Sammy and I have just finished an entire re-write of the Sammy Bag Dog Sling pattern! This was one of my very first patterns, written back in 2010, and my writing style has improved significantly since then and I felt it was deserving of an update. It has been on the “someday” list for a while, but obviously it’s not a pattern with a super wide appeal as having a 4-8 pound dog is kind of required. But it was suddenly bumped to the top of the list a few weeks ago. In fact, I didn’t even think I would have time to order fabric so I just grabbed some from my stash and got to work…

 In case you haven’t been following, Sammy has been diagnosed with kidney failure. We caught *something* during a routine dental cleaning in August. More tests were ordered, but we were assured it was early on and not an emergency. A trip back to our beloved vet in Chicago revealed no cause but confirmed kidney failure. Medication was started, and we were still hoping the “dogs can live for years with kidney disease” would be true for Sam. After all, she sailed through a pancreatitis attack a couple years ago and we caught her Cushing’s early enough that she hasn’t had to suffer any symptoms. And then on the same day we got the blood test results showing that the meds were helping, she crashed totally and stopped eating and got very sick. Her levels had gone toxic as her kidneys had nearly stopped functioning. Apparently kidney symptoms do not appear until the kidneys are at 25% of their normal function. So until she crashed, Sammy had no symptoms and had no idea she was sick and didn’t understand why we were trying to force feed her the disgusting prescription kidney food, so it was hard to decide when her appetite was going because she’s always been picky, and this only happened over a couple of days. Then she got really sick and we knew. Our local vet actually suggested we put her to sleep, as there is no cure for kidney issues. But our hero vet back in Chicago offered to do a kidney flush with IV fluids to try to jump start her kidneys. We raced her down there and back, two days in a row – 24+ hours of driving in 2 days, plus 12 more to pick her up! – and she spent 5 days with them while everyone I know in Chicago visited her for snuggles and to encourage her to eat again. Thanks to best friend and (human) nurse Lisa, she perked up by day 2 and started eating on day 3. (Lisa ranks highest on Sammy’s list of favorite people!) 

 So, we literally bought extra time. The only thing is that there are no kidney transplants for dogs, so while the flush can re-start the kidneys, it doesn’t last forever. But, it did make her “better” as Emmett says, and once we took her off the gross diet she hated and started feeding her ground beef, baby food, and pancakes (of all things she will not eat, this dog will eat pancakes!) she gained back the entire pound that she lost. We’ve had a couple of playful and happy weeks, and she still doesn’t know she’s sick. We continue to give her fluids every day, because she can’t drink enough to stay hydrated. And we feed her anything she wants within reason – because there is no cure or long term prognosis and eating is better than not eating. We have meds to try to help keep her comfortable, and we tell her we love her about 600 times a day. So, it’s like doggy hospice care. We are, of course, devastated. But, re-writing this pattern is how I decided to cope. And Sammy was totally on board with this idea!

I originally designed this because Sammy LOVES people. And she’s a generally calm dog, so I never had to worry about her trying to jump out of my arms. But my arms would get tired carrying her, because since she’s so friendly she wanted to go EVERYWHERE with me, but she’s only 6 pounds and she’d get stepped on in crowded places like Farmer’s Markets. This was at the time when fancy dog boutiques were popping up and carrier bags cost hundreds of dollars. I have never tried to sneak my dogs in anywhere they weren’t welcome, so I didn’t need a bag that zipped up, and no mesh was required. I just needed something that could hold her high enough to keep my hands on her or her harness, but would give my arms a break. (This is NOT a hands free carrier – HOLD ON TO YOUR DOG!) I was essentially learning how to write patterns at the time, with the Quick Zip Lunch Bag and Notepads patterns leading into to the now nearly iconic Two Zip Hipster pattern. So about a year after I designed it, I wrote the Sammy Bag pattern. This pattern was such a oddball as obviously you need a small dog to make use of it, but it was featured on Craftsy and every time I considered retiring it I would sell another copy. And people would tell me how much they loved it, even when the sew-in interfacing kept randomly appearing and disappearing in the instructions. :P But I just think the shape and size is so suitable for little dogs, that people loved it. So, rather than retiring, I made the executive decision to re-write it while I still had my tiny assistant to help me. My beautiful little model who was so happy to work in front of the camera again (for pancakes, of course!) And she was happy to get ON my desk to help edit this one.

I added a pocket and a harness leash, the two things I’ve been asked for since forever. The gusset piece has been tweaked (it was about 1/8″ too tall) and I completely re-wrote the pattern (not even copy and paste!) and took all new photos. The fabric isn’t my favorite (it’s a bit too busy) but I was limited to what I had on hand and it is 1000% better than the original. The steps are simple enough that you won’t have any trouble following along, and as usual there are photos for every single step. Even if you understand the written part without a photo, I feel like the photos are always a great double check so that you never need to second guess yourself or the directions, and you always have a visual to make sure yours looks how it should before it’s too late to go back and fix. The only thing that I considered changing and did not was making the strap adjustable. I tried to source wide hardware and it just does not exist in the retail market. The widest is 2″, and I really feel like the 3″ strap provides so much more comfort. If you do want to change to an adjustable strap, it’s an easy change to make (although you may need extra fabric!) And I included some notes about fleece/minky fabric for the lining and thicker fabric for the exterior, so that you shouldn’t have any questions about what to do!

 I know most of you feel like you “know” Sammy because of all of my posts, but she truly is the friendliest dog ever. Some small dogs can be yappy or snappy, and Sammy is just sweet and gentle and friendly and overly excited to greet everyone. She loves her life, her pillow mountains, all fleece blankets, the fact that Emmett’s mattress is on the floor so that she can take it over all day while he’s at school… she’s just been so joyful for her entire life. You may not know that she was dropped on my doorstep at 10 months old? Loki was about two and finally settled down and stopped chewing, and I was considering getting a second Yorkie but I had a bad experience with Loki’s breeder and didn’t want to go that route again. So I started looking for rescue dogs, and there weren’t any. I was open to a mix but I have allergies and my dogs are bathed regularly so I prefer a dog that doesn’t shed that can be clipped super short, and I love the Yorkie spunkiness. But I found out that Yorkies rarely make it to be adopted because shelter workers, foster caregivers, and vet techs all tend adopt them before they are available to the general public… not that I’m surprised! Anyway, someone posted a tiny, low-res pic of Sam that basically just showed a ball of fluff and she said she was giving away her Yorkie for free and she needed to find her a place ASAP. After a few questions, I discovered Sammy had full registration and had not been spayed. To someone without the best intentions, this is basically permission to breed and sell puppies with FULL AKC registration at top dollar to unsuspecting buyers. NOPE. I was not going to let that happen to any pup. I told her I’d take her right there, sight unseen. She was essentially dropped on my doorstep the next day, and I figured if she and Loki didn’t get along then I would have her spayed and find her a proper home. Instead I totally fell in love with her. I did change her name, since she didn’t know hers, and named her Sammy after Samantha Carter on Stargate SG-1. Sam isn’t much like the astrophysicist Sam Carter, but what she lacked in brilliance she made up for in absolutely everything else. The entire internet would soon fall in love with Sammy. She and Loki were a double act, a partnership, a team. He would ace those treat puzzles and she’d stand under him and eat the treats as they fell out. :P She was so sweet and he was so scared, she would calm him and she basically MADE him be her friend, like it or not. They would sit butt to butt, even if he pretended he didn’t like it.

 I later found out why she was free… she needed a $3200 knee surgery! Those are tiny pink casts (and a happy dog chewing on a stick, because Sammy!) <3

Sam modeled my bags (Sammy for scale!) and loved all of the attention. She thought everything was a pillow. She loved that I cut fabric on the floor, because she thought it meant play time! She always attempted to be a pattern weight. She just wanted to be with me at all times. (Unless Bob was there, then she had to be with Bob!)

      And when Loki died, she stepped up to fill his big paws as protector and friend to Emmett. I always say that the three of them had a meeting under the bed. Emmett is so wild sometimes and she is not only so sweet and happy and gentle with him but she somehow knows what he’s not allowed to do and barks when he climbs on things or breaks the rules. My little enforcer, and a fantastic second set of eyes. (A gallery was required for these two best friends!)

 

 

 

When I first started sewing, it was just making things for Sam and Loki. Harnesses, bows, ties… my first tutorials were of the things I made for them… back when this was just a blog and not my full time job. Everyone had a mommy blog named with some kind of combination of noodles or juice boxes or fish sticks or applesauce. I looked down and had two goofballs under my desk, and suddenly I had a whole new career. These two were and in many ways still ARE my entire life. It has been an honor to be their human.

       No one believes Sammy is 12.5 years old. She kept her puppy coloring her entire life, something I’ve never known another Yorkie to do. She’s a forever puppy! Except for a tiny bit of grey in her muzzle, she hasn’t changed since I wrote the original pattern 8 years ago. Since she doesn’t know she’s sick, Bob and I realized that she doesn’t ever have to get old. We are enjoying our last few days with this perfect little girl and all credit for this re-write goes to her. Without her enthusiasm, I wouldn’t have been able to start it let alone finish it. We love you, Sammy.

   So there you have it, the Sammy Bag Regenerated.