Bernie Samson

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4/29/06: Samson (Bernie is his nickname) came to me this afternoon from a Humane Society. He is a 2 year old neutered male St. Bernard/Golden Retriever mix. He's a big ol' lug o' slobbery love. The Humane Society could not put him on the adoption floor because he growls when you take his food away. I personally don't see a problem with that as I would growl AND backhand anyone who tried to take my dinner away (but apparently this isn't appropriate behavior in the dog/human relationship). I'll pull out the dog reference books to figure out how to deal with this 'inappropriate' behavior :) However, putting his food down and allowing him to eat it seems to work just fine.....

He is a beautiful boy with very soft fur. Samson has an enormous head - that of a St. Bernard. His head is twice the size of my Zack's. Samson and Zack are both 80 lbs - neither are overweight but Samson is much larger than Zack. He is about 4 inches taller than Zack, too. I'll try to get a photo of them standing next to one another for comparision. Samson is all fur and bones - no fat.

Samson is my first foster after taking a couple years off. I just lost my girl, Diva, to cancer. I decided that Zack needed a playmate and fostering would suit both of our needs. Unfortunately, Samson is very laid back and so far isn't interested in playing with Zack. He is tolerating Zack's poor manners as that of a saint (St. Bernard?). Zack has been relentlessly barking at him and pulling on his ears to get him to play. Samson just walks away. He did finally turn and snap at Zack (after hours of being tormented) --- he has much more patience than I would have in the same situation.

I'm also sorry to say that Samson seems to be way more well behaved than my Zack. I can hardly tell that he's here! He just eats bones and lays around. I think he has much more St. Bernard in him than Golden - especially since he has no interest in playing with tennis balls.

I was told that he is fearful of men - however, so far he seems to be just fine with them. Within five minutes of him arriving I had my neighbors come over to meet him (they adopted one of my foster dogs a few years ago so they like to keep up on all the random Goldens at my house)...anyway, Samson was perfect with all three of my neighbors (mom, dad and 9 year old daughter all came to visit). He won mom over instantly by rolling on his back to get belly rubs. Then he went over to dad and stuck his head in his lap for a pet or two. And he sat very nicely for a treat from their daughter - he waited patiently and took the treat gently from her hand only after she offered it. He then began to wrestle and play with mom. He watched out the window as they left the house and walked across the street to their house....I think he wanted to go home with them to escape Zack's barking. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he decided to adopt my neighbors.

He also won over my mom who is afraid of large dogs (her dog is a mere 4 lbs). As soon as she met him she raved about what a nice boy he is and how soft his fur felt. This is very odd for my mom....

If you're looking for a Big Ol' Lug O Lazy Love...Samson may be the boy for you!

I'll post more photos as I get good ones.