January 2021
We are starting the new year with a new Sophie. Perhaps new is not the right word, since we had her here in 2015, and she is ten and a half years old now. On January 7 we had an email from a woman who surrendered her dog to us in April, 2015, letting us know she received a call from the Kitsap Humane Society that her dog was there. Looking back at records I found she had been adopted to a man in Bremerton, so I called and left a message on the number he gave us on his application. About ten minutes later I had a call from a woman who identified herself as his caretaker, asking what we wanted. When I told her, she said he wasn’t able to take care of himself, let alone a dog, and that he gave Sophie away. Although that meant he had defaulted on his contract and Sophie was ours again, the shelter had to hold her for 96 hours waiting for the owner to claim her. We talked to them several times, and they told us she was not in good shape, that her coat was terrible, her nails were very long, and her stray hold would be up at noon on the 11th. Kathy picked her up a few minutes after noon and brought her back home. Sophie’s coat is bad, but probably salvageable. Her whole back is matted, but Kathy is getting some of the mats combed out. She is incontinent, but the shelter didn’t have time for a vet to check her so we have an appointment soon with our own vet.
Winston, the abuse case in King County, was released to us on December 22. Erin and Tom picked him up and brought him here. Originally they planned to foster him, but their schedule changed and we decided he could come to us instead. What we expected was a dog afraid of people, but we found quite the opposite. During the month he was at Regional Animal Services of King County the staff all worked with him, and what we got was a normal Samoyed who loves people. That’s quite a turn-around because they said he was timid when they seized him. They did a wonderful job and we are grateful to them for their efforts.
We worked with Winston’s breeder to find a good home, and it turned out to be ideal. While he was here we were contacted by people we believe were friends of the man arrested for abuse, trying to adopt him, so we are going to be quiet about where his new home is. Winston couldn’t be in a better place. He is with people who have years of experience with the breed, and he lives with two Samoyed sisters. They have a large fenced yard, with acres beyond it that are also enclosed. He goes on daily walks and is as happy as a dog could be. He deserves it.
The Sophie we already have, along with her cousin Tessa (the Iowa girls) have done better in the past month. A month ago we were having a lot of trouble getting them to come back in the house when they went out. Several times they were out all day, in bad weather, until they came in at bedtime. They missed dinner, but for some reason they have always come in eagerly when it meant going to bed in their crates and getting bedtime kibble. This month we began putting them out with lengths of clothesline connected to their collars. It meant that Kathy could go outside and step on the lines and lead them back inside; for some reason they walk on leashes like they have been trained. They began coming back inside when they were on their lines, so we shortened the lines to just a few feet and they kept coming in. It means we can let them outside more often, but it also means they are learning.
