Jessie Please click on Jessie to see her tribute

A Tribute to Sambo: 20 May 1994 – 15 March 2005

My first dog. A loyal friend to the end. Sambo is one in a million & I couldn’t have asked for a neater dog.

The day he took hold of my leather jacket in the pet shop & said I wasn’t to leave without him was one of the best days of my life.

He has given us much pleasure & many happy memories I would like to share.

Sambo’s first lessons were to give me a kiss, give me a cuddle & give me 5. Every morning as a pup he would leap on my bed for a morning cuddle & he has continued to do so all his life. Even this week he was first up & plonked on top of me.

From starting out as an only child he excepted Jessie into his life at 1 & has been so accepting of all the changes that he has encountered , a variety of animals, pesky puppies & the moves we have had. As long as he is with us Sam is happy.

He had never been around children & has been wonderful with Gregs two granddaughters. They always say “Give me five Sambo” & he will.. along with a kiss they generally didn’t ask for!!

We went camping with him up the Coromandel when he was 9mths old. He spent hours running up & down the beach chasing the waves & the next day he wouldn’t walk. He had worn the soles of his feet raw. We had to carry him out to go to the toilet. A real boy!!

When we lived in Kingsland Auckland Sambo helped Greg chase a burglar one night. He just seemed to know this guy was not doing right & he bit at his heels all the way down the street. For a long time “Where’s the burglar” would always get a pretty hot reaction from Sam. He chased 2 kids trying to break into our garage in Invercargill too.

We would spend many holidays at my sisters in Ohope & Sam would run up & down the hills being the king pin & keeping any seagulls at bay. He would have Jessie & his girlfriend Doris & any of the other local dogs follow him. He loved it there & we would often send him on holiday there whilst Jessie was on heat. Sambo loved the Bossies & Doris & it was his 2nd home. For him the word ‘Bossies’ & ‘Doris’ was just as exciting as ‘walk’.

When we moved to Invercargill he just loved the big open Oreti beach & we would have many happy walks there. He was 6 when Jessie had her pups & the family increased & after that Sambo took on a more serious role in life & was more sensible. He left the gallooting to the younger Tyler & Jasper. He was the leader of the pack. The last year has been hard as he & Jasper have not seen eye to eye & looking back it may have been because Jasper sensed Sambo being unwell & wanted to challenge him. Sambo never stood down & we would never let him. He will remain King Farouk for all time.

He makes out he is such a tough character & yet many a guest here has had the big smooch land on top of them for a cuddle. He has had a very happy life. He has been loved to death & been such a big part of our life..We often find him with our sheets or a blanket in his mouth & like a cat kneeding. He used to hate us catching him doing that as it really showed his soft side!!

On discovering lumps on his throat we took him to the vet & they told us on the spot he had a lymph cancer in an advanced stage & 2mths to live. He seemed so healthy & happy it came as a huge blow. The last few weeks he has been spoilt rotten.. well more so than normal. I have enjoyed my walks with him as he has slowed & I actually have a dog beside me instead of some flash running past. On Saturday on our walk he stopped & rested & for me that was a sad moment. I rested with him & cuddled him till he found he could get up again.

We made it home but for me I could see I was losing my beloved Sambo. The next day I found huge lumps around his groin & his appetite started to fail. On Monday when he didn’t want to come for a walk with me I knew he was a sad puppy.

We are lucky we don’t have to let our animals suffer & the saddest time came when we had to make that decision. We did it for Sambo. He went to sleep with his head on my knee in his favourite spot.

Sambo will be in our hearts forever. He has touched the hearts of many of our friends & family. Greg & I will miss him dreadfully as will the other dogs.. He has been that really special dog & a tribute to his breed.

Rest in peace Sambo. We will always remember & love you forever….