Sammie's Senior Dog Sanctuary

05/02/2026

Just three old gals taking their morning nap. 💤 Syd, Marlo and Honey.

01/12/2026

It is with profound sadness that we let you know that our sweet, silly Millie passed away suddenly. We are still in shock and miss her dearly. She came to us 9.5 months ago very skinny and weary, but warmed up to us quickly. We worked putting weight on her and letting her know she was safe. Rick was her human, she adored him, followed him everywhere. She was goofy, loved to run with Bodhi and Enzo, loved the mountain and laying on the couch. She was truly a love ❤️. She went from 10-0 within a short amount of time. We had her hospitalized and brought her home Thursday night. When we checked on her, she was already gone. She crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully. Every diagnostic was thrown at her, her hematocrit was high and cholesterol elevated, otherwise BW was unremarkable. Rads with and without barium showed nothing alarming. Rads were sent out STAT to the radiologist who saw nothing concerning. The plan was to bring her in on Friday for another round of BW. Dr asked to do a necropsy, he was beyond surprised and saddened and wanted to find answers. He found a cancerous tumor in her cecum. 😞 It’s important to note that the Dr and staff did everything in their power to find out what was going on with Millie. Animals cannot speak therefore diagnostics need to be done to try to find the source of pain or disease. Millie never once vocalized any discomfort even when palpated. What was happening to her was a mystery. I say this because there are so many as****es who bash the vet field saying their pet died because the Dr didn’t do enough to find the issue and then have the nerve to demand they get refunded because their pet died. Even with all the diagnostics, Millie’s cancer was hidden and it’s what killed her. Your pet’s death is devastating to them too. You don’t know what they go through day in and day out. Make sure to thank them and be kind, they deserve your respect. 🌈

12/12/2025

As the Paws for Strength sale ends tonight at midnight (12/11) we thought it fitting to highlight the most musculoskeletal challenged senior we have in our rescue and our first sanctuary resident, Honey. Honey was surrendered the day before Thanksgiving 2022. Her human went into hospice and the family did not want her. They brought her into the vet to have her euthanized. The vet refused to do so, they surrendered Honey and we were called. Visually you could immediately see she was arthritic, her gait a bit wonky. In July 2025 she began to favor her hind leg, she was referred to the orthopedic surgeon. After a consultation and thereafter radiographs under sedation Honey was dubbed Pandora’s box by the surgeon. Good news, no surgery needed. Bad news, genetic and chronic skeletal issues throughout her little body, along with muscle wasting. We have been giving MYOS to Honey knowing how much it helped Enzo. When I told the surgeon this she was very happy to hear. It reinforced what we already knew, MYOS works! Honey is on different pain meds to help her because of the complexities going on. The surgeon has recommended different procedures that could help Honey and we are still exploring those options. We will continue to give Honey MYOS daily knowing it helps her.

12/11/2025

Little Bee is our newest sanctuary resident. Coming in at 5.75lbs, she is our smallest yet. She was dumped on a country road. She was clearly neglected for far too long. She is estimated to be 14yo. She has a rare diastolic heart murmur. Getting her overall health back to where it should be has been a challenge, but it’s what we do best. Along with a proper diet, we immediately put her on MYOS supplementation and have seen an improvement in her overall appearance and gait. She is hopping up the steps like a goat, walks around the house like a boss, has a voracious appetite, and the big dogs don’t faze her. Welcome to your new life Little Bee!!

12/09/2025

This little guy is Stuart, our third SSDS resident. We rescued him after he was found tied to a pole by the police in April 2023. Stuart has cataracts and can only see shadows, his hearing is impaired. Clearly neglected for far too long. When we saw him, we knew he needed to be with us so we could give him the life he so deserves. He is 16yo w/ a murmur and enlarged heart, arthritic, has muscle wasting. A little over a year ago we noticed more stiffness in his body, as well as muscle wasting, so we put Stuart on MYOS. After seeing Enzo’s transformation with MYOS we knew that Stuart could benefit from the same supplement. No doubt we are seeing an improvement in his gait. We even catch him doing a little gallop here and there which he never did prior to having MYOS added to his diet. He is a happy old man living his best life.

12/06/2025

As we approach Paws for Strength fundraiser 12/9-12/11 2025 for our sweet little sanctuary, we thought it would be a good time to tell you how we found MYOS and why we use it daily for our seniors. This handsome dude pictured is Enzo, he is not a sanctuary dog, a bit too young for that. We’ve had him since he was a puppy. Plain and simple, Enzo’s head started shrinking. His occipital bone started protruding more and more. He had no other symptoms other than his incredible shrinking head. We took him to our GP, he did a full exam, ran some bloodwork and was perplexed. He sent over a referral to OSU. Since we had a lengthy history with OSU due to Syd I reached out to her IM (internal medicine) and although this was not an IM issue he agreed to see Enzo. In the meantime, Rick did his usual, went down the rabbit hole to find something that could possibly help Enzo. That’s when he found MYOS. As a reference, the pic on the left was taken on 2/2/24. We started Enzo on MYOS well before our appt with OSU. By the time we saw the Dr. his head was back to normal. The only proof were the photos we had taken on 2/2024. The Dr did a CT scan, sent out bloodwork (standard and parasitic in origin), everything was normal. For once, he was stumped. The photo on the right was taken on 3/11/24. We know that MYOS was why Enzo improved as quickly as he did. We still have him on MYOS and give it to several of our seniors. We are grateful for this product and will continue to use it.

11/18/2025

From a matted mess to looking like a dog again. When she was found on 10/8/25 by a nice human, she was in horrible shape. A huge mat of hair covered her left eye, when removed by the vet, a nasty eye infection was present. We can tell she feels so much better. She is finishing up ear and eye meds. We will continue to treat her skin issues until she is fully healed. In the meantime, her personality keeps coming out as she becomes more comfortable with us. Thank you again to all who donated. We are grateful to you. Please help where you can, anything helps. All donations are tax deductible. Thank you for always doing a great job on our dogs. We know we don’t have the easiest group 😝.

11/14/2025

11/09/2025

Millie had chosen her person….it’s dad all the time!!
❤️

11/09/2025

Little Miss Bee slept soundly last night. She’s already woken up three times and has quickly fallen back to sleep. A morning Bee she is not! 😊🐝 We are madly in love with her!!

11/08/2025

Welcome to the sanctuary Little Bee!! I received a desperate call from a very sweet lady about Bee. She told me she was found on a gravel road, unable to move due to shock. She immediately took her to the vet, she was matted head to toe, had eye and skin infections, treated for a flea infestation. Neglected for far too long. You guys, she is only 5.6 #!!! The kind lady who picked her up can no longer keep her. Although she is our ideal rescue, messy! She knows the vet bills will continue and she’s not in a place to handle those expenses. She’s estimated to be 10yo. At some point she was cared for as she’s had a full mouth extraction. I will take her in on Monday to our vet for a full work-up. She has only been treated for her skin and eye issues. We would be so grateful to you for any donations to help pay the vet bill(s) for this girl (or any of our other residents). We rarely ask for help, we know money is tight and the holidays are here. Any denomination will help and of course, always tax deductible. We thank you for your donations and sharing her story. We are hopeful for a great report on her overall health on Monday. We will keep you posted.

11/01/2025

Ms Marlo and Ms Millie weren’t to sure about each other when Marlo got here a few days ago. I think they’re sure now😁Ms Honey still plays fun police. And Bodhi, Enzo and Beans are knot heads😉