Unleashed

Yikes.

Sorry, it still catches me off guard. Anyway, for some reason I'm a little behind the curve when it comes to deaths in the news, but I think this one still deserves some more attention.

I mean, look at that. That is one ugly dog.

This little mutant named Sam was the three-time winner of the Ugliest Dog in the World contest, and with good reason. Everytime I think about Sam I think, "OK, I've seen this cosmic joke before; I know what to expect. I'm ready."

And I never am. This dog's hideousness is always a surprise, and not a "Happy-birthday-here's-your-cake" surprise, but a "Boo!-I'm-gonna-eat-your-spleen" surprise. This dog is, at best, disconcerting. And I loved that little scab just for the sheer balls it took to even exist, not to mention being downright hostile to most people (apparently, he had a thing about anyone touching his feet).

Sadly, Sam died Nov. 18 after 15 years of inflicting himself on the unsuspecting. Go check out his site, and take a look at the blog while you're at it; if you can read the Nov. 25 entry without tearing up at least a little, you're a cold-hearted bastard and I both salute you and scorn you.

So long, Sam - you looked like hell, and you were a hell of a dog.