Samantha is a 14-year-old Golden whose entire life has been turned upside down. For many years, she lived with a local couple who doted on her—Jack and Judy. Sadly, they were both hospitalized recently and neither will be returning home.

Initially, caring neighbors went in and took care of Sam, then the couple’s son-in-law flew out from North Carolina to take care of paperwork. While there, he took care of Sam, while his wife researched help for Samantha. Jack’s other daughter, Linda, ended up calling and asking HHF for emergency foster care. So, Samantha went into emergency care with Rachel, a veterinary technician, on September 10th.

It turns out that Linda had been asked by Jack to take Samantha should anything happen to him.  She agreed, but neither expected things to happen so quickly. Linda lives in Pennsylvania and while she fully intended to honor her father’s wishes, was facing a challenge of her own. Her young granddaughter is battling a major health issue and Linda needs to be there to help out.

Considering Samantha’s age and the fact that winter weather is right around the corner, we decided the appropriate thing to do is transport Samantha back east. We do so with Sam’s veterinarian’s approval, the family’s gratitude, and targeted donations to pay for trip so we don’t take anything away from our other programs. 

We are still accepting those donations, so if you’d like to help Save Samantha, please go to https://www.harleys-hopefoundation.org/donations/. To those of you who have already donated, thank you so much for valuing the life of this old girl! She’s got the usual lumps, bumps and stiff back that goes with aging, but still enjoys short walks, a good meal, and a friendly face. Don’t we all?!