March 2009

Blizzard was taken to the Jackson County Animal Shelter in southern Oregon in January because her family couldn’t keep her from running away. We heard about her and contacted the shelter, but they declined our help, saying they wanted to place her locally. They placed her twice, and both times she was picked up as a loose dog and taken back to the shelter. In the first case the people had no fence, and in the second the new owner fancied herself a trainer and thought three days of training would keep Blizzard from running. Two times we referred adopters to the shelter who tried to adopt her but were refused; either they didn’t live close enough or didn’t have adequate fencing. Both were experienced with Samoyeds but someone at the shelter was convinced she knew best. After calling again to offer help and being refused, we finally asked Debbie Morse to go in and adopt her and pay the fee. They wouldn’t let her have Blizzard because she wouldn’t bring her other dog to visit, so Debbie left and her husband went in and adopted Blizzard. That finally got Blizzard on her way, and after two nights of travel she made it here.

On her arrival we scanned and found a microchip, registered of course to the people who surrendered Blizzard. We called AVID and asked for information, which yielded a vet clinic in Jacksonville. We requested her records, and after a day for them to call the previous owner for permission, they faxed everything to us. Records included her birthday, date of spay, and also the breeder’s name. We contacted her and the breeder immediately said she would take Blizzard back. The following weekend she drove from British Columbia, gladly paid all our expenses, and Blizzard is once again a Canadian Samoyed. She since found a perfect new home in Saskatchewan where she is an only dog in a great family, and her breeder has kept us in touch with her progress. Despite the shelter, Blizzard’s story had a happy ending.

Diva came from Stanwood because her family didn’t have time for her. She hadn’t been spayed because they couldn’t afford it, which was curious since they dropped her off on their way to a weekend at a water park resort. Diva went to live with Melissa and Terry while we all looked for a new home for her and she wormed her way firmly into their hearts. She was good with cats, so we thought about an applicant in Moscow, Idaho. A pre-vet student at WSU was enlisted for the home visit, and it backed up our impressions this would be the right home. They took a day off, drove all the way to visit her, and on March 1 Diva moved to Idaho. Her new family is keeping in touch with Melissa and Diva is doing really well with everyone, even the cats.

Nicky was found as a stray, and by tracking his chip the finder came up with the name of his original owner as well as the breeder. The first owner said she gave him away, and the second owner said he ran away three years ago. He is the product of a backyard breeding by someone who has never been part of the Samoyed community. After listing him in the newspaper and at the shelter, nobody came forward to claim him. We have now satisfied the legal requirements and will be able to find him a home. From the first day he arrived, Nicky has been one of our pack. Unlike most intact males he has no desire to prove himself and he gets along with everybody. He is a bit larger than most Sammies. He is five and a half years old, which we think is a perfect age. He is mature, loves attention, and quite athletic. He doesn’t demand attention although he soaks it up whenever it is offered.

The day after we got Nicky, two more dogs arrived from eastern Oregon. About eight years ago a man in the LaGrande area bought two Samoyeds from a Utah puppy mill so he could go into business as a breeder. Since then we have helped numerous dogs resulting from that mistake; he apparently had no idea how to qualify a buyer (or didn’t care) and people found out the hard way it takes a lot of time and effort to raise a puppy. A couple years ago we heard he had stopped breeding, and in January this year he went to jail for shooting a neighbor. Animal control seized the two remaining Sammies and called Cathie to turn them over to rescue. Cody is a five and a half year old male who has never been socialized, and Sierra is a five and a half year old spayed female who has eaten her way to 95 pounds.

Cathie met Melissa in The Dalles with the two dogs, and they suspended the transport for an hour to trim off some of the worst of Sierra’s backside so they could stand to be in a car with her. Even so, both of them drove with windows down because of the smell. Kathy met Melissa at her house and brought Cody and Sierra back here. The next couple days Kathy worked hours and hours to get them combed out and was finally able to bathe both of them. Now that they are white they are two very nice looking dogs, bonded absolutely with each other, and starved for human attention. We’re gradually getting Cody to venture out of our utility room, while Sierra is content anywhere she is. She could barely stand on arrival and has made good progress getting some muscle tone. Both dogs were confined in an outdoor pen before they got here

We used a baby gate to separate them from the other dogs for the first few days until we determined they would all do well together. They now have the run of the house but stay mostly in one area where it’s quiet. We usually adopt pairs into separate homes so they will bond better with humans, but in this case we want to find one home for both of them. They will both bond with humans, but Cody will benefit from Sierra’s presence while he learns he can be a part of a human family.

Special thanks this month go to all the people who helped us transport dogs. Cathie, Debbie, and Rita all helped get dogs here and we appreciate their time on the road. Our rescue family continues to grow, both in the number of new adopters and the volunteers who give their time helping Samoyeds.