Orlando’s ‘First Dog’ Sammie has died, mayor announces
Orlando is saying goodbye to its “First Dog” this week: Mayor Buddy Dyer announced today his labradoodle Sammie has died.
Sammie, 14, was put down Friday due to paralysis in a ventricular valve, a flap in the heart which protects the esophagus and lungs from the backflow of blood. Dyer said she had difficulty breathing.
“[She] crossed the rainbow bridge very peacefully,” Dyer said. “The whole family was around, and she was loving on everybody to the very end.”
Sammie was a fixture in Orlando’s public life, frequenting city council meetings, supporting the Orlando Magic and comforting city staff after the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting.
“So many of our city employees were deeply involved and invested in the response to Pulse,” Dyer said, “and I thought it was appropriate for us to have a comfort animal. Sammie filled that role.”
At work, she even sported her own official city name badge complete with her headshot and title, “employee.”
“Sammie pretty much had free rein at the third floor of city hall,” Dyer said, referring to the area near his office, “and she knew where all the treats were hidden.”
The labradoodle sat by Dyer’s side for ribbon cuttings, parades and the mayor’s wedding to the first lady of the city, Susie Dyer. Sammie loved just about everything in Orlando, except for the swans, Dyer said. They were scary for her. Still, Sammie enjoyed riding in Lake Eola’s swan boats.
“You know how people or animals will walk and try to side-eye, ‘If I can’t see you, you can’t see me?’ That’s how she would walk by the swans,” Dyer said.
Sammie’s legacy also includes promoting pet-friendly restaurants in the city.
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City of Orlando’s “First Dog” Sammie, spends time with her owner, Mayor Buddy Dyer, at Orlando City Hall on May 16, 2022. (Joe Burbank/Sentinel archive)
Several years ago, Dyer said Sammie was invited to celebrate the opening of the ice cream shop Shaka Ice Company. The store especially wanted Sammie to attend because they sold a dessert for dogs: a chicken broth ice.
But Dyer said Sammie had a sensitive stomach and refused the treat at first. He hand-fed it to her, then spoke to reporters from television stations about the new store.
Then, all of a sudden, he heard a noise behind him — Sammie was throwing up her ice on camera.
It’s one of Dyer’s favorite, funny moments with his pet.
“She made so many people happy,” he said.
