Sammy Boy

Once Sid got in the driver’s seat, with Sam in the passenger’s, it dawned on him why he wanted Mackenzie to turn around so badly…

She didn’t know who I was, he thought. To her, he wasn’t the captain of the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins; he was just some asshole who left his dog alone with a stranger for a day.

Sidney was so used to girls always giving him a second glance, attempting to catch his eye, but Mackenzie, she had no intention of trying to get with him…because she didn’t know who he was.

Sidney started the car and opened the window for Sam. He entered the flow of traffic and the dog immediately stuck his head out of the window, golden hair and ears blowing in the breeze. Sid reached over and scratched the dog’s back.

“Sorry I’ve been so MIA lately, bud. I promise we’ll go for a walk or something tomorrow.” Sam put his head back in the car and licked his owner’s hand.

That was the great thing about dogs: the unconditional love. Sam reminded Sidney of the dog from “Marley and Me” and thought about Owen Wilson’s words: “A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.”

Sid thought that Sam was extraordinary for this reason: he had an uncanny ability to love even after being ignored, lost and left in the care of a stranger and he still came crawling back to Sidney as if he were a gold medal, the ultimate prize.

He looked over at the dog in the passenger seat and told himself that he needed to try harder.

Sidney had heard Sam’s story four summers ago while staying in Nova Scotia. Losing to Detroit in Game 7 that June had broken his heart, and the hurt was still raw in early July, so he went to a party at a friend’s house to drink away the pain.

While there, he started talking to Brad, a guy who worked in an animal shelter. Brad had said that they just busted a man who had heavily abused two golden retrievers. They were both in pretty bad condition, but one had already been adopted by a family involved in the rescue. The other, a boy, was in worse condition and the shelter wasn’t sure if they’d be able to find him a family.

In his drunken state, Sidney’s heart went out to this dog, and he told Brad he would love to see him. So, the next day he went to the shelter and was introduced to a dog with scars on his face, missing patches of fur and visible ribs.

Sid sat down in the room to get on the same level; the last thing he wanted was for the dog to feel threatened or vulnerable. Then something unbelievable happened: the dog came over to him, lay down, and rested his head in Sid’s lap. They sat that way for almost an hour, Sidney showering the dog with the affection he had been so severely deprived of by his last owner.

Sid knew then and there that he had to adopt this dog and twenty minutes later, the papers had been signed. On that day, he made a vow that he would always make the effort to make Sam feel special and worthy of love.

Sidney was proud of the dog Sam had become. While Sam hadn’t changed too much since that initial meeting – he was still warm, loving and loyal – he had evolved into an unexpected friend and companion that Sidney could only hope to find in another human.

It was clear that Sam won Mackenzie over by being all of the above.

While Mackenzie got to experience a version of Sam that was pure and true to the dog he’d always been, she met a version of Sidney that he wasn’t as proud of. The concussion had tainted him a bit, but if Mackenzie knew that story, maybe she would see him in a better light. He just needed to find a way to prove he wasn’t an asshole who bought a dog and then didn’t treat it properly.

But in order to do that, he needed to see her again.