The Duarte Family: Dear Sammy

To My Dearest Sammy,

I decided to write this letter on the blog because since the beginning you have been part of this family and I wanted to share some photos and videos from happier times.

You were my first son. It's been almost 11 long and wonderful years that you were here. I think it's so difficult for me because you have been with Daddy and myself for THE biggest changes in our life.

You were there when we were in college and then graduated,

The day we brought you home with Jack and Abe

Soooo tiny!

Tallahassee, FL

Uncle Chris at Daddy's graduation party

when we moved from FL to CT...

The drive from FL to CT

found or 1st apartment together...

The backyard of our first apartment

Yeah! We moved in!

I bought this chair for me, but you confiscated it quickly!

One of our many walks to the park

Always checking outside

and then our 2nd aparment.

Uncle Chris visiting

Your friend Ozzy

A BOXER wearing BOXERS
(HAHAHA we were silly)

Putting your ornament on the tree

Then finally bought our first house.

Just moments after we closed on the house!

I was holding you when Daddy got down on one knee and proposed.

Just moments after Mike proposed!

You were there by my side when I went into labor with both children. Daddy and I still think you knew before we did that it was happening. :)

Ready for your sister to arrive!

You were part of many family vacations to FL,

On our way to FL for the Orange Bowl of 2003

At Gma & PopPop's

Even on vacation you had to sleep with us

the Cape,

Hugs from Alyssa

and Block Island.

It's impossible to list all of the things that I will miss about you. There have been so many reminders of you in these last couple of days. I will miss how you used to put your HEAVY head on my lap and exhale so deeply when you wanted some love. I will miss the way you would bark at the slightest noise in the house when you knew that Daddy wasn't home and you were the man of the house. Going along with that, I will miss how you knew when Daddy wasn't home and would slyly go over to our bed and look at me with those big puppy dog eyes because you knew I would let you sleep on Daddy's side of the bed.

I will miss being woken up in the middle of the night from your God awful snoring! Believe it or not, I will miss the way your disgusting human sounding farts could clear a room. :) I will miss the way you used to tilt your head in the funniest way when you heard a strange noise.

It still brings a smile (through tears) to my face remembering how you, although you were 90 pounds, still thought of yourself as a lapdog and would have no trouble climbing up and laying on us.

There will be no more Jones' tree farm, watching you and Alyssa run around trying to find our perfect tree.

Our first trip to Jones'

It will be a somber winter thinking how you loved the snow and how you used to jump to catch the snowballs.

Snowball to the face!

The spring and summer won't be the same without you laying smack in the middle of the warm stone patio catching some rays. Driving past the park will bring back great memories of how you loved to run around with the other dogs.

The Cove

Norwalk Dog Park

Shippan Park

Of course there are all of those small things in my daily life that will take time to get used to. There's no need to keep the plastic bags from the grocery store for picking up your poop on our walks. The emptiness I feel in the house when I walk in the door and you are no longer there to greet me. I no longer need to cut up the leftovers to be left in your dog dish. As much as I hated it, I will miss you waking me up early, regardless of how long the kids slept, because you needed to be let out. And of course there's the way you would wake me up....putting your smooshed up face right on the edge of the bed, in my face.

We treated you like a human, like our son. We still joke that we think you were really part human. You always seemed to understand exactly what we were talking about. You were part of the family and always will be.

Your first Christmas

1st Christmas!

You and Johnny

Your baby brother arrived!

Blessing of the animals at church

You were the best dog that anyone could have asked for. You will never be forgotten nor replaced. It's with a heavy heart that I say goodbye and I love you forever and always. As selfish as it is missing you, I know that you are not in any more pain and you are watching us. I can still feel your presence, hear your footsteps and even hear your barks. Maybe it's just me dreaming, but I feel you are still here with us.