Early in July, Holley forwarded a Craigslist ad about a young dog in St. Helens named Andy. The owner was looking for a new home, so we called and talked to her.  She was receptive because she has also done rescue, and after a long conversation we agreed to share one of the applicants on our waiting list. Her name is Carol and she lives on the Oregon coast. The owner took Andy to visit her, and the match was excellent. Sometimes we take in dogs to foster, and sometimes we play matchmaker. This was the first time someone decided to keep their old dogs and let the young, adoptable dog be placed. We are still marveling over that.

In February we worked with the owner of a young female Samoyed in Seattle, and the day we were ready to pick her up they changed their mind, something about getting permission from their landlord. A month ago we heard from the same person, who said his roommate (the owner) was moving back to southern China and their vet said it was too hot there for a Samoyed. Once again we arranged to get her, and this time it went smoothly. Bebe was only 13 months old and a ball of fire, as busy as any dog we have had in a dozen years. She was well behaved but almost frantic in her activity.

Bebe moved back to Seattle to join two other Sammies in a home that turned out to be as perfect as any we have had. Her new name is Holly. Her activity level perplexed them too, and after a day they decided to hold her down and check her entire body. What they found was a very thin mat of hair behind one ear they called almost undetectable, tight against the skin. When they touched it she was visibly hurt by the touch. With patience and a great deal of time they clipped out the mat in about fifty little bits, and the more they cut out the more she relaxed. From that day forward her whole personality changed. Even though it shows that we missed something while she was here, it’s one more thing to consider when your dog is acting oddly.

Another strange event is also worth mentioning here. We chipped a young dog a couple years ago; when he went to the vet recently they couldn’t find it. We use AVID chips specifically because it can be read by any reader of any age, so it definitely wasn’t in the dog. Chipping a Samoyed is an art because of all that long hair, and we have developed a procedure over the years. After chipping we comb the area and check again, then let the dog run for a while and comb and check again. More than once we found the chip was stuck in the hair because it hadn’t been placed correctly.

A week ago there was a conversation on a Facebook group and I learned there are many people who have Sammies whose chip is no longer found. Whether there was a fault in a reader, a chip not placed correctly, or a chip that was bad, we strongly suggest you periodically ask your vet to scan for a chip. Over the years we have recovered a number of dogs specifically because of the microchip, so it’s vital you know it works. If it’s a chip we implanted here, and your vet can’t find it, we will send you another one your vet can implant.

Princess is still here and will probably live the rest of her life with us. She is getting better but will always be a fearful dog. Spending eleven years in a back yard without people has affected her social skills. We’ve been making small breakthroughs, and she will come inside now when called. Just a few days ago she was in the far part of the yard when called, and she came running with her tail up and a big smile. Those are the days that make rescue worthwhile.

You may remember Chip and Ozzy, who came as a pair of senior Sammies four years ago. Their owner couldn’t keep them and had no money for vet care. They got what they needed here and Ozzy lived two more years, leaving us in 2013 at 15 years old.  Chip has been a perfect gentleman during his tenure here, always polite and respectful of the other dogs. Back in February we thought he had reached the end, but a trip to the vet showed he wasn’t ready yet. We bought a carrying harness and have been picking him up when he wanted to move since then. A persistent cough earned another trip to the vet a week ago, and this time it was something we couldn’t fix. He was tired and ready this time, so Chip left us on August 6. He was 14½. It’s hard to believe what a large hole can be left by such a quiet dog.

We are finding fewer dogs each year to place and still trying to come up with the reason, but some of it may be the increased use of Craigslist. We’d wish we could say anything that keeps dogs out of rescue is good, but an alarming number of dogs on Craigslist aren’t being re-homed as much as being sold. Twice this past month there were dogs listed, and we wrote for information without getting an answer. Sometimes people simply don’t know what rescue is about, but more often they are really trying to sell their dog.

In mid-June we learned of a Samoyed at the Tacoma Humane Society, found as a stray. When we called to check on him they told us the owner was known and was coming in. Two days later he was still listed so we called again. The owner had come in but agreed he should be neutered before release. That’s what happened, and he is back home again.

One of the most dismaying emails comes when someone decides they want to surrender an old dog. We had one of those from a woman who has been caring for a 14 year old Sammy for two years for a friend, and wanted to place her. This case turned out better than most; we wrote back and explained how unfair it was to the dog, and the woman agreed to keep her. It developed that she was one of those rare people who was trying to do it for the dog’s sake (she is gone a lot). We suggested some options and things worked out OK for the dog.

Princess, who has been here since late May, is getting better. She is a timid dog, afraid of anything new, a result of being a yard dog for her entire 11 years. We are helping her get used to being an inside dog, living with people. In the past few weeks she is beginning to raise her tail when she sees us, and once in a while comes straight to us. It’s sad to think she spent her whole life alone; it’s challenging to work through the problems, but as rewarding as rescue can be to see the slow, steady improvement. She prefers to be alone in a bedroom where it’s quiet, so we leave her there part of the day. An odd result of her past is that she won’t eat out of a bowl. It’s as though her food was always thrown out in the yard, and that’s what she thinks is normal. Lately we’ve given her meals by putting kibble on a pillow, and she is happy with that.

Princess had a limp most of her life. The shelter was so disgusted with the prior owners they gave us all her medical records, which amounted to two meager pages of notes, each visit describing a limp. She has been to our vet several times now trying to diagnose the problem, and it appears to be a tear in the cruciate ligament. At this age we’d rather not use surgery, so our vet described a procedure they have begun doing called “platelet enhanced therapy” or “platelet rich plasma,” abbreviated PET or PRP depending on the vet. They draw blood and concentrate the blood platelets into the serum with a centrifuge, then inject that platelet rich serum directly into the joint. There is good information at http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-blood-injections-that-might-transform-orthopedics.

We had the procedure performed on Princess on July 8. If it works, the improvement should appear in another week or so and we’re crossing our fingers. She has had a sore leg most of her life and deserves to feel better. There was extra serum so they also injected the other knee. PRP isn’t cheap, but it’s a lot less expensive than surgery.

Our 16th annual rescue picnic was July 11. It was the smallest to date, as you might expect with so many fewer dogs being placed. Two and three years ago the count was about 40 people and 40 dogs; last year it was closer to 25, and this year we had 19 people and 18 dogs (and 6 of those were ours). After weeks and weeks of heat, we had rain that morning but it stayed dry during the picnic. As people were departing the rain began again, so we had a lucky day. It was great to sit around talking to a yard full of dogs and people. Here’s the group shot from this year. Two of our attendees could only be here for a short time and aren’t pictured, but I think the picture shows all the rest. We are considering scheduling next year’s picnic on a Sunday for the first time so people who haven’t been able to attend can join us. We would be interested to hear what you think of the idea.

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Both the dogs we had last month are in great new homes. Samson, the young male, is now in the Portland area and is the center of attention in the house. Sophie, the five year old alpha female, found her perfect home in Bremerton with a single guy and no other dogs. We were lucky in both cases to find homes perfectly suited for them.

Later in May we took in Princess, a dog from Woodinville. Her family bought her at eight weeks old, and when she reached eleven they took her to the shelter. Even worse, if that’s possible, is that she spent her entire life in the yard and wasn’t allowed in the house. She has been here for several weeks and is barely used to the idea of being inside. She still spends the majority of her time in our laundry room. We have to be careful not to make sudden moves because she is spooked easily. It is obvious she wasn’t treated well in her former life. If we go outside with her and sit on the edge of the deck she comes to us and likes the attention. Inside she allows us to get close, but it’s as though she has been punished for running. We are asking her to spend nights in a bedroom and she is getting used to it. Her tail wags, but isn’t up much, so we know she wants to make friends with her new humans. She has a limp, which our vet thinks is a muscle strain, so she is on an NSAID for a while. X-rays show her bones are in good condition.

Princess is making slow but steady progress, with some occasional bad days interspersed with the good. We know this is a dog we will probably have here for the rest of her life. We’re glad she gets along with the others, as she has since she first walked into the house. When we find a dog who has been mistreated our usual attitude is to look forward toward her future and forget about the past. In the case of this dog it’s more difficult than usual to overlook her former owners.

Another Samoyed (we think) was taken into a foster home in Central Washington with a woman who does northern breed rescue. The dog’s name is Iona and she was left behind in a bathroom when her family moved out. She was found several days later, weak and filthy but alive. They had to clip her coat short but she is doing much better now. Her age is probably about ten but could be years either side of that. She has a typical Sammy personality, and the only reason we aren’t positive about breed is that clipped coat. Her teeth are terrible; most will need to be pulled. Her eyes are a bit cloudy. Iona seems quite content to now be with someone who values dogs.

Nevada rescue wrote about a young female they had, and we heard back that Utah Samoyed Rescue has taken her in and already found her a home. The idea of a National Samoyed Rescue has not worked out well, but we are glad to report the western rescues all work together well, and we all try to help each other.

We would like to thank a number of volunteers who wrote back when we asked for home visits last month. Erin, Carole, Kim, and Kathy all spoke up and offered to help. We’re especially grateful to Lon and Mary, who are always there for us when we need a foster home.

Invitations to the annual Rescue picnic will go out soon, but this is the last report before it happens. Our adopters, friends, and club members are all invited to our home on Saturday, July 11 for a potluck picnic. Please RSVP so we know how many are coming.

After six months without taking in a dog, we have two fosters who arrived a day apart.
Last month we had a call asking us to take a dog who lived in Woodinville. The people didn’t have time for her and they thought she should have a family better suited to care for her. It’s the most often heard excuse for giving up a dog, and it’s the lamest. It usually means “we bought a dog from a backyard breeder and they didn’t tell us how much work it would be.” In this case it also means mom and daughter wanted a dog, but dad didn’t and he finally won. Sophie is quite overweight and has a thyroid problem probably related to weight. It makes her frantic to get to food. She is gradually losing weight here and has gone from 88 to 83 in a month. That’s about as fast as we want to change her. Her family walked her because they don’t have a fence, so she is used to a leash.

Despite her past being relegated to one room in the house, Sophie is a truly sweet girl who absolutely loves people. We are looking for a strong home with people who understand her past and can see a wonderful future with her. We’re sure that weight loss will help her thyroid deficiency and may even eliminate it. She is a remarkably strong alpha bitch.

We had a call from a family in Centralia last month saying someone gave them a dog. From their story, a guy they didn’t know was walking down the street while they were in the yard, and he said he had been kicked out of his house, had nowhere to go, and would they take his dog? They took him to their vet for a quick check and a microchip scan but nothing was found. They kept him for three weeks and realized he was too large for their house; they already had two small dogs. That’s when we got the call.

The first thing we do with any dog is scan it for a chip. We’ve had too many cases where someone missed it, and this was another. He was chipped with the newer Home Again ISO chip, which doesn’t register on older readers. We called, and an hour later received a phone call from his owner, who said he ran away three weeks before. It means the guy who gave up his dog was not telling the truth. More than likely he found the dog and wanted to pass the responsibility to someone else. Doesn’t matter at this point. But it gets better.

The dog was brought home by the woman’s husband one day; he was at a building supply store and someone there asked if he wanted a dog. He said his wife would like it, and that’s how he got there. They didn’t have a fence so he kept running off, usually heading for the neighbor who had kids playing outside. She thought neutering would stop his running, so in February she had that done. At the same time they implanted a microchip, and that’s how we ended up with a long story. As she now knows, neutering doesn’t stop a Samoyed from running. Her only reason for wanting him back was to sell him and get something back for the vet expenses, so we made a deal. We paid part of the vet bill, since we would have had to do that anyway, and she signed him over to rescue.

His name is Samson, making him the third of that name we’ve seen. His conformation is better than most backyard dogs, and we think we might know his origin. About two years ago we heard of a woman in the area who had two litters of Sammies and was selling them from the back room of a business. It’s entirely likely he was one of them. Samson is one of the most easy going dogs we’ve had in a long time, getting along with six other Sammies and sleeping on the bed next to Kathy at night. We have someone scheduled to adopt him on the 16th and they will be very fortunate people to get this guy.

Your rescue board has been seriously discussing a problem we’re having. We have a lot of volunteers and supporters and they are well appreciated. We couldn’t do rescue without their help. But there is a major problem. We can usually find help with things that take an hour or two, but we can’t find foster homes anywhere. What that means is we have been carrying the load among ourselves, and we’re getting old and tired. Ron and Kathy have been doing this since 2003. Melissa and Terry have done it much longer. Unless we find someone to help us with fostering, we’re going to end up folding the group and walking away and leaving the northwest without a Samoyed Rescue presence.

 

THE 16th ANNUAL SAMOYED RESCUE
POTLUCK PICNIC
 SATURDAY, JULY 11, 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.

In August last year we had word of two Sammy girls in Montana, Sophie and Diva, who needed a home. Their owners both had dementia and the dogs had been boarded for a long time with a vet, who thought it was time for them to go. With a great deal of help from the couple’s daughter we found someone willing to take them both, where they joined a Sammy already there. Flash forward to last month, when the woman who had them was diagnosed with brain cancer. She had the foresight to give a friend power of attorney, so that friend (and a woman we worked with last year) contacted us. The older of the two dogs passed away late last year, but the other one – along with the woman’s previous dog – needed a new home. They wanted to wait until the owner no longer recognized them because the dogs were going for visits, but sadly that was only another two days. We had a family on our waiting list who specifically wanted two female Samoyeds together so we checked with them.

About the time they said yes, we received an email saying the dogs were placed locally and no longer needed our help. We are glad they will stay together and live in the same area, though we had to contact our applicants again and tell them the dogs weren’t coming after all. We try to stick to our rule of not informing an adopter about a dog until we have it here, but broke the rule this time. After the dozens of hours we spent working with these dogs, we’re not likely to break the rule next time.

Bruce was contacted recently about a dog needing help. He referred them to us, and we offered to help. The guy’s roommate had a young Samoyed, but had to move out of the country and couldn’t take the dog. The landlord discovered the dog and gave him till the end of the week to move or be kicked out. Because we need a release signed by the owner, they agreed his roommate would give the dog to him so he could be surrendered to us. Everything was scheduled so Kathy would pick up the dog the next morning, when we received another email saying the roommate was renegotiating the lease so the dog could stay. Once again, lots of time spent but no dog to place.

In late January we heard from Deb, an adopter and volunteer at the Seattle Animal Shelter, saying they had a Samoyed. With her assistance and access as a volunteer, we got in contact with an animal control officer there. They knew who the owner was, and said he came in but couldn’t afford the fees. He promised to come in a few days later, which they didn’t believe but agreed to hold the dog a little longer. We’ve worked with them before, but this time they wanted to place him themselves “because they had so few dogs.” When we asked if we could send people to put their names on him, they said yes, so we called someone close we thought would provide a good home. They immediately went to the shelter, and when he became available they were standing there waiting to adopt him. This one wasn’t on the report last month because we were promised pictures, but we’re still waiting. It’s discouraging for volunteers to spend so much time and have the adopters ignore us afterward. But as long as the dogs get good homes, we’ll continue. In this day and age it’s what we expect. Major thanks go to Deb, who did the majority of the work with this dog.

As this is written, there is a Samoyed in a nearby shelter. It’s one we have worked with at least a dozen times, so we checked in when they opened on the day after the listing appeared. Because the dog has a microchip they must make an effort to contact the registered owner, and that takes 3-5 days. If the owner responds the dog goes back home (after paying the fees); otherwise we hope to get her.

Lily’s recovery from surgery is coming along beautifully. She is a little unhappy with the confinement but walking 20-30 minutes two or three times a day. We expect the check-up with x-rays in another four weeks will show excellent healing.

Remember, you can help fund rescue by shopping at Amazon or Fred Meyer. If you use the link on our web page for Amazon, or sign up with Fred Meyer to benefit Northwest Samoyed Rescue, we get a small cut of your purchase and it costs you nothing. We only have a few people participating, but we get almost a hundred dollars a month. Imagine how many dogs would benefit if you joined too.
http://www.nwsams.com

The month began with Craigslist, as it often does. There was a dog picked up and taken to the Marion County shelter (Salem, Oregon) and they posted her info looking for the owner. When we called we learned she was found in a chicken coop, and there was some question whether her family would come forward because of the fines. Eventually they picked her up, and we’ll hope they learned how important fences are. We appreciate new adopter Anita, who went in and got pictures for us and was willing to help with transport.

As this report is being written there is another Craigslist dog in eastern Oregon. It’s beginning to look like something isn’t quite right because a free Samoyed is easily placed, and they have ignored rescue’s attempts to help. It remains to be seen what exactly is going on.

This is the month Lily finally had her surgery. She went to a specialist last month because our usual vet, who does most of our orthopedic work, said this was a complicated repair. Lily had a break in her right rear leg as a puppy, when the growth plate was still growing; as a result her knee joint was rotated incorrectly and the leg was slightly shorter. The patella (kneecap) was off to one side. Our surgeon is based in Portland but travels to the Olympia area one or two days a week so we were able to have the surgery done locally. Our regular vet, who is skilled in his own right orthopedically, told us more than once after Lily’s surgery how he was so impressed with the surgeon. The x-rays are spectacular, showing a lot of metal in her leg. He made a circular cut and rotated the leg back where it is supposed to be. When surgery began we had a call letting us know her cruciate ligament was torn, asking permission to do a TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) at the same time. We agreed, of course, wanting to get everything done at the same time. The result was a beautifully done procedure that should give Lily a long, healthy life with little pain from the previously broken leg. The only down side is a recovery period of five months, during which she must be walked on a leash. For the first month we will use two leashes, one around her body to support her weight in case she slips. The bone needs time to heal and strengthen. It was the most expensive surgery we have experienced, either personally or on a rescue dog. Ron and Kathy will be contributing the majority of the cost and Lily will stay with them. She has already bonded tightly.

  

Jack’s hair is beginning to grow back after his diagnosis of hypothyroidism and a prescription to get things balanced. It is his second time in rescue after a bad placement, and it’s the custom that a dog coming back is allowed to stay with his foster family. He fits in very well with the pack, and is happy where he is.

There is a senior dog with a rescue group south of Portland, and we are referring people to her. We wish more people would realize there’s nothing as special as a senior Sammy.

The two dogs we wrote about last month ended up going to Alaska. Although we had qualified people waiting, the owners elected to place the dogs themselves, so we crossed our fingers. Someone who had applied to us ended up with both of them and the placement seems to have been very good. He is on Facebook so we’re able to keep track.

Someone found a dog in Bellevue and posted online, so we wrote right away as we always do. There was no picture included on the Craigslist post and we were unsuccessful persuading the finder to work with us. The ad disappeared two days afterward so we hope for the best.

For the most part, December was quiet. We answer inquiries nearly every day, and applications arrive frequently, but except for paperwork and email not a lot happened. We are still waiting for the surgeon we want for Lily’s leg surgery to get back to us, and Jack needs some help with a skin condition. We treated him for a staph infection and now we’ll test thyroid levels.

Back in early 2007 we had a call from the Kent animal shelter telling us they had a Samoyed, and asking if we would pick her up. She had a terrible allergy and had chewed the hair completely off her back; her teeth were worn down to the gums from constantly biting herself. We guessed her age at about six or seven, and she was definitely a mix, but we said we would take her. Erin picked her up and brought her to us.

We delayed her spay because she came with kennel cough, and a week before the appointment we realized she was getting round. Bobbie came to look and estimated she had about five days before delivery. She was right on the money, and Katie presented us with three puppies. She was a good mother, and we placed all three pups to great homes. It was quite an experience. We tried to place her, but after several months we couldn’t find any takers and she ended up staying.

Katie has been declining in recent years, with frequent surgeries to remove growths, and mentally she has been failing. A few weeks ago she had a seizure and started wandering into corners and getting stuck. We could see the light in her eyes had gone out. She had another large growth on her neck, and we didn’t think we should put her under anesthesia again. Katie left us January 5th to join all the others who have gone before her.

More pictures of Katie are at http://nwsams.smugmug.com/family/katie

In late October we were contacted by the Auburn Valley Humane Society about a three year old Samoyed they took in as a stray. He was neutered, chipped, dewormed, flea treated, and vaccinated, and then…  diagnosed with cancer, a squamous cell carcinoma. He had a mass over his left upper canine. They asked if we might find someone who could afford to treat Max, and if we couldn’t do that could we find a hospice home. After talking to our own vet, who predicted a $10,000 bill with heartbreak at the end, we reluctantly said we couldn’t take him. Instead we posted him on our email list and Facebook group. Someone from Portland stepped up, but after two weeks the vet in Auburn checked with us again because it had fallen through.

We publicized Max again, and had someone else say she could help. Unfortunately her way of helping was to post his story all over the place and tell us we weren’t doing enough, which didn’t help Max at all. Late last week the Auburn shelter vet let us know two people had applied to adopt him, then another applied, and she was in the process of deciding who would get him.

On December 10, the vet wrote again to let us know the original person from Portland came through after all, and Max was in surgery to have a quarter of his upper jaw removed. They will follow up with radiation and/or chemo, and Max will have a chance to live a long life. What will happen? Realistically this surgery doesn’t have a great success rate, but we hope for the best, and we appreciate the generosity of the man from Portland who is funding his surgery.

Holley, who monitors Craigslist ads all over the country, alerted us to two dogs in the Sedro Woolley area. Their owners moved to a farm, and their two Samoyeds were killing chickens and harassing livestock in the area. One neighbor threatened to shoot them if they showed up again, and they decided not to chance that happening. We wrote immediately offering our help. Carole went to visit them to ensure all was on the up and up, and reported back that they are wonderful dogs, although overweight, and we started checking with our applicants. Their names are Noka and Nanuk, and they came from a backyard breeder who wouldn’t answer when they needed help.

The applicants we thought would provide a good home for two dogs didn’t pan out; one said no, two never answered, and others said they only want one dog. We do have an applicant in Alaska who would take them but there is no way to do a home visit first. We decided to give the owners a little time to talk to that person first, and if it doesn’t work we’ll place them separately. The dogs are still young and should be easy to re-home. Right now we have 25 applications on file; we can count on half those people getting a dog somewhere else and not telling us, a few we can’t reach, and a handful who were serious enough about Samoyeds that they are willing to wait. Those are the ones we appreciate, who love the breed and wouldn’t have anything else.