Samson, our miniature schnauzer, goes on every vacation. He was 4 months old on his first trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Now almost 13, he is a seasoned visitor to the Virginia living museum.
The closer we get, the more excited he becomes. When we arrive, he has his snout hanging out the car window. For him, Colonial Williamsburg means great smells. Samson has been known to wake my husband John at 4 a.m. just to sniff around the wooded area near where we stay. Deer, turkeys, rabbits and squirrels inhabit Samson’s play space.
Last year, Colonial Williamsburg adopted a new mascot: Liberty the Briard. Historians say that ancestors of the Briard were brought by Thomas Jefferson from France in the 1780s. In Williamsburg, Liberty has become a celebrity. Children gleefully seek her throughout the day, and so does Samson.
Dogs are welcome at Colonial Williamsburg hotels and throughout the historic area and Merchant Square. Thanks to CW’s Rare Breeds Program, Samson has gotten to meet horses, oxen and other large animals. At first, the saddled Canadian horses and their noisy hooves upset him. He would bark at them as if to say, “Be quiet, horse!” But over the years, he has gotten used to it and now walks alongside them.
From the very beginning, he was impressed by the Durham and Devon oxen. By the clover fields where they roam. Samson sits at the fence, watching their every move. He also likes to watch the Leichester (pronounced Lester) Longwool sheep playing in the straw. After a few minutes,Samson finds a stray clump of straw to lie on while watching them.
On Saturday, he meets other dogs at the farmer’s market in Merchant Square. Samson enjoys long walks down Duke of Gloucester Street past the fields to the Palace Green, where he plays on the soft grass. Outside the taverns, he sniffs sage, rosemary, lavender and other herbs in the the kitchen gardens. Whatever the season, Samson finds new scents to enjoy.
Restaurants throughout the Williamsburg area are dog-friendly and offer water bowls. Samson likes to dog- and people-watch during lunch at the Blue Talon Bistro and makes new friends under the canopy at The Cheese Shop. The attention lavished on him by dog lovers is always welcome. That’s what he really enjoys, making new friends, and he finds plenty at Colonial Williamsburg.
Sharon Danovich of Edgewood was a 2015 winner of the PG’s Great Gardens Contest. Samson was the only attendant and guest at her wedding.
First Published: October 13, 2017, 1:00 p.m.