Lana Stratton and her husband Alan Jackson love their dog Samson of course and have purchased numerous items of clothing for him from a bomber jacket to a tuxedo. When we met him he was au naturel.
Samson is the proud dog of Lana Stratton and Alan Jackson who was named in a fun way. "We were living in Hawaii when we got him. I found him on Christmas Eve at a Safeway parking lot. We were in Hilo, shopping for Christmas dinner and I saw a sign that said Chihuahua puppies. We had to leave our chihuahua behind when we went to Hawaii, because of their regulations." Stratton and Jackon are both registered nurses and travel in their profession and once they had raised their children here in West Seattle they went to Arizona and to Hawaii.
"Samson was the last puppie left in the back of the truck and he just looked kind of wilted." Samson will be four years old in November. "He was smaller than a $20 bill."
"We came back in 2008, and it was that nasty winter. We took a spot in Spokane and it snowed like six feet. So Samson had gone from never experiencing anything under 70 degrees to zero," said Jackson. "He has a bomber jacket that he wears that is the most adorable little jacket from Australia."
But that's not all he wears.
Samson has a tuxedo, several sweaters, a rain jacket, lots of T-Shirts and more. All this has led to a certain level of frustration apparently. He's all dressed up on occasion but he doesn't have any female companionship. "He'd like to have a girlfriend," said Jackson, and to further that goal, "We're thinking about making him a Facebook page,"said Stratton.
Samson enjoys Royal Canin Chihuahua Food for his diet, chicken jerky for treats but like any Seattleite his favorite food is salmon. For some reason he is not a big bacon fan in fact, "He's the only dog I've ever seen that will leave bacon in his bowl," said Jackson.
He sleeps on his back with his feet straight up and yes, in the bed with the couple.
Samson does a "Spam Rollover" as a trick but you have to have a piece of Spam.
One more thing. Stratton notes that Samson is a sensitive being and she will put him up on her shoulder and burp him. He's so sensitive in fact that one time in Hawaii he was standing there minding his own business and a massive Great Dane approached and bent down to sniff him. Samson was so startled by an animal large enough to swallow him whole he, "squealed just like a pig," said Jackson.
How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:
Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Animal Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.
Photos may or may not be used and our "Pet Reporter" may be in touch with you to arrange to take a photo. Pets nominated will be chosen on the basis of uniqueness of the pet and the quality of the story and information submitted.