Sammy Beresford

Sad News 5th June 2021

Sam’s mum and dad told us, “Our beloved Sammy collapsed and died on Saturday 5th June 2021 in the garden he helped to landscape. He had been out to check his peemail that morning but decided by lunchtime that he wanted to be reunited with many of his old pals. Rest in peace beautiful boy and thank you for 11 wonderful years as our constant companion.”

MEMORIES OF SAMMY (21.6.2021)

Having thanked her for her donation to IRR in memory of Sammy, Mum Jane said, “We just loved our boy so very much so you are very welcome. Sam’s date of birth on his passport was 2007 so he probably was about 14 years old when he passed.

Today (21.6.2021) would have been Sam’s 11th anniversary. It is the special days that are the hardest to take but their loss can strike us at any time. According to the Rolda website before coming to England, Sammy had allegedly been three and a half years old for at least six months. We will always remember the day when the lovely Belinda and Terry delivered him to our door.

Thinking about him I also remembered something of interest that happened whilst we were on holiday one time. An Australian lady identified Sam as a Maremma.

Apparently, her friend had 3 of them on a sheep farm ‘back home’. We looked up the breed and he fitted the bill to perfection both physically and behaviorally so who knows? Whatever he was, he was one very special boy”. 

History

EARLY DAYS

Another of the Rommies, Toto is a medium sized, medium haired Crossbreed who was castrated, vaccinated etc and had a Pet Passport.

In 2010, he was approximately 3 years old and was one of 3 siblings with him and his sister (Ada) having arrived in the UK on 16.6.2010 and their other sister (Bela) having already been rehomed in the UK.

Toto is people friendly and good with dogs/bitches. He was going to be cat tested whilst in foster with Terry and Belinda in Somerset. Apparently, he was still very puppy-like.

FIRST REPORT FROM BELINDA

Toto is much bigger than Connie and is at least as big, if not bigger, than Wolfie. He seems very affable and has wagged his tail at the others but we have not let them loose together yet, of course. His coat is very thick and full of undercoat at the moment. He feels quite thin underneath it and I think he will look very different after his shampoo at Tina’s tomorrow. He appears to be very good natured, wags his tail at the girls, has marked every bush and tree in the garden and is quite happy to go into his crate. He does pull on the lead and is very strong.

They are both obviously very tired and Toto was having a problem keeping his eyes open just now! I will take some more pics when they come back from Tina (the groomer).

UPDATE 19/06/2010

Belinda says “Toto is definitely a man’s dog, he came out of his crate yesterday morning straight past me and looked for Terry! He is also definitely NOT a cat lover – ours ended up a fir tree yesterday, I honestly think she would have come off very badly if he had managed to catch her so, a home without cats is a must! Unfortunately, he is also not at all chicken friendly, so no chickens either.

Apart from that, he is a lovely cuddly, friendly boy. He gets on well with all our girls now that he and Millie have come to an agreement (she always likes to make sure that our canine visitors realise that she is the doggy boss). He does pull a bit at the start of a walk but very quickly settles down and then walks quite well.

He sleeps soundly at night and is clean in the house already. He travels very well in the car. His coat was very knotty so he isn’t keen on being brushed as yet but that should come once he realises people don’t want to hurt him. He certainly looks very handsome now he has been professionally groomed.”

A MOVE TO JANE (30.6.2010)

Because of his cat and chicken chasing instincts, he was moved to Gloucestershire to live with Jane who has neither.

Jane says “I tried pronouncing Toto in a variety of different ways but, as there appeared to be no name recognition whatsoever have been calling him Sammy for the last week and that seems to get his attention.

He absolutely lives for his walks and just sleeps for most of the time if we’re not out and about. He’s brilliant in the car, you just open the door and he climbs onto the back seat and settles down, occasionally looking up to see where we are.

He’s quite noisy when he knows he’s about to go for a walk and may pull on the lead at the start but settles down to serious sniffing and marking when out in the fields. Fortunately he’s not a water baby and stays pretty clean which is just as well as he’s not over fond of being brushed especially around his rear end. His road sense is non-existent and he barks at passing motor bikes. He likes to meet other humans and tends to ignore children playing in the park.

Sammy doesn’t really do play, Ricky 3 legs and Megan have tried their best to tempt him but he doesn’t quite know what to do although he loves going out for walks with them and is very good with other dogs. As he is a fairly large dog and quite strong I don’t think that he should be rehomed with small children but I should imagine he would be fine with teenagers.

Basic commands are pretty much unknown to him. He can and does ‘sit’ just not when you ask him to.

Belinda and Terry were absolutely spot on when they said that no way is he to be rehomed with cats as one ventured into the garden the other day and, had he (the cat) not been fleet of foot, would most certainly have lost one of his nine lives!!! As for chickens, all I can say is that he certainly likes them cooked as our supper disappeared from the work surface one evening and reappeared on the hall carpet around 3am!

I can confirm that he does cruise the work surfaces even when he has just been fed. He also knows how to strategically place his nose under the dustbin lid and nudge it off yet he turns his nose up at doggie treats with the rare exception of an occasional Chewdle. I should imagine that he was used to roaming the streets and scavenging to supplement his diet before he was rescued. It’s obvious that he has been used to living in a house at some point and he has already made himself quite at home!”

UPDATE 15.7.2010

Jane tells us “Sammy has really settled in with us as an only dog but he thoroughly enjoys spending time with his friends Megan and Ricky. He’s a follower and not a leader and accepts being put in his place by Ricky from time to time.

As he still hates being groomed, the vacuum cleaner is on valium coping with the volume of hair about the house. His rear end is almost a no go area and he may have had an accident with his tail at some point which would account for his attitude.

He’s absolutely mastered the art of sitting and now sits by the fridge when he feels that he deserves a treat! I’ve started hiding treats under pots and in soft toys to make him work a bit harder for a reward. I am just beginning to nip the pre-walk barking in the bud by taking off my jacket and putting the lead down when he starts to get vocal, then picking them up again a bit later when he’s calmed down.

He’s very intelligent and quick to learn but he does have a stubborn streak.

Given the choice he would much prefer to eat the same food as us, which to be honest he often does, favourites being chicken, pork and minced beef. He’s the only dog I’ve known who eats cucumber!

He doesn’t surf the work surfaces or investigate the bin so much these days as he’s probably getting used to regular meals.

As I write he’s snuggled up on his new duvet sleeping off his walk. I am hoping to enter him into the village dog show this weekend but if he’s called upon to do anything other than a ‘sit’ we’ll be coming away empty handed!”

MY DAY AT THE DOG SHOW

I didn’t win any prizes at the Scruffs Dog Show. I wasn’t the most obedient, I wasn’t the best groomed (but I wasn’t the scruffiest either) nor did I look most like my foster mum who had dyed her hair to match my coat especially for the occasion! But I did have a fabulous time with my bestest friends Megan and Ricky (3 Legs) Granger and even had a go at the dog olympics.

SAMMY HAS FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME

Jane was unable to resist Sammy’s charms and has decided to adopt him thus earning her place in the ever growing elite ranks of failed fosterers.

She said. “For weeks I’ve been dithering about whether or not I could make the commitment to adopting, always managing to find an excuse not to. But with the Reunion so close and the thought that someone else would fall in love with him at the show and we might have to return home without him finally made up my mind. It did help to know that there has been no interest shown in him so it looks as though he really chose us and it was meant to be all along.

I’m not saying that he thinks he’s living in a hotel but he comes downstairs in a morning and sits waiting for his breakfast to be served and once he’s eaten it, goes back to bed until it’s time for his walk!

It seems that dog food doesn’t agree with him and we’ve now discovered that he likes banana, peach, avocado, courgette and pepper (orange not green or red) as well as junk food that he shouldn’t be eating such as chips! Cheese is his favourite treat which will play a large part in his future training. By the time I’ve finished preparing his meals, we usually end up with bread and water!”