August 2010
For the first time in ages, we have no dogs in rescue.
During the rescue picnic July 10th Jim and Doris met Hope. They thought she would fit into their home and they have the patience and time to work with her. Hope went home with them for a trial, and very soon they called to say she would stay. After six months with us, and all the training that goes into a feral dog, Hope’s departure made a substantial change in our house.
We have been talking to a family on Whidbey Island for a couple months. Martha visited a month ago and reported it would be right for Tara. She seemed like the right kind of dog for them, and after a lengthy visit we all decided she could go live with them. She got a ride north with her new Mom and all reports have been great. Her Mom reports she went to “the land of tummy rubs.” After being ignored for most of her life and abandoned when her first family moved, Tara more than deserves what she has now.
For six months we have had both Hope and Tara with us, both with significant issues. Hope had never been handled by people and was nearly feral, while Tara had ACL surgery during her stay. Both were sweet dogs in different ways, and both required more attention than most other fosters. They arrived at almost the same time and left within two weeks of each other. The feeling in our house now is akin to being on vacation.
Sam has been living with Cyndy for about six weeks. He came as a stray from the Lynnwood PAWS, where a former owner stopped by and gave them information about him. She said he was 15 months old and she had given him to someone but couldn’t remember who it was and didn’t want him back. Sam is a normal juvenile Sammy going through his teenage phase and we’re glad to have had Cyndy to work with him. His new home in Bellingham has Samoyed experience and should be able to handle a very active boy who needs direction.
It looks like we will have a 10 month old male coming in late this month, but as usual we’ll know for sure when he gets here. There is also a five year old male probably arriving at Melissa’s home very soon. We think we have possible homes for both. We also have a courtesy listing on our website and Petfinder for a Sam/Golden cross; she has an adoption pending.
We want to make a special mention of the volunteers we have who have done so much for us the last few months. Cyndy fostered a boy who needed a lot of her time, and we want to thank her. There were times it wasn’t easy. Martha did the home visit on the island, and Erin and Tom are doing another island visit this week in the San Juans (hard duty!). Linda did a visit in southern Oregon and Marjorie visited a home in Eugene, while Lon and Mary took care of Bellingham. These are the people who make sure the people we hear from will give good homes to our rescues, and without them we couldn’t do the job. Three cheers for all of them!