May 2019
Back in November we tried to get a dog from the Woodinville shelter, but they said they wanted to place him themselves. Now he has been returned, but they insist they know how to find him the right home. We called, emailed, and cajoled, but they don’t want to work with us. One of our well-qualified applicants tried, and she was turned down for having cats. When we run across a situation like this we always try to get the dog into rescue, but the sad fact is they have the dog and we don’t. We have to hope they get lucky this time and find him the right home.
We only cover the northwest, but Holley checks online listings daily for the entire country and forwards them to the national rescue secretary. We also keep a list of people outside our area who have inquired about dogs, and when she finds one we pass it along. This month we worked with someone in Ontario because there is no rescue group covering that part of Canada. If we can forward a listing and spend a few minutes to refer a dog, it’s time well spent.
We are actively looking for a home now for Annie. Her spay was successful and she has healed well. Her energy level means we have to be picky. It’s not every family that has the experience she will need. We also need a home for Max, and we’re having trouble because he is 7/8 Siberian Husky. He’s a cool dog, but very stubborn and wants to be the alpha dog. He would do best as a single dog living with a man. That kind of home is rare.
Sophie and Tessa continue to progress, and as we said every month since January 2018, it’s painfully slow progress. We expect they may be here for years. It means rescue must be done differently because our foster space is pretty much full. We even discussed finding sanctuary homes for them, but we don’t want to do that after the time we have invested. Last month we mentioned they are loud at bedtime, but the solution we found turned out to be easy. They now sleep in crates in the bedroom and they are quiet all night. It’s the most remarkable thing to see them run down the hall for the night, knowing they will be treated the same as the other dogs. Kathi reports that Fena is also coming along well, and now permits more touching than before. All three of the dogs need a lot of grooming, but that has to wait until they are ready.