Sam, the Wonder Dog

Guess who's staying at our place for a few nights!
This is Sam. Sam belongs to our dear friend, Pat, who used to be one of the managers at Midwest Mountaineering. Sam is just plain amazing, so it should be no surprise that dog-training runs in Pat's family. In fact, his uncle, Rex Carr, was one of the legends in retriever training.

Pat and Sam have a pretty remarkable relationship. Although he's definitely in charge, she has enough spirit to keep him on his toes, which seems to be the perfect balance. I've never met a dog so well-behaved and, truly, so happy. Ever seen "The Dog Whisperer?" If so, you probably remember that he's always talking about how dogs who don't have boundaries and discipline are stressed out, so they act out. Sam proves this point perfectly, by being oh-so-contented within her boundaries. She always knows exactly what's expected of her, and because Pat has taught her to do everything he expects, she never has to worry or be confused.

In a bizarre fluke of the allergy world, Sam is one of very few dogs we've ever met that doesn't make Mason sneeze, which means that -- unlike other dogs -- she gets to come over and play.
We even took her on vacation up to Duane and Peter's cabin!

So when I got a phone call at work today asking whether I'd like to have some company for a few nights, I was pretty excited. I wonder if I can figure out how to take her with me to the Twins game tomorrow. She's so smart -- I'm sure she'd like baseball.