By Robert Jordan
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 05/21/2010 12:00:00 AM PDT

Updated: 05/21/2010 09:58:38 AM PDT

PLEASANTON — Sammy Davis loves to fetch.

His ears perk up. His little dachshund tail switches back and forth.

They say he’ll chase anything. “No dog runs like him,” said Patrick Major, his owner. “He’s special.” Major should know.

In the seven years they have been together, Major has seen Sammy Davis transform from a playful pet to one of the fastest dachshund racers in the state. Even though he stands only about 6 inches tall, Sammy can pump his stubby little legs and leap through the air to catch Frisbees nearly as big as he is. And, this pooch was a doggie pinup in the International Disc Dog calendar three years running.

But the biggest transformation has been in Major. He calls Sammy his “miracle dog,” the pup that saved his life.

In 2003, when Sammy came into his home, Major, now 45, was at the end of his rope. Five years of failing kidneys, caused by hypertension, had chipped away at his will. He grew tired of being left exhausted and depleted by a dialysis machine, only to have to repeat the process 48 hours later.

He was ready to quit the treatments until Sammy entered the picture, arriving just in time.

On advice from his girlfriend, Sabrina Seiden, Major decided to get a dog to keep him company and raise his spirits after those long dialysis sessions. It was an odd decision for the Pleasanton couple: Neither had ever owned a dog.

Major checked the newspaper ads that day and called a breeder in Madera. He and Seiden then drove more than two hours to meet the breeder’s four dachshund pups, but both instantly picked Sammy.

Seiden was smitten with the puppy’s symmetrical brown markings over his eyes. Major was drawn to the dog’s nonstop activity.

They picked the name Sammy Davis one night after seeing the late entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. on TV — and realizing their pup had the makings of a star.

“He has some special quality that is hard to describe in words,” Seiden, 33, said. “For such a little guy, he has such a huge presence.”

Still, their joy turned to worry days later when the 4-pound pup contracted canine parvovirus type 2, commonly called parvo, which shuts down a dog’s ability to absorb nutrients or fluids.

The news hit Major hard.

“Like I hadn’t been through enough,” he said.

The veterinarian gave Sammy a 50-50 chance of survival. For a week, Major and Seiden sweated it out, jubilant when they got word Sammy would be OK.

“Things happen for a reason,” Major said. “Sammy was so sick (but) I made the decision to save him, and he then saved me.”

The dialysis continued. Three days a week, Major trekked to Union City for treatment, only to return home and sleep. He didn’t have the strength to do anything else.

Sammy changed that.

The rambunctious pup constantly perched himself right behind the front door of their then-Hayward home, waiting for Major’s return. Once he was home, Sammy wouldn’t let Major rest, constantly plopping things at his feet.

It started with a small piece of rope tied at both ends that Sammy would catch in midair.

It progressed to balls and eventually Frisbees. And when Major grew tired of fetch, Sammy found pine cones and even paper airplanes to coax Major to keep playing.

“I was able to forget about how depressed I was,” Major said.

“It took my mind away from dialysis.”

Instead, Major began to occupy his time playing with Sammy and scouring the Internet for dog training tips. The more Major worked with Sammy, the better he got at picking up commands.

“I would talk to him like he’s human,” Major said.

Sammy went from tracking down Frisbees to vaulting off Major’s back and catching the discs. As Sammy improved, so did Major’s health.

A year after Major and Seiden found Sammy, Major received the call for which he had waited six years. Doctors at UC San Francisco had found a kidney donor.

Major and Seiden rushed to San Francisco, where doctors told Major that a man the same height and weight as him had died, and his kidney was available.

Hours later, Major was out of surgery.

“He had waited so long,” Seiden said. “When it finally happened, it felt surreal.”

The blessings kept coming. Five months after Major received the kidney, Seiden gave birth to the couple’s son, Joshua, now 5.

Sammy’s life also began to change.

Major took him to a disc dog competition in Fremont, where he caught the eye of Steve Teer, co-founder of Disc Dogs of Golden Gate. Teer was well-known in the disc dog community, but he’d never seen a dachshund do the things Sammy Davis could do.

Sammy began competing in disc dog events, and his skill and uniqueness earned him praise up and down the state.

As good as he is at catching plastic circles, Sammy is even more well-known on the racetrack.

In 2007, Sammy was the top dachshund in his class, winning the 2007 Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals Championship.

But things didn’t start out so promising.

A visit to a local Wienerschnitzel turned Major on to wiener dog races and a chance for Sammy to show off his skills. Sammy made his debut in 2006 at the Alameda County Fair. It was a memorable race, but not one that he won.

On that hot July day, Sammy darted out the starting gate and headed straight for the shade. He finished last.

Sammy finally got it right in 2007, winning his first race.

He hasn’t lost since, including back-to-back Dachshund Derby victories at the state fair.

“The fact that he catches Frisbees is icing on the cake,” Teer said.

“Sammy got (Patrick) off the couch.”

And to think, it all started with a game of fetch.

Robert Jordan covers Dublin and Pleasanton. Contact him at 925-847-2184.

SAMMY slideshow
For an audio slide show of Sammy Davis in action, go to ContraCostaTimes.com.
For more about Sammy’s history and accomplishments, go to www.meetsammydavis.com.

The Leadership Class of San Ramon Valley (Class of 2010) will have their graduation ceremony next month continuing the tradition of developing a cohesive; transitional leadership plan in the Danville, Alamo, San Ramon Valley. We hope you will join us in celebrating this wonderful tradition

JENNIFER BOTELHO
Staff Geologist, ENGEO, Incorporated
MARIAN CATEDRAL-KING
Policy, Govt. and Public Affairs Representative, Chevron
SAVANNA CHEER
Program Director, San Ramon Valley YMCA
BRYAN COLLINS
Assistant Chief, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
BETHANY CURIEL
Asst. Vice President/Cash Mgmt. Officer, Heritage Bank
STEVE FILSON
Vice President, San Ramon Arts Foundation
ORLONDO GIVENS
Principal, ABG Field Services
CARY GOLDBERG
Corporal/Detective, San Ramon Police
ALEX GREEN
Property Manager, Sunset Development Company
JOE HACKMAN
IT Consultant, Managed Solutions
DARLENE HALE
Principal, John Baldwin Elementary School
CHRISTINA JAMISON
Fire Marshall, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
FRED KORBMACHER
Development Services Coordinator, Town of Danville
NANCY LABELLE
Down Syndrome Connection
DONALD LEDOUX
Summit Financial Group
CHRISTOPHER MAJOR
President, Hayward Youth Academy
TERI MOUNTFORD
Program Manager, City of San Ramon
KEVIN NOONAN
Campus Pastor, New Life Church
JULIE O’CONNOR
Executive Director, HomeAid
DENISE PHOENIX
Human Resources Manager, Town of Danville
JOHN REAVIS
Managing Partner, Winged Foot Consulting Group
LUCKY SANDHU
Real Estate/Mortgage Advisor Reliance Financial
GREGG SCHNEPPLE
Executive Director, San Ramon Regional Hospital Foundation
LINDA TARANTINO
Administrative Analyst, City of San Ramon
ASHLEIGH THARP
Marketing Director, CenterCal Properties
SUE WOODWORTH-BENNETT
Community Concerns Commissioner, CA State PTA

 Our camp schedule for the Fall 2010: 

Limited space 12 players per session.  Camp days are Monday thru Thursday

9-11am (day)

1-3pm  (afternoon)

July 26 – Hitting

August 2-Fielding

August 9-Pitching

August 16-Fundamentals / Drills

August 23- Pitching

Camp Fee: $125 per session; double session $200
 (50% discount for 2nd child in the camp)

CONFIRMATION

Greetings!

Your attendance has been confirmed at this year’s second annual Community to Cal Day kick-off, April 17, 2010.  Attached to this email message, you will find a jpeg file; which includes a map of the campus, highlighting the Martin Luther King Jr- Associate Student Union Center (ASUC), second floor Pauley Ball Room. 

• Parking is free in designated areas but very limited. Public transportation is the best way to get to Cal Day. AC Transit and BART are the recommended method of transportation.

Check in will begin promptly at 9:30am.  There will be signs directing you to the correct location.  All parties must check in together.  Cal Day is a major event please give yourselves additional travel time, to park and walk to campus ensuring you have ample time to arrive at the venue on time.

• At check in you will receive a Cal Day brochure, Community to Cal Day kick-off agenda, and freshman or transfer publication. 
• Large group should check in with the your hosting program name, individuals who may have reserved a space and planned to bring family or friends along will check in with the student name who confirmed your attendance.  Please see the following examples:

o    Student Oski Bear, reserved space for him self and one other.  Oski would be the party listed at check in.

o    If you are a student who did reserve a space individually, but are a part of a large group that has RSVP’d.  Your reservation will listed with your hosting group, for example Mills educational Talent search reserved 20 spaces, not with your individual name.

o    If you are a student who received the invitation, and did not RSVP, will ask you to wait until space becomes available, if we can accommodate you be allowed to check in and attend the community to Cal Day kick-off.

Our program will begin with a Cal Band performance at 10:00am.  There will be open sitting, if you or anyone traveling in your party needs disable person accommodations, please let me know by Tuesday April 13, 2010.

• Due to open sitting we can not guarantee that large groups will be seated together.  Large groups are encouraged to arrive early if not on time. 

Lunch will be served at 11:45.  At the conclusion of the program around 1:00pm; and you all will be release to enjoy the events and festivities, Cal Day has to offer.

If you are no longer planning on attending the Community to Cal Day kick-off, please send me an email, so that your space can be made available to others interested in attending.

See you there!

Tracy, Ca – Saint Mary’s men’s basketball player, Omar Samhan, took some time away from the classroom and court, to visit the Advancement Via Individualized Determination (AVID) students at Williams Middle School in Tracy on Wednesday. This marks the second visit Samhan has made to a Northern California school this school year. “As educators, we can tell kids what they need to do in life to succeed, but it means a lot more to them when it comes from a young adult who has similar life experiences,” said Sam Strube, Assistant Principal at Williams Middle School. 

Williams Middle School AVID program share a photo with Saint Mary's College basketball star Omar Samhan

 Samhan, a senior at Saint Mary’s, spoke to 170 AVID 6th, 7th, and 8th graders about his upbringing, the College, and what it took for him to become a student-athlete at Saint Mary’s.  AVID prepares students in the academic middle for four-year college eligibility. These are largely low-income students and most will be the first in their family to attend college. Williams Middle School is one of 118 (of the 4,000 AVID programs nationwide) schools that has earned the honor of being an AVID National Demonstration School.  

“Hearing a message from a young, successful student-athlete about working hard, not quitting on one’s dreams, and taking school seriously, resonated with our students and made them feel like they can also accomplish great things,” said Michelle Simas, counselor at Williams Middle School.  Samhan and the Gaels are working hard in preparation for their first game of the 2009-10 season on Friday, November 13 when they take on New Mexico State.  

Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. from McKeon Pavilion, on the Saint Mary’s campus.

Samhan spoke to the Bowman kids about succeeding academically and fulfilling their dreams of going to college.

Omar Samhan speaks about college, hard work, and effort!

“For many of the students here, they hear so much negativity about their chances in life and it is important that positive messages be heard from people like Omar who have succeeded in life, on and off the court,” said Bowman Principal Maria Elena.

Growing up, Samhan was diagnosed with a learning disability and was enrolled in the resource specialist program (RSP) at his school. He knows firsthand what the kids of Bowman are going through, to feel like many are questioning their ability to succeed and continue on to college. “I know how many of those kids feel, I was told growing up that I would never go to college because I did not read very well, and as an RSP student, it really hurt to hear that. I worked very hard academically and athletically to get to where I am today,” said Samhan.

Principal Elena invited Samhan to speak to the Bowman kids again during next month’s academic rally. Samhan extended his commitment to Bowman, the RSP class in particular, vowing to visit a few more times. “One visit does not benefit as much as being there consistently and I want to make a difference in as many communities as I can,” said Samhan.

Last season, Diamon Simpson visited Bowman, which is in his hometown of Hayward. Like Samhan, he spoke to the kids about education and what he went through growing up and what it feels like to succeed as a student-athlete.

Height may be an advantage, but this young player proved he's got game Photo Tod Fierner, Lamorinda Weekly

Last week basketball became bigger than just a game. When ten super athletes pound up and down the court as part of an Ozone Night, an event put together by Saint Mary’s College (SMC) and the Hayward Youth Academy (HYA), the business of putting a ball in a hoop is no longer just a game. It’s a chance for a child to dream, for a parent to hope, and for a community to lift its collective chin with pride.

Chris Major, President of HYA, is the human power pack behind the operation. Buzzing with energy, Major has gathered a mesmerizing group of individual and corporate sponsors to bring sports to kids and kids to the college. He’s an ‘83 graduate, leaving SMC with not only a degree, but with a refined sense of civic responsibility.

The purpose of HYA is definitely multifaceted, but one word says it all: opportunity. In addition to a long list of outreach and support services, the nonprofit organization pairs Gaels star athletes with youth, ages 8-15, from the Bay area.

This year, that star is center Omar Samhan. Samhan is proof that a player can be much more than just a player. “He’s as genuine as there is,” Major says, explaining the instant rapport Samhan has had with the HYA children. Not exactly a top student upon entry, Samhan has worked hard both on and off the court. “Saint Mary’s really took a chance on a kid who had that inspired wonder in him,” Major says.

“He’d play at 6:30 in the morning with us old guys,” adds A. J. Rollins, a SMC alumnus and former player attending the HYA event. “He came in ready to work and now it’s paying off.” Rollins and Major are invested in Samhan; the personal connection is clear, tight, like a family.

Read More at LamorindaWeekly.com…