April 2015
Back in 2010 we took in a senior dog named Casey from southern Oregon. His owner, only 46, died suddenly and rescue was asked to help. Thanks to Pat we placed Casey with Lorraine, a senior on Vancouver Island. She was well into her 90’s and had a Sammy most of her life. It was a good match and Casey lived his final year with her. After he passed Lorraine began to decline; her friends thought it was because she no longer had a Samoyed.
About that time there was a seizure in Texas and the rescuers at North Texas Samoyed Rescue were able to get the dogs. One of the Sammies named Graham was returned to his breeder in the northwest, and after lots of discussion we all thought he would do well with Lorraine. With another Samoyed in her life, Lorraine blossomed again and the two of them were inseparable. We kept in touch through her friend Diana and heard wonderful stories about the two. She named him Rikki, and he became her fifth Samoyed with that name, a progression going back to 1984. All but the first were senior Sams.
About a year ago, not long after she turned 100, it was Lorraine’s turn to go, and Rikki number five moved in with Diana. They had a wonderful life until finally, last month, the last Rikki passed on to join Lorraine and all the rest. All their ashes are now together. This is a picture taken a few minutes after the two of them met in 2011.
In January we worked with a Seattle shelter to find a home for a Samoyed they had. They didn’t want to let rescue have him so we sent one of our applicants to look at him. They ended up adopting him and his name is Polar. Here’s a picture they sent of him a week ago.
Lily had her 8 week checkup recently and the x-rays show the bones in her leg are healing well. She still is limited in her activity but she has a bright future ahead. Chip, technically still a foster dog, is slowly declining. His harness and wheelchair make it much easier to help him get around but he has difficulty standing. Our oldest dog is now Shadow, the first dog we picked up when we took over rescue, who is approaching 14 years old. Time flies.