Bacon and Stuffies — Mary & Sam, a Love Story

Mary, 97, can’t imagine life without Sam.

“Sam is my best friend, the most loyal person ever to be in my life,” said Mary, who shares a suite at Timber Ridge Assisted Living in McKinleyville with her 13-year-old Golden Retriever, Samson. “I feel so safe with him at the foot of my bed at night.

“He’s a good boy — makes no noise and no demands.”

And Sam? “My job is to take care of Mary,” he said. “I wait by the door for her to return from breakfast. Never mind that she bribes me with bacon each morning. She loves how excited I will be when she feeds it to me.”

I have been friends with Mary and Sam for years, and visit them just about every day. We know each other so well that I can almost hear what Sam is thinking. For example: “If we’re lucky,” Sam said, “Joanne is here for breakfast and wheels Mary halfway back to the room, bacon tucked in the seat of her chair.”

Parking Mary down the corridor, I let Sam out to walk, wagging, down the hall as fast as his surgically repaired knees permit to meet Mary … and his bacon.

Sam picks up the narrative: “Every day starts at 7:30 a.m. when Joanne arrives,” he said. “I go outside to eat, drink and be merry, and then the three of us go for a walk around Timber Ridge.

“After Joanne leaves, our day at Timber Ridge begins with bingo or scrabble or music or cards for Mary,” he said. “For me, it’s making the rounds, sidling up to my friends — other residents and staff, who adore me, pet me, give me treats and tell me what a good handsome boy I am.

“I frequently amuse them by carrying a ‘stuffie’ in my mouth,” Sam said. “My favorite is a big hedgehog.” (Mary also likes hedgehogs, which remind her of her native England).

Sam is something of a local celebrity, named “Highest on Life” by the 2023 North Coast Journal’s Pet Issue for a photograph of him leaping out of the Little River at Moonstone Beach. He was also named “Most Snuggly” for a photo with a stuffed pony in his mouth.

Only one other dog lives at Timber Ridge, Maggie, but so many of the residents have had beloved pets throughout their lives that Sam and Maggie are part of the family and a visual and emotional connection to a flood of memories for everyone.

A couple of years ago, Sam decided to explore the neighborhood and was spotted by a man who thought he was lost. One of the staff posted on Facebook, “One of our residents has gone missing. We love him and want him back.”

The wayward Sam was promptly returned home, where he belongs.

Joanne Fornes of McKinleyville is a regular visitor to Mary and Sam at Timber Ridge.