October 2013
Rescue in the past two years has been feast or famine. Either we get many dogs at once or we don’t see any for months at a time. This past month has been slow. We have only Chip and Trent as fosters, and both are too old to place so we’re enjoying them while they are here. Our own pack is getting geriatric so the next year won’t be a lot of fun.
Back when we first took over rescue in 2002 we had a lot of help from long-time rescuers. Of course Cheryl was primarily the one we asked when we had questions, but several others volunteered advice and helped us find our own way of doing things. Danielle Buchheister of MidAtlantic Samoyed Rescue, Maria Kirylo of Playing Again Sams in Wisconsin, Alice Barz of Georgia Samoyed Rescue, Dorinda Lauer of Samoyed Rescue of Utah, and many others helped us. We listened to how everyone else ran their rescues and we established forms and procedures that have worked for us.
One of the central figures, and a real presence in Samoyed Rescue at the time, was Marietta Riley, who ran Buckeye Samoyed Rescue in Ohio. She began doing rescue officially in the 90’s, as far as we can find out, but she always helped dogs who needed it. She spent a lot of time coordinating donations of dog food for people who couldn’t afford it. She gave her time for dogs willingly but quietly. Her name wasn’t mentioned a lot outside Samoyed Rescue circles because she never cared if she got credit. She was on the oldest of the rescue lists, one for rescue coordinators, and when we asked for something we could count on Marietta offering to help. Over the last eleven years we corresponded frequently and we knew her as a generous and caring woman, an expert doing rescue, whose passion was our Samoyed breed.
Earlier this year she let a few friends know she had cancer, but she kept working to place Samoyeds. Over her rescue career she helped hundreds of dogs, all in good homes because she cared about the dogs. Those who were too old, too sick, or too unsocialized stayed with Marietta and her husband Carl.
Marietta passed away September 19, 2013, and rescue lost an Angel.
