Samantha Victoria Richardson

"Sammy"

June 15, 2012 to August 22, 2025

In Memorial of a Life Well Lived

Sammy was born in Elizabethtown, NJ on June 15, 2012 and was part of the litter of puppies that were bred by Penny Lane Goldens and Barrel Scaggs.  We first met Sammy a few months prior (well sort of) when she was in her mommas’ belly.  Her mommas’ name was Sasha and she was a sweet and beautiful dog.  Her father’s name was Haydin and he was also a show dog but we didn’t ever meet him.  We did meet a lot of her aunts and uncles at the Breeders where they sort of interviewed us to see if we were a good fit for having a dog.  We met her uncle named Damon who really loved me and he was the prettiest dog I’ve ever seen in a regal sort of way.

A few months later we came back to meet Sammy when she was about 6 weeks old.  She was very small and in a litter with the rest of her brothers and sisters.  We weren’t allowed to pick which dog we wanted but each dog had a collar on them (color coded) and we could ask the breeder for the one we wanted.  All of the puppies were sleeping in the puppy pen except for one (the lime green color).  Lime green barked at us and sat up staring at us – we knew right away.   That was our girl Sammy.  We told the breeder that we would like the lime green one and she told us she would let us know later which dog we were matched up with.

A few weeks later the breeder called us and told us to come pick her up.  Sammy was about 10 weeks old at this point and the Lime Green collar was ready to come home.  We drove to the breeders in Elizabethtown, NJ and picked her up in a laundry basket.  She was the cutest thing that Katie and I had ever seen and very loving. I t was weird when we picked her up she wasn’t scared at all, and it was as if she knew we were her people. I  still remember when we first brought her home to our house in Glen Mills and she constantly wagged her tail and was so happy.  She was a very good puppy and didn’t even need to be house trained – she just knew what to do.

We spent two years with her with just the three of us and then in 2014 we welcomed our first daughter Brynne home.  We introduced her to Sammy immediately and let Sammy smell her inside of her car seat.  Sammy had a gentle kind way about her and she instinctually knew that Brynne was delicate and was a baby.  Sammy loved being a part of our family.  Two more years later in 2016 we brought our younger daughter Maddie home and Sammy was there once again to greet her in the car seat. Gentle, kind and loving as always.  She had a motherly and kind spirit about her.  My favorite memories of her in the Bow Tree house was playing fetch with her in the back yard and her playing when the girls played on the swing set.  She loved Christmas and would eagerly rip open all her Christmas gifts and acted a total fool when it came time for gifts.  She had a favorite spot in the Bow Tree house by the front door where she would lay and look out the storm door.  Sammy’s window on the world.  She loved the snow and playing in the snow and hopping like a bunny rabbit.

Sammy came with us to our Ocean City New Jersey beach vacation every year.  She never missed a year, and the beach was her favorite place to be.  She used to pull me as hard as she could on the leash and run towards the beach.  She loved getting all wet and sandy and then playing in the ocean (like a sugar cookie).   She was a free spirit and loved everything about the beach and the ocean.  Sammy also came with us on family vacations to Kentucky, Vermont and Lake Harmony.

When we moved to our home in Greystone Sammy liked this house the best.  She always had her spots laying in Katie’s office and in the foyer outside the bathroom.  She did this funny thing when you were working on the computer or had a laptop in your lap and she would put her snout in between your hand and the computer – go ahead and pet.  We called it computer snout.  Sammy had a bad habit of jumping up on people when she was super excited to see them.  Sammy was a loving and caring creature, and she loved other people (especially little girls) so much.  Sammy thought she was a person (not a dog) and didn’t really like other dogs (except Beauford – who passed many years before her).  Sammy was pure soul and was the kindest and gentlest creature I have ever met. S he was never angry or mad in her 13 years of joyful life.  She smiled all the time.

Sammy loved going on walks and smelling things.  Sammy taught us to take joy in the simple things in life and no matter how terrible or awful a day you had – Sammy was always there waiting for you to come home.  When Katie would travel for work Sammy would wait for her by the back door.  Sammy acted a fool and like a puppy up to the last day of her beautiful life.  Many times, when I would walk her people were in disbelief that she was 13 years old – many thought she was a puppy even though she was an old lady.  I used to call her my old lady.  Sammy loved eating geese poop and would do what we called “scooping” to try to eat the geese poop which would then make her sick.  Sammy also had a taste for rabbit and deer poop which she would meticulously eat from all of our back yards throughout the years.

Sammy’s final year of her life she was starting to slow down a bit and slept a lot more.  She became even sweeter (hard to imagine) and she would hug us by pressing her head gently into your lap.  She got to go on so many trips and special events her last year.  She traveled to Kentucky to visit her cousins.  She went to Vermont and stayed in a beautiful house by the Mad River.  She went to Marsh Creek and walked on the trails and we spoiled the hell out of her with presents and treats.  Sammy loved peanut butter more than anything (except me).  They say every dog has one person that they are connected too and I believe that is true.  Sammy was my dog. S ammy will always be my dog.  Our souls will forever be connected, and I will never forget her gentle, loving, kind spirit.  Katie, Brynne, Madde and I are so grateful that we had so much time with her and that we were able to be with her when she passed.

Sammy passed last night surrounded and held by the people who loved her. We sang to her and told her not to be afraid and that we loved her.  We told her what a good dog she was and how much we loved her.  Sammy slipped gently away into the hands of her creator.  We mourn Sammy and miss her deeply but are so grateful for the 13 years of life, love and memories we have with her.  We love you to the moon and back old girl.  Thank you for being our best friend and constant companion for the last 13 years.  Rest in peace kind, gentle soul.   

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