Author: NW Sams

It’s true! There’s nothing like puppy breath. Our three little house guests have passed six weeks and are developing real personalities. White Boy is timid and would just as soon snuggle than play hard with his sisters. Big Girl is mellow but always willing to roll around with the others playing. Little Girl is a fireball, pouncing on the others and running her little legs off. She is also the most affectionate, but with puppies it’s hard to rate affection. All of their little tongues get going when a human face gets close enough. Check http://www.nwsams.com/katie.

After considerable research we elected to go with the new vaccination protocols as recently published by nearly all the vet schools in the country. That means we will wait until they are 8 weeks old for the first shots, and won’t let them go to their new homes until after the second shots at 11 weeks. If you aren’t familiar with the changed protocols, please read them no matter how old your dogs are. You’ll find the new schedule at WSU’s Vet School site: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/pets/. There is a growing body of evidence that over-vaccination is harming our dogs.

Katie had a few days where she didn’t feel well when the puppies were about four weeks old. That’s when we decided to seriously work on weaning them, and as a result their weights went up even faster. Katie’s check-up showed great vital signs, so the only help we gave her was with feeding, with some herbal support for her diarrhea. She is as close to perfect a mother as she could be, even to the point of still nursing three pups with mouths full of needle-sharp teeth. Still, at her age, we’re relieved that she will never have to go through this again. Her recovery from her c-section/spay was incredible, and from the time she jumped a baby gate one day post-op she acted like nothing ever happened (yes, we blocked her from doing that again). Whoever gets Katie is going to have as loving a dog as they ever met.

Because we can’t take any fosters until after the puppies’ first shots, we had to leave a Sammy girl at the Tacoma Humane Society for quite a long time. This year they announced they are trying to be a no-kill shelter and they have staff actively looking for rescue groups to take dogs. We’ve had a great relationship with them for years, and now it’s even better. They gave us updates several times a week as we kept our fingers crossed she would be adopted. Kathy (Buckner) Thomas did an evaluation that showed a dog that was possibly a mix but might be a poorly bred purebred Samoyed. Finally, after three weeks, we decided enough was enough. We wrote an appeal on the NW Samoyed Rescue list, and Jeff Bienstadt responded. Jeff adopted Sasha four and a half years ago, and has expressed interest in helping Rescue. He drove to Tacoma and pulled “Muffy” (the shelter named her) and took her home. Now her name is Holly, and she is doing well there and we have listed her on Petfinder.

May is the month we hear about more dogs than any other time of year. This week we were asked to take an eight year old female in North Bend. The woman who has her says Nikita was given to her a couple years ago, and she doesn’t do well in a situation with so many other dogs; she boards other dogs and has as many as a dozen at a time. We will list Nikita on Petfinder as soon as we have a signed release, and she will remain where she is while we take applications. We also heard from two other people recently who want help with their dogs, but we had to give our regrets because they were obviously not Samoyeds, probably not even mixes. That doesn’t mean we didn’t help; we have an extensive list of other rescue groups and individuals who can help with most breeds, and referrals are a big part of doing the business of rescue.

Oakley is still with us, waiting for the perfect home. He is still timid but getting much more confidence and asking for attention frequently — and he is a real face-washer when he gets it. The man who surrendered him claimed he had Oakley for five years and was told he was nine years old when he arrived. This is obviously not a 14 year old dog, and lately we have wondered if he was nine months old. That would make him about six now, and would be consistent with his behavior.

This month we introduce a new foster girl, Katie. She was in the King County shelter in Kent, found as a stray and unclaimed. Erin went to check her out, and they said they would like us to take her. Erin headed south with her and met Kathy, who brought her the rest of the way here. Katie is a middle aged dog, lots of biscuit, and not spayed. She appears to have had at least one litter in the past. A quick vet visit pronounced her to have good lungs and a healthy heart. Her urine output is, shall we say, enormous. A urinalysis didn’t pick up any problems but did tell us she was in her last few days of her heat cycle. Her spay appointment is March 15.

Katie came to us with something we haven’t experienced before — kennel cough. In all the Sammies we fostered before, this is the first time we have had to deal with a sick dog. Three days after she arrived she began to sneeze, and five days after that most of the rest of our dogs caught it. She has an elevated white count and high liver enzymes as well as low thyroid, all of which might be due to the illness. It might not, in which case other tests will need to be run after she gets over her cold.

We’re especially happy that the shelter contacted us, rather than the other way around. This marks the first time Kent ever called us about a dog needing our help, a positive sign for the future. We also recently made contact with someone who routinely checks the Seattle area shelters and who will let us know when we are needed.

Oakley and Emily are still with us, waiting for their forever homes. We have listed Emily on Petfinder because none of our current applicants are quite right for her. Emily runs like a greyhound and has the boundless energy of any two year old and it’s going to take a special home for her. Oakley has settled in and we’re waiting for the right home to come along without advertising him. Because his past includes some sort of mistreatment he will need a gentle hand.

Precious was adopted just before last month’s rescue report, and in the past month several of us have visited with her and her new family. They are first time dog owners and needed some extra reassurance that Precious is getting what she needs from them. Special thanks to Liz and Van for visiting and spending an afternoon there.

About a year ago we picked up a senior Sammy girl named Snowy from the Tacoma shelter. She was traced to a vet in the area where we got the name of her owner, but we were unable to find where she moved. Carey and Kaz had recently lost Madison and called to say they would take Snowy. Under their care she blossomed and had a wonderful life there. We’re sad to report she bloated a week ago and they lost her. Please join us in our sorrow at the loss of Snowy, and in our undying appreciation for two guys who have twice given a Senior girl a wonderful home. They are truly two in a million.

Because we are fostering a sick dog, we can’t take any more until the whole pack is well again. If we find another dog needing rescue we may need another foster home on very short notice. If you think you can handle an additional Samoyed for a little while, please let us know.

The greatest joy of rescue is hearing about dogs months or years after adoption. When folks with rescue dogs take the time to write and send pictures it thrills us. At Christmas we hear from a lot of people and it makes the season bright. It also makes us think about all the success stories. There have been many who stand out in our memories.

Tonka was one of the first dogs we hosted in our home in the days we were volunteers helping Cheryl and Steve. Tonka’s mom suffered some financial setbacks and had to move to a new home with people who already had many dogs, and they told her he had to go. Christie Smith helped with his transport through Oregon and we fostered him. Marilyn and Gordon Dahl adopted Tonka and have become firm friends of rescue. We hear from Marilyn almost every month, and frequently she sends pictures. Tonka is a very handsome dog, as you can see in this recent snow picture.

Mori was special for another reason. We spotted him when he was listed by the Lewis County shelter, about a half hour from us. They told us they would list us as “last chance” on his kennel card. A couple days later, while Cheryl and Steve were out of town, the shelter called to say they need his cage. Right now. I think we set a record getting there, and a big happy goofy boy came to stay with us. The first applicant who came to visit him was intimidated by his size and energy and ended up with another dog. But then Holley and Hans came through the door and Mori walked over and sat down by them and said “these are MY humans.” Not for the first time we saw how true it is that the dog chooses the people. Hans and Holley have been responsible for the great artwork for all our fundraiser shirts ever since. Mori’s vocabulary is quite extensive, but “zoom zoom” (a ride in the car) may always be his favorite. You can see Mori walking around Green Lake daily, showing himself off to his loyal public.

Homer was picked up as a stray and taken to the Tacoma Humane Society, and his owners were known. Unfortunately they had previously bounced a check there, so they decided not to claim him. As soon as we could, we bailed him out and brought him here. He was a high-energy dog and several families met him before his perfect humans arrived. They understood exactly what he needed. His name now is Tova and he lives happily in Lynnwood with his family. After he settled in they added Amira, who helped demonstrate how well Sammies do with children. Is he a good babysitter or what?

Divorces are something we hear about all the time, and it’s often the dogs who suffer. Old friends who gave their families long lives suddenly find themselves homeless. One of these was Mandy, who at the dignified age of 9 had to come to rescue because her humans were moving into an apartment. We picked her up and took her to Melissa Hopper, who had foster space at the time. Mandy subsequently went to live with Esther and Margaret, close neighbors of Hans and Holley. Esther is a teacher and took Mandy to work with her, where she became the class mascot. Mandy has since crossed the rainbow bridge, but her final years taught her true love. Esther and Margaret have adopted two more rescue Sammies who came from the Coeur d’Alene area, so Mandy’s influence is touching two more dogs.

We can’t write about rescue success stories without confessing to the dogs who ended up staying with us. Charlie was the first, and the experience taught us what rescue was all about. Shadow was one of the first we found after taking over as coordinators, and we couldn’t bear to let him go. Abby had been dropped out a car window before she found her way here and literally couldn’t walk more than a few steps; we had the privilege of having her for the final two years of her life. Cassie was also a hospice dog who came to us with teeth so bad that all but four of them had to be pulled. She was also very old, but we believe love is magnified in a senior dog.

Finnegan is our current senior, found in Bremerton. He is having significant problems getting around and is leaving presents for us around the house, but his smile is as big as any we’ve ever had here. We’ve been privileged to be involved with rescue.

This is the month of our annual fundraiser, and this year we’re offering a new design by Holley called “Samflake.” We will take orders until at least the first week in January, so there’s lots of time left to get yours. We have had great success in our fundraisers in recent years. There are many other Samoyed Rescue groups around the country constantly scrambling to pay vet bills, and we have the privilege of not worrying whether we have to turn a dog away because he or she might be expensive to help. Your financial support is what makes it possible to save so many dogs.

New this month is Precious, a one and a half year old female Samoyed. She came from the Everett shelter where she was an owner turn-in. Although there was a note on her paperwork that the previous owner wanted a call when she was adopted because he cared so much, someone else brought her to the shelter for him, and she was filthy and ungroomed. Erin picked her up for us and took her to meet Lon, who is now fostering her. Precious needed bathing so badly that Erin says she stopped at a dumpster and threw away the pad from the back of her car on the way home. Wow. Lon & Mary have taken care of grooming Precious and we’re waiting for more pictures so we can get her listed. She should be an easy placement.

We can understand why Emily’s families have had so much trouble keeping her out of trouble. She is possibly the most active girl we’ve ever encountered. Emily first came to us in February 2005 after being found as a puppy in the Coeur d’Alene shelter. The best guess was that she was mostly Samoyed. Now that she has grown up (and UP and UP) our guess is that she is not as much sammy as everybody thought, but it’s still a matter for debate. We took her as a puppy and placed her, so she will always be able to count on us for a place to stay. She is a wonderful dog, but she will need a big yard or someone really committed to exercising her.

We received e-mail from American Eskimo Rescue on August 14, saying they had picked up a Samoyed in Oregon and brought her back to Seatac. Erin Sitterley lives close, so she did a quick assessment and took pictures. Two days later she brought Lilly to us at the Specialty in Enumclaw. Opinions differed, but she appears to be a very tiny Samoyed, probably bred by a puppy mill that claims to breed “miniature Samoyeds.” She certainly has a sammy temperament. Nancy and Doug Fenty were waiting for another dog to add to their family, so Lilly and Genie were introduced and got along well. On September 4, Lilly went to her new home.

Cosmo first came to our attention in May when we received mail from a number of people about a blind dog in Spokane. Our daughter Kristina visited him, took pictures, and we said we would help. Cosmo’s owner had gone through a divorce and Cosmo was living temporarily with a family member. We’re thankful his owner saw the need to have him neutered so we could begin looking for his new home. It’s not always easy to place a disabled dog. It took four months before we had interest in him, but the end result was a home with an experienced Sammy owner in Montana. She has had sammies for 30 years, used to show, and has another blind dog. Margo Varberg met us in Post Falls and arranged to take Cosmo to her own veterinary ophthalmologist. He confirmed that Cosmo is congenitally blind and is a dwarf, but no other obvious health issues. Margo and Cosmo went back to Bozeman and will live happily ever after. As with most special needs dogs, all fees were waived.

One of our adopters, Sheila Springer, works in Centralia. One of her patients saw her Samoyed calendar on the wall and asked if she wanted another dog, so Sheila got in touch with us right away. Oakley was given to a family about five years ago, and when they found he chased chickens they tied him out in the yard. He has lived there since. It’s a home with a single father with two children, and he works long hours and recognized that Oakley needed a better place to live. Judy Gustafson did an assessment and found a love-starved sammy of unknown age who hasn’t been groomed for five years. She went back and picked him up and brought him to us, and Oakley has been getting to know all sorts of grooming tools. His owner was told he was nine years old when he got him, which would make Oakley 14 now — and that’s clearly not the case. We estimate him at 8-10 years, with the agility and movement of a young dog. He is less than 40 pounds, skin and bones, and because he loves to eat we think they simply forgot to feed him. His first vet visit is scheduled and he is on the road to a good future.

Last April we placed two dogs together. One was Sammy, a male about a year old who had been in two homes before we got him from the shelter. The other was Emily, who we first placed as a puppy and came back a year later. The two went to live in Gig Harbor together, despite our feelings that it might be too much for the family to handle. We need to listen to our experience, because they are coming back to us this week. Two dogs, active and under 2 years old, would be a handful for any sammy family, let alone a home where training isn’t a priority. We’ll look long and hard before we place two young dogs together in the future.

Annie is a dog in the Seattle area, bought 10 years ago as a puppy, who needs a new home now because she barks too much. Our first efforts are always to counsel, advise, and try to keep a dog in its current home, but this owner made up his mind before he called us. She is being boarded now, will be kept by a friend for a week, and then we will bring her here if a home isn’t found first.
We’re also in the process of getting information on a male Samoyed on Whidbey Island. He was given to friends when his owners went to Germany, and now they are getting transferred to Guam. There’s an applicant locally, and we will try to work something out so they can adopt directly.

As the ones at the rescue table at the National in Post Falls, we want to thank Van, Liz, and the rest of the committee for their support. Our location was great and we met a lot of people we knew only from e-mail. One of the greatest parts of participating was meeting other rescuers for the first time, like Dorinda from Utah and Beverley from San Francisco. Although there have been a lot of politics in rescue in recent years, we proved again that we can all work together for our dogs.

The Rescue Parade was Tuesday evening; ten dogs participated. Sunny Bear came with Christine Kiernan from California; Celine Cutler brought Makita and China; Jim and Doris Commons had Saskia and Suni; Tom and Erin Sitterley brought Piper and Dory; Karen Johnson and Sam came from Walla Walla, George Johnson and Louise Goodman accompanied Tramp; and our dog Shadow was there, escorted by Diane Dings of SamUrgency.

Sadly, we have to report that less than two weeks later, George and Louise lost Tramp after he bloated and died before they could get him to the vet. Tramp has always been one of our favorites because of his unique, gentle spirit. We met him first when he was being fostered by Steve Madsen, and he has been a faithful attendee of the rescue picnic every year. We always joked that he was the only dog we knew who could surf the picnic tables without ever taking his feet off the ground, but he was so polite we never worried about it. Tramp’s passing has been a blow to all of us, and we mourn the loss of such a wonderful dog.

Roxie was with us for three months after coming from eastern Oregon. She had a heart murmur, not serious but a definite obstacle to finding a home. Luckily, we had an application from a doctor who understood her problem and thought it was something she could live with. This is a woman who already has a paraplegic sammy with her own set of wheels, who is committed to giving her dogs the best possible lives. Roxie sensed right away that this would be a great new mom from the minute she walked in the door. Roxie met her new sister, everyone got along, and we’re thrilled that Roxie now lives in Portland.

We told you last month about Shasta, a six year old male in Shelton who needed a new home. While we were searching, his owner put an ad in the paper and placed him on his own. Although we had a signed release, there wasn’t anything we could do but hope for the best. As it happens we had done a home visit on Shasta’s new home several years ago and turned them down for lack of fence, but we can still hope it works out. Once again we had to look hard at our policy of leaving dogs with their owners while we look for new homes. The bottom line is until we get people to step forward and offer to foster, this is the way we have to do rescue.

Cosmo is a perfect example of a sammy who needs a foster home. He is with a woman who isn’t a dog person and would rather not have him there, but there is no place to put him. Cosmo is blind, and although 70-80 people each week look at his Petfinder listing we’ve only had one inquiry in over a month. We know well that a blind dog is no problem to live with, but of course it’s hard to convince people.

Last month we told you about Sadie, an older girl who went to a first-time dog owner. In the time we’ve done rescue, it was the most positive meeting we’ve ever seen; human and dog bonded instantly. Sadie’s new mom had just successfully completed chemo and celebrated by getting the dog she always wanted. She took two weeks off work to help Sadie settle in.

Well, sometimes life isn’t what you expect. Ten days after her placement, Sadie had blood in her urine and was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Her new mom had her to the vet for surgery immediately. Sadie recovered quickly but tests showed they weren’t able to get it all. Throughout this, her new mom has had an amazingly positive attitude, especially considering she is a cancer survivor herself. She has elected to keep Sadie with her and do everything possible to make her comfortable. They are taking walks, having great times together, and refusing to let this get to them. We think if we do rescue for a hundred years, we could never meet a more perfect adopter. We returned the adoption fee, plus a bit extra, to help Sadie with medical bills. If anybody else wants to offer assistance, we will pass it along and give you our gratitude.

Bear is another dog from the Mona, Utah puppy mill by way of eastern Oregon. He was one of their stud dogs for four years, then sold to a woman in the LaGrande area as a stud for her Malamute. After two years she got tired of him and gave him to Cathie Falck. Cathie found a foster home and had him neutered, then he came here. Officially we’re fostering him for Samoyed Rescue of Oregon while they repair their kennels, which gives us the experience of watching him blossom and come out of his shell. His coat was so matted he was shaved before he got here, so we’re also getting to watch how fast sammy hair really grows. We expect Bear to move to a forever home with an experienced sammy family very soon.