April 2021
We get a lot of applications from people looking for a puppy. We tell them we almost never get puppies, because the last two were 13 years ago, a pair turned over to a humane society because they were three months old and “no longer cute.” Their loss, our gain. Then last month we had an email from a man north of Seattle who said he bought a puppy at a pet store and realized he wasn’t ready for the challenge. The store doesn’t take returns, so he asked if we would take his pup. Within a matter of hours, Tom picked up Winslow, and he and Erin brought him to us. The next day Kathy drove him to Melissa, who has been fostering him since. His pedigree, such as it is, shows he is the product of a puppy mill, as expected with any dog from Puppyland. He seems a bit smaller for his age (11 weeks when he got here) than other Samoyed puppies. He is not afraid of anything and gets along wonderfully with Melissa’s dogs. We always look carefully through applications to find the right home for a foster dog, but in the case of a puppy we also look at the list of previous adopters. We need someone who has proven they know what they are doing.
Winslow is not the only Puppyland Samoyed puppy in need. Just a few days before this report, a rescue group in Pierce County listed a puppy, saying it had a Puppyland dog. She is cute, and a little older than Winslow, so I called and left a message. No answer, and she was de-listed later that day. We have to hope they found her a good home. The other part of a listing like this is that I was inundated by well-meaning people on Facebook groups wanting to know what we were doing about it.
Abby has settled in, but with two significant problems. One is her barking when she thinks food is imminent, and the other is an extremely strong alpha personality. We get between five and ten minutes at each meal before she begins barking, and she barks about once a second until she is taken outdoors or she gets her after-dinner treat. If she is outdoors she also barks, but at least it’s not as loud at the table. When Abby was here briefly in 2015 she was just as alpha, but now her weak back and rear legs mean she can’t enforce anything. When one of the others gets tired of it they can push her over, so she just tries to be alpha and barks at the others (and barks, and barks). At ten and a half years old, she may be here a long time. For the first time ever, we’re considering de-bark surgery. We definitely need to get her teeth cleaned.
We have been trying something different with Sophie and Tessa. Since previous efforts to get them comfortable with us have not been completely successful, we’re trying to force the issue a little. The leads we put them on while outdoors, initially to be able to catch them when they didn’t want inside, are part of their training. Instead of Kathy clipping them on, I have been doing it instead. Now when they see the leads in my hand they run to their “safe spot,” the shower in a bathroom, and I follow and clip leads on there. I also take time to scratch and pet them, rewarding them with a treat or a trip outdoors. Both have become slightly less fearful, though we’re talking small degrees.
Rescue doesn’t pay for puppies, a policy set in stone over 20 years ago because we would never have enough money if we began buying rescues. Well, that policy was broken exactly one time, in June, 2014. Melissa went to look at a dog named Frosty in Forest Grove. She was a leftover from a backyard breeder who died, and the woman didn’t want to give her away. Melissa saw that her eyes were in terrible condition and looked painful, and decided on the spot to give her $200 and get Frosty. Her eye problem was entropion (ingrown eyelashes) and surgery immediately put her out of pain. Freya (her new name) was adopted by Anita and Howard and has lived a wonderful life ever since. Recently some problems were diagnosed as a liver tumor that was expanding rapidly and looked like it had taken over the majority of the organ. They had surgery at OSU, and the tumor was removed. It was only 30% of the liver, and we have all been waiting for the test results. A few days ago the news came that it was benign, and now Freya begins the final years of her life healthy again.
