Adopting Rod Stewart
The Day Samson joined the fam
From a photoshoot with my parents, Laura and Philip
April 2020
On June 1, 2017, I dashed into the car early Saturday morning to see if he was still there. Driving an hour through the Great Smoky Mountains to a shelter at the peak of a hill and parked my Jeep Liberty with my boyfriend Andy. I found a picture online the night before of a stray that had been surrendered to the shelter, but was never claimed weeks later. On the shelter’s Facebook page, they announced he was up for adoption the next day. The shelter named him Rod Stewart. With his crazy poof of fur on the top of his scraggly head and his gradient of blonde highlights to black fur, it funnily resembled the famous musician.
On a hot day in the beginning of June, I met who is now my dog Samson. Andy and I got there as the shelter opened at noon, ready to meet the pup. Our first meet and greet was outdoors inside a chain linked fence with a beige awning over our heads. From there, we were introduced to the sweetest little timid, scruffy dog. He seemed happy to cuddle and hang out with me and Andy outside of his cage.
Samson was covered in bumps from the time he spent outside and his flea medicine was taking effect and scab over. I had been on the look out for months for a rescue terrier about Samson’s size and had told my landlords my deep interest in adopting a dog. After volunteering at a local shelter in the in-between when I was unsure about such a big adjust, I finally felt ready to make the commitment.
Once I played with Samson outside and found out he was good with cats, I was ready to adopt him on the spot. I had to get the approval from my landlord, but the service was absolute crap up in the Tennessee mountains. Andy and I made our way back down the mountain to try and find cell reception. After finally getting a hold of them while we were situated in Gatlinburg, they agreed. Elated, Andy and I ran the car back up the mountain and adopted who I now call Samson. After he was neutered, we picked him up a couple days later. It is still one of my favorite days.
While getting situated in my new city mixed with Covid hitting, he’s been holding up with my family and friends. I cannot wait to be reunited with that scruffy sweet boy at the end of this month back on a hot summer day in June (3 days from now!)
June 1, 2017 at Sevier County Humane Society
The first time Samson and my late childhood pup Tucker meeting
Beautifully wonderful pics taken while he was staying with one of his favorite people, Andy Vinson
June 2020
Follow this little booger on Instagram at @samson_formerly_rod_stewart for many more cute pictures like these. Thanks for reading! And thank you so so so much to the many family and friends that have shown this little dude love while I’ve been away. xoxo