck!
  • Going for walks in my hind-end harness! Going for strolls in my stroller!
  • Learning new things! I’m smart AND I love food! I know “shake” and am working on “wait!”
  • Being part of a family! Totally new thing for me, it’s the BEST!
  • FOOD!!!! It was so hard finding food to eat when I was homeless and paralysed in Katmandu…being given 2 delicious meals every day, plus snacks in between, is heaven! The vet says I am allowed to gain a few more pounds and I am stoked to hear it!

Summary

I am a super special dog! I am very affectionate, super friendly, curious, and easygoing! I make my foster parents laugh constantly with my adorableness and liveliness! I would love to make a glorious life together with you!

If you are interested in adopting me, please fill out an online adoption application and live close to Ithaca , Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, or Elmira. We do home visits on every applicant, and can’t do home visits where we don’t have local volunteers.

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