Sam or Sammy as he is affectionately called has been through lots of change in his life. We first learned about him in June when we were contacted by a director of a shelter in Michigan. She told us that Sam, along with several other dogs, were seized in March from a backyard breeder for neglect. The dogs spent most of their time in crates in an unheated building with no running water. In spite of how sweet Sam was, they were having difficulty finding the right home for him. We were told he was very mouthy so we initially set things up for him to go to a foster, who had previously worked with a mouthy bull terrier and had done wonders. However, shortly after going there, it was evident that things had changed in the foster’s home since the last foster was there and it wasn’t working. We scrambled around and were lucky enough to have Sharon Whalen-Keillor of Key-Lore Kanine Kountry Klub and Doggie Day Care make space to have Sammy go to her for board and train. Sammy learned so much while with Sharon including how to be a good citizen. Our plan was to then have him go to Diane Thomas’s home for a short while as a foster just so he was in a home setting prior to going to a permanent home because Sammy has never actually lived in a home. Diane had spent some time with Sammy while he was at Sharon’s and was going to continue working on his training. However, our plans hit a snag when poor Diane blew her knee out a little after Sammy went to her. He went back to Sharon’s and we started to look for a furever home for Sammy. After we posted him, we were contacted by a woman who was his original breeder and subsequently spoke with his co-breeder as well. We learned that Sammy was not actually 5 years old but that he will be 2 years old in September, which helped explain some of his behaviors more so. We also were contacted by a woman named Dania who was interested in possibly bringing Sammy home. Once we spoke with her and her husband Stuart, we felt we had the perfect home for Sammy. They have lots of bull terrier experience and have dealt with the full gamut of bull terrier antics, quirks and issues. They have a teenage son who has grown up with bull terriers and absolutely loves them. Once decompressed, Sammy will also have a 4 legged brother named Eric. Today, Sammy started what we hope will be the final stage in his journeyed young life, a permanent home with a lovely family.

Special thanks to Elise Ramsey of the Little Traverse Bay Humane Society for continuing to be involved and caring so deeply about the well being of Sammy, Diane Thomas for her involvement and help and Sharon Whalen-Keillor for providing Sammy with the tools he needs to be able to become an active member of a family.

You can like and follow Sam’s journey on his page, The Best Sam Thing