June 2008

Several weeks ago Kaye Sawyer heard about Cody, a Samoyed in the McMinnville shelter. He jumped a six-foot fence to get to a litter of piglets and killed them all; as a consequence the court ordered his family to find him a new home. He went to the shelter, where they kept him for a while, and then he was neutered and turned over to Kaye, who took him to Melissa.

Meanwhile, Samson was listed by a group in The Dalles. He had been chained most of his eight year life and was so matted they shaved him. Melissa called to offer help and let them know who we are. Two weeks later, a few days after Cody arrived, the people in The Dalles called and said they hadn’t been able to adopt Samson yet and asked if we could take him. That would have given Melissa two male dogs, one intact and one recently neutered, so she asked if Ron and Kathy could take Cody. His prey drive was under control, but with cats in the house there was a concern for their safety. On June 7th Melissa drove to The Dalles to get Samson, and on June 8th took Cody to Ron and Kathy. Samson went along for the ride so we could get some pictures to list him. Samson will be available after neutering and Cody is ready for his home right now. Pictures of rescue dogs are posted at http://nwsams.smugmug.com/rescue.

This year when we sent picnic invitations to our adopters we also asked for an update on their dogs. That yielded news of the passing of some of our rescue dogs, like Yukie (his story is included in this newsletter). If you have been following rescue for many years you’ll probably remember the story of Parker, who needed expensive eye surgery that was funded by Sammy Angels; we’re sorry to say he died earlier this year. Chilly was one of the last dogs Cheryl and Steve placed, and news came of his passing earlier this year. These dogs all had wonderful lives, and we celebrate the people who took them into their homes and showed them how loving humans can be.

Some heartwarming mail also arrived, like this from Mary in Idaho who adopted Kenai, a special Sammy with one crooked ear. We placed Kenai in early 2003 and have heard nothing but wonderful reports ever since. This is what Mary wrote, along with the picture she sent:

“The first time I saw Kenai he was getting out of the van and I knew right away he belonged here. The first night I slept on the floor next to him and we immediately bonded. How could you not love and cherish this sweet bent eared cutie! I have had Kenai for 4 years and he is family and my dear friend. He now loves to run out on the 20 acres on the ranch but comes right home to be in the house. Sometimes I think he thinks he is a human, and so do I. After all, he talks more than I do! Thank you Samoyed Rescue for bringing me this very special little spirit to share my life with.”

Please join us at the picnic on July 12! We hope to see you there.