Heavy Dawg was described by Dr. Radtke, the owner of Academy West Animal Hospital, as the “biggest, blackest Golden Retriever” he’d ever seen. And Heavy D, now Sammy, is a big, black dog. But he is probably the sweetest big black dog there is. Sammy loves to curl up on his people’s laps and give kisses, snuggle, and send telepathic messages encouraging cookies and more petting. He’s quite happy inside his house, but not so thrilled with things that go on outside. His adoptive parents had a trainer come several times to work with Sammy, as he seems to be afraid of new things. Cars, soccer balls, and strangers seem particularly worrisome to him. He is getting better and has started to warm up to people with more socialization. Sammy is still a homebody at heart and likes nothing more than to snuggle with his people after a long day of working on his socialization techniques.