For you Sam groupies out there, here’s an update —

We recently learned Sam loves chicken. Sure, as a beagle she lives for her nose and all the neat things it can snuffle out (rule of paw – the smellier the better), but food is food is food to Sam (and sometimes food can be clothing or backyard deposits – she isn’t particularly picky, but she can be gross). So, eating chicken one night and having her chase the cat out of the room was completely unexpected. See, the cats still scare the hell out of Sam. If the cat is in the hallway and is blocking Sam from one of us, Sam will cry until we get up and stand between her and the offending beast. (She hasn’t worked out that the whole barking thing horrifies them or that the pitiful whimpering never makes them move – only cackle and drum their claws while eyeing her with that particular ennui cats reserve for just about everything.)

Since Sam has discovered that chicken is definitely worth a fuss, she now readily defends all forms of chicken from the furry tailess ones – food that a few months ago previously went unnoticed – from grilled to fried chicken, sandwich meat to Chik-fil-A – she’ll bay and snap until the room is cat free, then she’ll proudly pad back and fling herself down on her dog bed.

Since Sam doesn’t get table scraps, our best guess is some little chicken loving synapse fired her beagle brain.

I can’t wait to see what other surprises our little goofy beagle will reveal.