04/19/2024
04/17/24
"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." –Winnie The Pooh 💔
I have done a lot of difficult things in my life. Saying goodbye to my BFF, my support, a huge piece of my heart and life is next to impossible. I keep thinking about that Dr. Suess quote “Don’t be cry because it is over, smile because it happened.” I am thinking this but the tears keep coming. 1/3 of the bed is empty. Today 100% of my heart is shattered.
I have had many animals in my life who I loved with my heart and soul and to whom I had to say goodbye. I like to think that they all loved me back, but no being has ever loved me as deeply as Sammi Lynn Leasure. Sammi was more than my emotional support. Sammi saved my life both literally and figuratively. When Sammi was 10 months old we were sleeping upstairs and it stormed all night with consistent thunder and lightning. Sammi was terrified. I brought her into bed with a leash to keep her calm. Morning came and the storm ended but I woke up with her still on the leash and she needed to go out. We got up, headed downstairs and in the midst of walking my thought was, “Why do I have her on the leash inside?” I instinctively bent over to unhook the leash, lost my balance and immediately both Sammi and I fell down 20 stairs to the hardwood below. Sammi was ok, a little scared maybe. I had landed on my back so hard I could not gather the air to speak. My left elbow was dislocated and pointing north, I couldn’t move but my concern was for Sammi. There is a lot more to this story but in the end had I not fallen and ended up with a dislocated elbow, fractured wrist, 5 broken ribs, ruptured spleen, fractured pelvis, it would not have been discovered that I also had a malignant tumor in my kidney that would never have been discovered had Sammi & I not fallen down the stairs. I am alive today because of Sammi. I would never have met my grandsons, spent Jordan’s 40th birthday with the family in Italy, continued to work at a job I love, see both of my daughters celebrate their 40th. For the next 9 years of her life Sammi was my cancer support dog. She calmed me down before every scan, surgery and all of the “things” that change your life after diagnosis. She brought love, light, joy, comedy, companionship, distraction and so much more. The cruel part is that Cancer is what stole Sammi in the end; ten days from diagnosis to the excruciating decision that many pet owners fear from the day their pet arrives in their arms.
Sammi meant so much to so many people. Her beautiful smiling face made people smile just to see her walk by. She was the friendliest dog I ever owned. She loved people and had her favorites. Sammi spent every workday in the office, she was the “Mortgage Support Dog”. She attended every refinance closing in the office. If you were delivering mail, a UPS or FEDEX package she knew you had treats and shook you down (you know who you are, Ron). You may have met Sammi in the summer in an outdoor restaurant in Libertyville or at Jesse Oaks, if she ate your Chile dog at Chili U she was “sorry not sorry”. I think some people let me do their mortgages just so they could spend time with Sammi.
Sammi loved to eat. Sammi hated riding in the car. She loved her stuffies and she loved company, so home or office when guests arrived they were greeted by Sammi with a stuffy, a smile and a wagging tail. Sammi was a thief. Every single morning she took John’s socks & underwear, went stealth up the stairs & hid them under her stuffies in her toy box. John is down to one sock. 🧦Sammi LOVED the snow. ❄️ We were praying for her to see snow one more time. 💔
Sammi loved her work family; Daniela, Jessica, Lisa & Reese, and all of the treats Dani snuck to her when we weren’t looking. She adored her Postal friends, Jim & Shay. She loved the people of Libertyville who would stop in on walks and give her pets. She especially loved her walkers, Juliana and Sandra to the moon and back! Sammi is survived by her mom, Jan; her dad, John; her sisters, Dr. Jordan/ Will, Parker and Atlas; Dr. Jade/Jared, Jami and Grady; her brother Kevin/Laura and everyone who loved her and just stopped into the to tell her that she was beautiful.
"Sorrow is how we learn to love. Your heart isn't breaking. It hurts because it's getting larger. The larger it gets, the more love it holds." –Rita Mae Brown
Sammi Lynn, my little puppet, My heart is breaking, I could not have loved you more. We were so lucky to have you. Love, Jan 💔
