Family Proves ‘Rescue is Forever’ After Newly Adopted Dog Develops Health Issues. And Then the Pup Pays it Forward (Exclusive)

• Ruth Gentry and her son Roan adopted Sammy from Nevada’s Churchill Animal Protection Society in 2022 after losing two of their beloved pets
• Shortly after his adoption, Sammy developed issues with his mobility that required expert assistance
• The rescue dog’s family stayed dedicated to the pet, and Sammy returned the favor by supporting Roan through the boy’s struggles

Today, Sammy, the rescue dog, is living a comfortable, cuddly life with his loving family, but it took a while for everyone to get there.

Ruth Gentry and her son Roan adopted Sammy in September 2022, several months after losing their beloved pets.

“Our older geriatric dogs died within three weeks of each other. It was traumatic for both of us. They were 15 and 17, and they were very bonded. Unfortunately, one went, the other one went,” Ruth tells PEOPLE.

“That was really difficult because Roan has always been bonded with dogs. Our black Lab slept with him and everything. So when she passed away, I could tell he was struggling a lot,” she adds.

Not wanting Roan to go too long without the comfort of canine companionship, Ruth started searching for a new rescue dog with her son. She looked up shelters near their Reno, Nevada, home that had Lab mixes for adoption in a process she admits felt a bit like “online dating.”

Soon, she encountered Sammy, a Great Pyrenees/Labrador retriever mix puppy, at Churchill Animal Protection Society (CAPS) in Fallon, Nevada. Ruth remembers the “sweet” profile picture of fluffy Sammy, then 40 pounds, and his description, which included that the pup was “great with people, great with kids, great with dogs.” Roan approved, too, so Ruth drove them out to CAPS to meet Sammy.

“He walked out and kissed Roan on the face. We played with them for a good 30 minutes. We both fell in love with him,” Ruth says, explaining how their first meeting with Sammy went.

The family decided to adopt Sammy, and before making it official, Ruth says she reminded Roan that “Rescue is forever.”

“I was like, ‘If we decide to do this. This is a big decision and a lifetime commitment to this dog. We got to take care of him for the rest of his life. And he’s a puppy,'” Ruth recalls.

Unfortunately, Ruth and Roan had to put this commitment to the test shortly after adopting Sammy. In November, after settling in and becoming best friends with Roan, Sammy slipped while playing and developed a limp afterward that seemed to worsen instead of going away.

A visit to a vet revealed that he had a ligament tear in his back leg. Sammy received two surgeries to help with the issue, but the operations didn’t improve Sammy’s condition. Instead, they left the dog nearly immobile and Ruth, a single mother, in $11,000 of debt.

“Sammy couldn’t do anything. After the surgeries, he couldn’t put any weight on his leg,” Ruth remembers. The situation left Ruth responsible for hauling a 70-pound puppy around the house while trying to figure out his medical needs while working and parenting full-time.

“I had friends come help me. And there was some pressure from people saying, ‘Ruth, give this dog up. You can’t take care of him,'” the mom shares.

Ruth admits she contemplated returning Sammy to CAPS for a moment, as the organization had vowed to care for the dog if anything should happen. However, she quickly decided against it because of the “instant bond” that had formed between Sammy and Roan. As her son reminded her, rescue is forever.

“Here I’m crying like, ‘I don’t know if I can keep Sammy. He needs a lot of help, and I don’t know if I can do it,'” Ruth says of the difficult moment. “Roan understood but also said, ‘Mom, you’re the one who said that once we get the dog, that rescue is forever.'”

Ruth started looking for other options for Sammy and took the dog to UC Davis’ veterinary program to see if they could help. UC Davis determined that Sammy’s ligament tear was due to a different underlying health issue.

“The reason he had this ligament tear is because he has a luxating patella in both back legs, not just one. They’re also called floating kneecaps. The condition causes the kneecaps to go in and out of the joint. The patella luxation in his left leg probably went out and caused this ligament tear,” Ruth explains of what she learned at UC Davis.

After speaking with the school’s veterinarians, Ruth learned that the best option for restoring Sammy’s mobility was to try a canine wheelchair, not more surgery.

“I remember the UC Davis veterinary surgeon being very, very nice. And she was like, ‘This is probably what I would do with my dog. I would put him in physical therapy and get him a wheelchair,'” Ruth recalls.

By January 2023, Sammy had “his wheels,” a canine wheelchair made by Walkin’ Pets, and life started looking brighter.

“Once he got his wheels and we could get out of the house, it really changed for Sammy, Roan, and me. It changed everything because we were stuck in this house with a dog that couldn’t do anything for three months. It was like a new life,” Ruth says.

Sammy quickly learned to use his wheelchair and enjoyed regaining some of his mobility. Over the past two years, the rescue dog has regained some strength through dedication and physical therapy. He can now walk around the house without a wheelchair using prosthetic knee braces from Bionic Pets.

The dog has also grown even closer to Roan and can often be found snuggled up to the boy’s side.

“Roan says one of the things he loves best about Sammy is that he is a big cuddler. He’s a big cuddler because Sammy’s 90 pounds,” Ruth says.

The cuddles have been therapeutic for Roan, who started having difficulties in school shortly before Sammy arrived. Roan was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia. To help the boy boost his comfort with reading, Ruth signed him up for a tutoring program with Lindamood-Bell. For the program, Roan completed reading assignments on the computer at home.

Sammy’s constant companionship made the complicated process of identifying Roan’s learning disability and starting tutoring easier. Sammy, seemingly remembering how Roan fought to help him, loyally dedicated himself to Roan’s education and happiness.

Every time Roan had a tutoring session, Sammy snuggled up by the boy’s side, listened to him read, and encouraged him to stick with it through his calming presence.

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“I think Sammy learned to read, too. That was our joke at the end that Sammy learned to read,” Ruth says.

Watching her dog and son overcome challenges together has made Ruth even more grateful that they honored their commitment to Sammy.

“I’m glad I kept Sammy because there’s definitely that bond between them. And I didn’t want my son to think that just because the dog’s not perfect or has a disability, he wasn’t a great pet,” Ruth says, adding, ” I think the best therapy is Sammy.”

She is also grateful to the people who supported Sammy and their family during the challenging months following his adoption, like Ruth says CAPS, especially, offered support by checking in on Sammy, offering to care for him if Ruth could not, and starting a GoFundMe for the dog to help cover his medical expenses.

“We love each and every animal that comes through here, and they always have a special place in our hearts. Sammy getting in the situation he did, I felt awful,” Julia Ameil, CAPS’s executive director, explains, adding, “It’s really good seeing him now and doing well in his wheels. He was struggling, and they were struggling, and just seeing how far he’s come now makes me feel a lot better.”

“I wish more people put in the effort that Ruth did into their animals and just being able to adapt to changes and issues. It’s definitely inspiring,” Ameil says.

As a thank you for helping them, Roan, Ruth, and Sammy regularly visit CAPS and support fundraising efforts for the rural shelter. The trio also advocates for pets with special needs and the priceless love they have to offer on Sammy’s Instagram and TikTok accounts.

Mutual Rescue also produced a short film about Sammy to inspire others to consider rescuing a pet with special needs.

“I would tell other people who are considering a pet with special needs that it’s not as hard as you think. It can be scary because you don’t know. I had never had a dog who needed a wheelchair. But now that I’m doing it, it’s not that hard. And it’s worth it. It’s so worth it because Sammy’s worth it,” Ruth says.

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