December 2020
Most of our effort this past month has been dealing with an abuse case in the Seattle area. On November 24 we saw a video posted on several Facebook groups, showing a dog being hit and kicked by a man. The video had been captured by the Ring doorbell camera of a business in Mercer Island. The police were able to get the license number of the car and trace it back to a man in Bellevue. They requested a warrant, went to his home, and seized the Samoyed who had been abused. The dog is now in the care of Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC), and must be held a minimum of 15 days.
Charges were filed by the Prosecutor’s office and reported by Seattle media. KOMO news posted: “A Bellevue man has been charged with one count of first-degree animal cruelty after he was caught on a surveillance camera last month beating his pet dog in an empty Mercer Island parking lot, Tzu-Chieh “Jack” Shan, 26, has been ordered to not live with or own any dogs while the criminal case into the incident is pending, according to court documents. Shan told investigators that the white Samoyed-type dog, whose name is Winston, had urinated on the vehicle floor inside the family’s Mercedes SUV and had scratched the man’s toddler daughter in the face while they and Shan’s wife were in the vehicle as it was traveling through the tunnel in Mercer Island, court documents show.” The video was widely circulated and is quite disturbing.
Northwest Samoyed Rescue contacted RASKC immediately offering our assistance, and we have been in a dialog with the Sergeant in charge of the case. Their hands are tied to a great degree because the case is in the courts, but their answers have been prompt and caring. We have worked with them before, and hopefully they know we are trying to help. We learned the last three numbers of the dog’s microchip and have been contacting breeders in the northwest in an attempt to find out where Winston came from. We think we know, but are still trying to verify it. You can understand we aren’t going to make that public. It is our hope that a good breeder’s contract will demand the return of a dog that has been mistreated, and that RASKC can leverage that contract to remove the dog permanently.
Rescue has received donations to help this dog, and we have told each donor that there is no guarantee we will be able to help. If we can, and there are costs involved, we have the resources to do whatever is asked of us. As far as finding an adopter, we have a special home waiting that has experience helping dogs like Winston. As of this writing we are still waiting for more information from RASKC.
In early 2019 we tried giving Prozac to Sophie and Tessa. A week ago we talked to our vet and we have begun giving it to them again. They are so afraid of people that we’re hoping it will help. Several weeks ago we also began giving them a supplement of hemp, valerian, and other calming herbs. We haven’t seen a change yet, but it’s worth trying. If they go outdoors without leashes they refuse to come inside until bedtime, and with winter weather it means they get pretty wet. Kathy has been leash walking them, and they act like they were leash trained ages ago. The problem is that they won’t do their business, which is why we are walking them. Recently we tried clipping them to a 20-foot long clothesline so Kathy could catch them. Unfortunately they walk next to her even though she isn’t holding them, and still won’t do their business. We tried six-foot pieces of clothesline, but again, they think it means they have to walk next to her. We hope with some more time on the lines they will understand what’s going on.
Each night at bedtime Sophie and Tessa dive into a crate together and I feed them from my hand. I began dropping kibble on the crate pad, trying to pet them while they were eating. Sophie tolerated it, but until a week ago Tessa backed into the crate when I touched her. Finally she has begun to tolerate touching and petting, which is progress. Next month will mark three years here, so that progress is mighty slow.