August 2014
This was a month of successes. We placed two long-term foster girls, and both went to homes that couldn’t have been more perfect.
Stormy came into rescue in February as an owner-surrender. Melissa picked her up and worked to socialize her and get her medical problems resolved. One was a urinary infection, and after several different antibiotics it was finally licked. We had an application from a family just east of Vancouver who looked perfect on paper, so Melissa and Stormy went to visit. It was even better in reality, and a visit to make an introduction turned into such a great match that Stormy got to stay. She has a family of her own now.
Frosty came from a notorious backyard breeder who died a few years ago. Her granddaughter kept Frosty but left her in a shed in the back yard. She developed entropion, a condition where the eyelashes turn inward and rub the cornea; she had it in both eyes and it must have been incredibly painful. We took her to our vet the first day here, and two days later they were able to do surgery. Both eyes were repaired beautifully and she was on her way to being the happy girl she should always have been. Her new family first met her in early June but couldn’t take her home because they were about to travel abroad. We kept her here while getting her used to her new name, Freya, and they returned just before the picnic in mid-July to pick her up. These are incredibly patient people who know dogs, and Freya is thriving. Reports are both plentiful and positive. Both these dogs could not have been placed in better homes.
Our annual rescue picnic was July 19 this year, a week later than usual because of the WVSF show. Past years have seen up to 40 dogs, while this year we counted 29. That is probably because we have seen fewer dogs in recent years, and possibly because the schedule was a week different. Adopters and dogs came from all over the northwest and we had a wonderful time seeing them again. Pictures are at
http://nwsams.smugmug.com/rescue/2014picnic/