Sir Sampson Knight II AX MXJ OF EAC TG-N CL2-R CL1-F TF-I FDX CGC
January 19, 2004 - July 24, 2009

"What moves through us is a silence, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day, one more word, one more touch, we may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget."

Sammy was a Golden Retriever that was born and raised in San Diego, CA, a silly but shy boy. He had a great personality, but was very reserved with people and dogs that he did not know. If you didn't know him, he would mind his own business and expect you to do the same. Once you knew him he was full of love and kisses and was very playful. He would simply ooze his goofy personality. Sammy loved to chase and his favorite thing to do was get a tennis ball. He especially loved to retrieve in the water and had a very flashy water entry.

I started agility with Sammy back in 2005 when our obedience trainer recommended classes to help build his confidence. While we had a lot of bumps in the road with Sammy being scared of certain obstacles (weavepoles, tunnel, tire, teeter, chute) we worked through them and he eventually became a fantastic agility dog. You would never guess this crazy boy was ever scared of any of the obstacles now! Agility really did help improve his self confidence and I recommended it to anyone with a shy dog!

Through the years Sammy was successful in a number of different sports including agility, flyball and dockdogs. He especially loved making a big splash in dock dogs. Early on we ran CPE and NADAC agility where he quickly earned a few titles, but during his last year we focused on AKC agility with the hope of eventually earning his MACH. Sammy's agility time was cut short, but on what ended up being his last agility trial he did earn his MXJ. 

Sammy was a joy to live with and train. I learned a lot from this red dog! Together we learned the sport of agility and I thank him for dealing with me while I was learning how to be a better handler. He always wagged his tail and was happy whether I was making a mistake or we had a perfect run.

In July 2009 Sammy was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and after a short battle Sammy crossed over the bridge. He was a special dog and will always be loved and remembered. I miss you buddy!

Hug your pups and don't take any day for granted! Run every run like it might be your last.

"Dogs come into our lives, leave paw prints on our hearts, and we are forever changed."