Posted By Kelly Harding | 2 comments

I am a very fortunate pug in that I get to meet, speak to and make friends with so many. Recently I had the privilege of making friends with Shubenacadie Sam; Nova Scotia’s official Groundhog Day groundhog – a very important job indeed!

I’ve never had a groundhog on my blog before, so I asked Sam if he would do me the honour of telling us a bit about himself.

Interview with Shubenacadie Sam

Shubenacadie Sam phoning in his interview

1)  Tell us a little something about yourself Sam, a little introduction of sorts. How old are you? Where do you live?

Thanks for having me on the blog Miss Edie. My full name is Shubenacadie Sam and my title is Official Prognosticator. I love digging tunnels and taking naps. I live at the Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park in Nova Scotia  and I have my own page on our website .

2)  Have you always known you wanted to be an official Groundhog Day groundhog?

I have been preparing to be the Official Prognosticator for my whole life. It was my dream as a young groundhog and I’m very proud of my job.

Even as a baby. Sam knew he was bound for greatness!

3)  Did you require any special training for this important job of predicting how much longer winter will or won’t last?

Prognostication is a difficult job. Training starts when you are very young. I do a lot of yoga to ensure that I am flexible enough to look for my shadow. Meditation and daily massages allow me to stay calm and focused. And napping, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of napping.

4)  What’s your score for predicting the weather?

Carole says I’m always right 🙂 The folks at the Weather Network looked at statistics (not sure what that means) and said I am the most accurate groundhog!

5)  When you’re not predicting the weather, what’s a typical day like for you?

Check twitter, breakfast, nap, yoga, snack, lay in the sun, nap, lunch, nap, massage, nap, snack, meditate, dig in the tunnels, nap, dinner, catch up online, snack, bed time …. It’s exhausting!

Napping in the sun

6)  Now being a pug, I do love to woof about food! So tell me Sam, what do you eat? Do you have any food that’s considered a special treat?

I love to eat! I adore melon, broccoli, and carrots. I love yogurt too. Carole says I have to eat my pellets too but I always eat my fruit and vegetables first. Raw potato is delicious!

Taking time for a little snack

7)  Do you share your home with other animals? (I have to share mine with 2 cats)

Oh no, Miss Edie you have to share with cats, that’s terrible. You know I have lots of room for you in the burrow and there are no cats … I’d love to have you come visit (I’m blushing just thinking about it). When the weather is warm and I move to my outside burrow I share with several members of my family, we enjoy laying out in the sun and letting visitors take photos of us. There are a lot of animals who live in my Park (I’m the most famous) but everyone has their own home and the cats are far away from me!

8)  Do you have someone special that takes care of you Sam?

My wonderful Carole looks after me, you might have seen her on Sam Cam. I love her so much. There’s a great team of people who work very hard to keep our Park in excellent condition and make sure we are all well cared for. I might be the most famous resident but everyone tells me they get excellent care here.

9)   Who are some of your best friends?

I think you are one of my best friends (blushes some more). I enjoy talking with the other animals in the Park (except the cats, I avoid them). I’ve had to give the reindeer some advice about handling the attention that comes with being famous (they have their own webcam in December every year also found on www.novascotiawebcams.com – a great way to see NS without leaving Ontario!  I love to chat with other groundhogs like Wiarton Willie @willieofficial & Buckeye Chuck @OHBuckeyeChuck on twitter.

10)  Sam you have your own Twitter account, but do you have any other Social Media accounts where we could find you?

For now I stick with Twitter 🙂 I have been checking out your Instagram to get my Miss Edie fix! My Park is on Facebook

Sam keeping up with his Twitter friends

Miss Edie it has been wonderful to talk to you, I enjoy your posts and chatting with you online 🙂

Thank you Shubenacadie Sam for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions and share what is definitely a very important job as Official Prognosticator!