In the past 30 years, Iâve had three companion service dogs.
First was Sam, a 9-month-old, male black Lab mix. Sam was professionally trained by Sam Maxwell, through a program in southern Ohio. We â my husband, Tom and I â named him after our trainer. We first met Sam Maxwell as part of a business trip. At her home, we found a house full of various dogs in training, kids and her husband, a person with quadriplegia. We loved her rapport with the dogs. Each animalâs personality came through. Our dog Sam and his training were sponsored, at no cost to us, by Mrs. Firestone of the tire fame. After that initial meeting with the trainer Sam Maxwell, we found our dog. We didnât meet him beforehand.