Lucas County Canine Care and Control staff named the dog Samson because he "needed a strong name ... in hopes he can regain his strength just like his namesake."
TOLEDO, Ohio — Lucas County Canine Care and Control was alerted Tuesday to a stray dog found near death in west Toledo.
LC4 posted regular updates on social media, documenting the abandoned dog's recovery.
Staff named the dog Samson because of his strength, writing on Facebook "He needed a strong name so we are calling him Samson in hopes he can regain his strength just like his namesake."
Unfortunately, Samson passed away Wednesday afternoon, LC4 announced on Facebook.
Dear friends, unfortunately, the medical care Samson needed was too much for his poor, injured body.
He went fast and...
I went to see Samson on Wednesday to do a story on his recovery.
He was last seen by WTOL 11's cameras walking around and being active, even accepting a few pets.
A photojournalist and I left thinking we had a story about a dog beating the odds, but unfortunately, Samson's wounds were very severe and when the doctors at MedVet sedated him to clean his wounds, his heart stopped and he passed away.
Samson's care was being done for free by MedVet in west Toledo, which works with the LC4 Cutie's Fund to help treat injured or ill dogs like Samson for free and try to give them the best life possible.
The vet said they don't know who owned Samson previously, but his injuries showed that he was likely abandoned on the streets and attacked by other dogs, given the wounds on his face and the large, infected bite on his left leg.
Cassie Bloomfield, LC4's community outreach coordinator, called me shortly after Samson's death to say his death left her crushed.
After all, she was the one who posted his recovery updates on social media.
Bloomfield said she's glad MedVent and LC4 were able to give Samson a loving and safe environment in his final moments, and sometimes, that's the best they can do.
"Part of this job is knowing that not every story will have the best happy ending that they possibly can," she said.
"We take in dogs that are in horrible condition, like Samson.
He did better than we thought he was going to do.
That first night, I was prepared to write a post saying 'goodbye.' He got several days of amazing care.
He was warm, fed and all those things, so, we're very appreciative of everybody."
Bloomfield said Samson's story serves as a warning to other pet owners that you need to make sure you're careful with your pets.
Keep them on a leash at all times or in a fenced-in area so that they too don't end up with injuries that they might not recover from.
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