Pet minds Sam leaving in the morning (6)
I believe the answer is:
caress
'pet' is the definition.
(pet can mean to caress or stroke)
'minds sam leaving in the morning' is the wordplay.
'minds' becomes 'cares' (I've seen this before).
'leaving' suggests deleting specific letters.
'in the morning' becomes 'am' (AM on a clock).
'sam' with 'am' taken out is 's'.
'cares'+'s'='CARESS'
(Other definitions for caress that I've seen before include "Scares into handle lovingly" , "pet[s]" , "Tenderly stroke" , "Affectionate stroke" , "Stroke lightly in a loving manner" .)