Sam is doing great and making friends everywhere he goes.  He is such a happy boy who just loves people.  Because Sam had always been with his brother Golden 15-152, I just assumed he would need another dog in his home when the two separated.  And then, because he occasionally showed glimpses of wanting to run and play, I felt he would do best in a home with a playful dog, feeling confident he would learn to run and play.  While, I do think he would love some dog interaction on a fairly regular basis (and I think this would be really good for him), I believe Sam would be content being an only dog also.  He really does love to hang out with his people and will follow them from room to room.  He does enjoy his walks and is great on a leash, but otherwise, is just content to laze around the house.  I was thinking there was an energetic puppy in him waiting to break out, but have concluded he is just a mellow, go-with-the flow kind of guy.

The one concern I do have about him being an only dog is if his adoptive family worked a full work day and he was home for long periods of time by himself.  He does not like to be kenneled and will bark a whole lot when left home in one.  He is not destructive, but is very vocal in his dislike.  With another calm dog in the home, he does calm down and sleeps, but is still quite vocal for a bit.  I just don't know what he would do if he were home all by himself.  As I work from home, he is not left for long periods of time and I really have no way to test this.  I think with time, he would be just fine, but it will require some adjustments to a work schedule at the beginning with gradual increases of time alone.

Sam had a mini-vacation with another foster last week when I was out of town and he did great.  He was initially nervous about going to yet another home, but he had a great time.  Here is what they had to say about his stay:

"We had the pleasure of fostering this beautiful boy for the past 5 days. After we arrived at our house on Wednesday, the introductions with our 2 resident dogs- Ruby and Cody- went well and after that the three of them were exploring the backyard together. Although the three dogs got along fine, Sam never really wanted to play with them and he preferred to stay by my side, while the other dogs were running around, playing and fighting over sticks. Sam seemed shy the first few days, but by Friday he was finishing Ruby's food (she likes to wander around and leave some morsels in her bowl), dragging a blanket through the living room and he simply felt more at ease and happy in this new environment.  

During his stay with us Sam ate well, slept nicely on the floor or on a doggie bed in our bedroom and he really loved going for walks. The only thing he did not like was spending time in the crate. He would bark almost the entire time.  Sam was such a good boy that we only put him in a crate  for a few minutes when the dog walker came to pick up our dogs to take them for a walk and I just  did not want my daughter to have to worry about Sam. Sam loved to take long naps during the day and he had the cutest snore. 

In conclusion I think Sam would make a great addition to a family with or without another dog. He is polite, learns the rules of the house fast and just wants to be close to his people. We'll miss this sweet boy, but are sure he'll soon have his very own family who will give him the love he deserves."

Sam is truly the perfect dog and will be the most loving, loyal new family member you could ever hope for.

Sam is doing so well!  Unfortunately, he developed a pretty nasty infection after his neuter, but he is healing perfectly now.  Since it is not as irritated and painful anymore, he is no longer constantly trying to lick.  As a reward, he has earned time off each day from the dreaded cone when he is with me and I can watch him.  He still wears his cone at night and any other time I can't keep an eagle eye on him.  

Personality wise, Sam is just the sweetest boy around.  He loves all attention - human and canine - and is just so darn happy all the time.  He is becoming very reliable on his potty-training (only one accident in the last 5 days!) and has earned quite a bit of freedom roaming when we are at home.  He even found a new perfect place to spend the night - in our bedroom on the floor (or once we are dead asleep, he sneaks up on the bed).   While we did not plan to move him out of his crate at night so soon, he forced the issue one night when he barked for what seemed like hours on end.  In hopes of getting a few hours of sleep, I leashed him up and brought him upstairs.  I kept him on a leash throughout the night, but he did not move much and I woke up to find him on his back, legs completely splayed sound asleep on top of the air conditioning vent.   Ever since that night he comes up with us and does great - I do still keep a leash looped around my wrist to make sure he doesn't wander, but he has been great. 

One thing we have discovered is that Sam is definitely a ladies man and while he does love his people,  nothing is as fantastic to him as a female dog.   He is completely, totally and, dare I say, obsessively in love with one our resident goldens - Sammie.   He follows her everywhere she goes and  needs to be by her at all times.   He does not do anything inappropriate, just  needs to breathe the same air as her, be as close as possible, check her ears and clean them in needed and stand watch over her while she sleeps.  Sammie, unfortunately, does not return the affection, but puts up with it.  Because Sam keeps his distance if she lets him know to back off (he is fantastic at reading other dogs signals and immediately backs away if they ask him to), she just ignores his looks of adoration and goes about her business.   Sam's obsession with Sammie kicked in when Golden went to another foster for a few nights.  Golden is now back with us and Sam still prefers to be with Sammie over Golden, however, today he is really beginning to hang with Golden again.  

Sam watching over Sammie

Because these two boys have had numerous placements since they have been in RAGOM, I am hoping that with some adjustment time, I can get a better picture on whether Sam and Golden absolutely have to be placed together or if they just each need another dog.  Right now, I am leaning towards them staying together, but will update if anything changes as they both settle in.  While they don't play together (I have not seen either of them really play at all and I am not sure they ever learned how to) they do follow each other around.  If you could open your heart to a beautiful, sweet pair of goldens, let your placement advisor know.  These two are very special boys!  They are going to be making their RAGOM debut this Saturday in Shakopee - come out and meet them and I promise you will fall in love.