It was one year ago, June 11 2011, that Sam disappeared. During a regular evening dog activity, I left the back door open and she and Frankie walked out. I called and started to chase after them, but they ran away through the back woods. Unfortunately, I thought it was Frankie and Bruno, who had escaped together many times previously. It might have helped if I immediately ran after them, but I did not do that because I didn’t realize it was Sam. Sam had previously demonstrated an inability to return home in a timely fashion. She stayed gone.
After looking all summer, in what can be accurately described as an all-out search, we got definite news of Sam’s death on August 21. Someone down the road, who Ilana spoke to during the search, found her remains and returned her nametag and a section of her collar. We still don’t know what really happened (and I have looked several times in the area, winter & summer, but not found any other sign). Our best guess is she was caught in an unattended trap or otherwise stuck. This was all just 3 miles or so from our home, but in a very difficult area (swampy, off the trails, tussocky). RIP Sam.