In Snippets 3/2026, I announced that after more than thirty years, Alysia and I were moving from our homestead of gardens and farm to a small +55 community apartment. Unfortunately, we could not bring our dog, Sam, because the apartments were open only to small dogs. So our daughter made a flyer and we started posting it. We had a few nibbles but no takers. Sam loves to gracefully run and makes amazing leaps. He really is a country dog, not a neighborhood dog.
We sell our homestead. Escrow closes May 6. The days are going by. Sam knows something is afoot because every couple of days we disappear (to Chico) with part of the household. His house is growing emptier and emptier. We spend more time petting him but our voices are tinged with pity and longing. An anxiety appears within him.
We don’t want to send him to an animal shelter but finally we have no choice. About a week before the close of escrow, Alysia calls around but all the shelters say no. They’re full because nobody is coming in to adopt large dogs.
Our buyers enjoy Sam but they already have a lot of dogs. However, they are willing to foster him for a few weeks to give us more time. Meanwhile we are freaking out because we our 30 day escrow closing date is racing towards us and we have to downsize from a homestead filled with 35 years of stuff to a 900 sq. ft. apartment and Alysia wants her homestead to be a clean welcoming place for the buyers but the house is a mess. She arranges for some cleaners to come help but that falls apart on Sunday, May 3rd. She calls a cleaning company; they will send a cleaner on Monday morning, May 4th.
Monday morning: The cleaner arrives, a young mom with two of her homeschooling children in tow. She starts doing a good job deep cleaning a room. Her children start playing with Sam. They get along well. The mom mentions that they’ve recently moved to 40 acres in the foothills. They have a small dog but her husband also wants a large dog. “Would you want to take Sam?” I ask. She’d have to ask her husband first.
Yesterday, May 5th, in the middle of the day, a call. YES, they will take Sam! Her husband will drive down that evening to get Sam. Dawn, our daughter who is very empathic with dogs and who has driven down this last evening to say good-by to Sam, offers to drive Sam up to their place.
She and Sam arrive at their homestead. Their three kids hadn’t been told yet that they were getting Sam; they are so delighted and excited. He is immersed in kid love, something he hasn’t really experienced before. Sam’s tail is wagging more and more. He displays impeccable manners. The father (who loves big dogs) falls in love with Sam. It’s a wonderful time that Dawn shares with them.
They ask Dawn what work she does. She works at Shasta College helping people who want to go to college navigate the system and be successful. The young mom shares that she would like to go back to college. They start talking. The dad also might want to go back to college…
A couple of weeks ago, the family emailed us. “We express daily how much of a perfect fit Sam is in our family,”
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