Jack was a giant of a dog who was dropped off at the Olympia Animal Shelter in October last year. Not only was he a huge 116 pounds, but his coat was ragged and missing a lot of hair. Even so he was a typical big goofy boy who loved everybody, and he spent a few weeks here waiting for a new home. Jack got along with all our dogs and they seemed to like him too. Our vet thought it looked like he might have post-shave alopecia, a condition where the hair grows back sparsely after multiple shavings. When we had an application from the Graham area we went to visit, and have to admit we were a little concerned. The people had an alternative lifestyle and seemed a bit casual about Jack and all the other animals they owned. We decided to try things out, and Jack went to live there.

Reports were all good, and they said he loved to be there but didn’t get along perfectly with their son’s dog; since there were two homes on the property and they lived separately it wasn’t a problem. Then last month we got a call that things might not be as good as they had said. They claimed Jack was distant, didn’t want to be around them unless they had food, and was not tolerant of other animals. He was so food-motivated he had begun eating seed that fell out of the birdfeeders. The woman changed her mind several times, and finally we asked her to stop delaying the inevitable and bring him back. Of course that wasn’t convenient, so Kathy hopped in the car and went and got him.

As you’re probably guessing by now, Jack is the friendliest, most mellow and well-behaved dog we’ve had in a long time. Once again he loves everybody, enjoys human interaction, and gets along with the other dogs. His coat is marginally better but still ratty, so we took him to the clinic owner, the best diagnostician we know. He looked at Jack’s coat and said circles of pink skin surrounded by darker scabby skin is almost always an indication of a staph infection. He’s on Cephalexin now and we’re giving him a few weeks to see what happens. We already have a home in mind for him, and we’re anxious to find out how much weight he has lost by his next vet visit. He was still 104 when he came back, and is losing weight steadily.

One of the things a rescuer inevitably learns is that their gut feeling is the most important factor placing a dog. This is the last time we don’t listen to it. The saying is “the dog picks the owner” and in the future that will be the first law of rescue.

Lily is waiting to be lined up with the right orthopedic specialist. She had a growth plate fracture in her right rear leg as a puppy that wasn’t repaired, and our vet (who does orthopedic work himself) says it’s going to take a specialist to repair it. Lily has a new home, and it’s the same she has been in since April. She is staying with Ron and Kathy, who will participate in paying for the surgery so rescue doesn’t have to pay for it all. She and Sasha are two dogs who probably never learned to play as puppies, and now they have each other and are learning how much fun they can have.

Two weeks ago someone posted on Craigslist that they found a young male Samoyed in Federal Way, running in traffic. I wrote to the contact email, an anonymized Craigslist address, and asked them to check for a microchip. They said they took him to a vet who read a number but couldn’t figure out what kind it was (and they didn’t write it down), so I asked them to please get it read again because I know the formats. Every couple years I check all the companies and note their formats and what phone numbers to call.  Unfortunately, even with multiple emails, the finders would not respond. The ad eventually went away, and so did that email address, so they probably kept the dog and somewhere there is a family still searching. We hope we are wrong, and the rightful owner claimed him.

Judy Carrick has been hand painting a sledding design on shirts for years, and we worked out a deal where rescue could print them and use it as a fundraiser. We just finished shipping everything and haven’t yet totaled the donation to rescue, but it’s a significant amount. We want to thank Judy for letting us use her design. People have said they really love it.

One of our first adopters recently told me they saved a lot of the hair they combed out of their first Sammy, who has since passed. Now they are doing the same thing with their current dog. They travel a lot in their jobs, and she keeps a bag of their hair in her suitcase (the TSA hasn’t busted them yet). In each new place they visit, they find a place to release a little bit of that hair, so their boys can be part of their travels.

To date they have left Samoyed hair in two places in Maui, New Orleans, Sitka & Glacier Bay in Alaska, Apple Valley, Carmel, San Diego and San Francisco in California, many places in Oregon, plus Vail and Beaver Creek in Colorado. But the best is a tuft of hair hidden in a ceiling cranny of a 16th-century hotel in Paris, France.

What do you think? Should we all start doing this and keep a list of where our Samoyeds have been?

This was a quiet month in rescue. We had a request to take a dog that belonged to a woman’s neighbor, but since it didn’t come from the owner we couldn’t do anything. If the owner calls we will work with them because the dog is apparently not wanted, and was given to their daughter who has since moved without it.

Applications continue to arrive, but we haven’t had dogs to place. Each time we explain the shortage of Samoyeds and tell them their wait may be lengthy. As of this moment we have twenty-five families waiting, and the last few years have seen a half dozen dogs per year. That’s a wonderful thing for Samoyeds. Not so great for people who want one. When someone strikes us as right for a puppy we offer to let them know when we hear of a litter. We’re always careful to ask breeders first, and let them see the app of the family we’re thinking about. Once or twice a year we find a good match.

Judy Carrick showed us a design a while back we thought would look good on shirts. We’ve been working with her since, and shortly after this year’s National we’re going to announce it and take orders. She has generously offered to donate a nice percentage of the proceeds to Northwest Samoyed Rescue.

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/

We had a month of hearing about dogs, but not getting them.  First was a male at the Auburn Valley Humane Society named Harry (someone has a great sense of humor).  We sent an email request to the rescue list asking if anyone could go look at him, and Cyndy volunteered; she was headed that way for something else already.  Harry wasn’t there when she arrived, but she tracked him to an adoption event at the Auburn farmer’s market. He was definitely a purebred Samoyed but they wanted to place him themselves, and that’s what happened. As usual, we asked them to pass along our offer to help the new owner with any questions they had.

Next came a dog in Buhl, Idaho, in the Twin Falls area. He was so much closer to Samoyed Rescue of Utah that we called her and asked if she could get him.  His name is now Chance and he is with Dorinda, waiting for the right home.

Just a few days ago a dog appeared in West Vancouver, listed on Petfinder. Pat is going to take the lead since she is so close, and she will keep us in the loop. We always appreciate how well the different Samoyed Rescue groups and rescuers work so well together.

Around the beginning of May we heard of a dog in Forest Grove, and Melissa went to look at her. Frosty came from a long time backyard breeder who died a couple years ago, and was in a shed in the yard of the breeder’s granddaughter. Melissa picked her up immediately and we took her to the vet the next morning, and to surgery for entropion two days after that. She is healing very well and her eyes are normal now. The hair is growing back on her face, which had to be shaved.

Last month Frosty met her new family. They were about to leave on a business trip, and we agreed Frosty should wait to move until their return. They are back in the country now, recovering from jet lag, and by the time you read this Frosty will have joined her forever family and her name will be Freya.

Frosty/Freya has been a challenge. Her arrival raised our pack to seven dogs, and she has a dominant personality. She immediately decided she should be the alpha bitch, and both Katie and Sasha disagreed. Katie worked it out by ignoring Frosty, but Sasha and Frosty don’t like each other, period. We eventually had to keep them separate, and a citronella collar on Frosty has helped on occasions they need to be in the same area (always chaperoned). Since it sprays forward from the collar, it affects both dogs and makes them much less interested in being close to each other. Even so, we are looking forward to Frosty moving to her new home. Not only has this been an unusual occurrence, it’s the longest we have been forced by circumstance to keep a foster here.

We are actively looking for the right home for Stormy now. Her urinary infection is finally cleared up and it’s time to place her.  She is with Melissa, as she has been since February. This is another dog who has been in foster for quite a while. She is also another alpha bitch, but does get along with others.

Lily is awaiting surgery. When she was young she had a break in the growth plate of her right femur; the head of it healed at a slight angle and the kneecap ended up off to one side.  She seems to get around fine, but she stands with her right rear leg off the ground so we know there must be some pain.  The correction is to cut and rotate the end of the bone and use screws and plates to keep it in place. Our regular vet does orthopedic work, but wants to refer Lily to a specialist. We haven’t scheduled anything yet. Lily is still a young dog and she deserves a pain free life. We had questions about whether Lily is a purebred Samoyed, so we paid personally for a DNA test. It showed Lily is 100% Sammy.
OUR RESCUE PICNIC IS JULY 19.  If you haven’t received an invitation, please contact Ron right away at ron@nwsams.com. If you plan to come and haven’t RSVP’d, please let us know asap.

Stormy has been with Melissa for several months while she has battled a persistent urinary tract infection. After two different antibiotics failed to clear it up they did a culture, which told the vet to prescribe something different. At the end of it her meds, another test showed the UTI was diminished but still needed more antibiotics. We hope in the next few weeks to hear things are finally cleared up and she can go to a new home.

Lily has also been in rescue for a while. She healed nicely from her spay, but we took her to the vet when we realized she was standing with her right rear leg off the ground. Our vet suspected an old growth plate fracture, probably between seven and nine months old, and x-rays confirmed it. The end of the bone ended up at a slight angle so the kneecap doesn’t track as it should. That means there is some amount of pain. We are getting estimates from two orthopedic specialists to correct it with an osteotomy, in which the bone is re-broken and screwed together properly. It means thousands of dollars, but Lily is a young dog and deserves a pain-free life.

A few days after the last rescue report we discovered a Craigslist post about a dog named Frosty in Forest Grove. After a little detective work we learned it was one of the last girls from a prolific backyard breeder who died a few years ago. She was with the grand-daughter of the breeder and lived in a shed in a back yard. Pictures showed she had a significant eye condition so Melissa went to meet her. She found a friendly purebred Samoyed whose eyes were nearly closed. Melissa picked her up and took her home, where Kathy got her and drove her north. We called our vet immediately the next morning and asked for an urgent appointment and were in the vet’s office two hours later. It was a case of entropion, where the lashes rotate back and rub against the cornea, and it’s very painful. Surgery was set for two days later.

Our vet described this as one of her favorite surgeries because it provides nearly instant relief. Think about the last time you had a lash in your eye, and then consider all your lashes rubbing against your eye. Our vet was correct, and Frosty came out of the surgery obviously feeling much better. We had her spayed at the same time to avoid two sessions of anesthesia. She had a check-up a week later, and stitches removed at 14 days. They had to shave her face, so she looks like she is mixed with a raccoon. You can see the difference between her “before” and “after” shots. This is a very happy Sammy.

Last weekend a couple from Salem came to visit Frosty and they want to adopt her. Because they have trips already scheduled, Frosty will stay with us for another four weeks, but she has a wonderful future before her.

Only a month away: The Rescue Picnic is July 19!

Stormy is still with Melissa, as she has been for well over a month. She has a stubborn urinary tract infection that hasn’t cleared up in well over a month, so a culture was taken and should provide us with the information to put her on the right antibiotic. Stormy has thoroughly made herself at home in the meantime.
Last month we knew we had a dog coming from the Walla Walla (Blue Mountain) humane society. Many thanks go to Liz Summa, who picked her up and drove her to Yakima, where Kathy met them and brought our newest foster here. After a day or two we chose the name Lily for her and it fits her very well.  Lily is a small dog, only 40 pounds, and had puppies recently. She has almost no coat, but now that she is spayed it should come back thick and heavy before we know it. The shelter originally told us they picked off 200 ticks, but later let us know they gave her Capstar and almost that many more ticks fell off in her kennel run. There are little scabs on her that are gradually falling off.

Lily was estimated to be three years old. Now that she is here we are adjusting that to somewhere between one and two. She loves people as much as she loves to run hard and play with other dogs, but is quite timid and afraid of sudden sounds. That’s probably because of the time she spent outdoors on the run, and having to protect the puppies she had while on her own. She loves attention and will even relax while being held in a lap. Because of the ticks we chose to give her a course of Doxycycline in case of Lyme disease; now that she has completed those we can think about letting her move on to a permanent home.
Late in the month we were contacted by a Seattle vet who is a friend of a woman with a Samoyed, who needs a new home. We’ve been working with her for about two weeks, and are ready to send people to her home to meet her dog. His name is Sam (the eighth dog named Sam we’ve helped), and is a little less than five years old.  During this process we found a new volunteer. Lindsey helped Georgia Samoyed Rescue for years before moving to the Edmonds area, and we knew her from the rescue e-mail list. She told us last month that she lost her old boy Thor, so it was with crossed fingers we asked her to visit Sam. We are delighted to relate that Lindsey has decided to adopt Sam. We’ll try hard to get them to the rescue picnic July 19 to meet y’all.

For the last couple weeks a Samoyed has been listed on the Salem Craigslist as “free to a good home.” We wrote to the contact immediately, thanks to the quick notification from Holley. After three days with no answer we tried again, but still haven’t heard back though the ad is still posted. It makes us suspicious when we see something like this, but there is not much we can do about it.

We frequently receive messages from people who are moving to an apartment that doesn’t take dogs. We are weary of that excuse because anyone who looks can find a place that takes dogs. In the case of Jack, the mother of the owner contacted us about him because her son was moving. Jack is ten years old and going blind. We wrote back to the woman and offered to list him, and to take him if her son would pay boarding and medical expenses; we explained it was nearly impossible to place a senior blind dog. It’s not fair to the dog, who has given his whole life to that owner, to be dumped at that age, and we told her that.  To our surprise, she agreed and said she was keeping him herself. In return we offered our experiences living with a blind dog and some ideas to make it easier.The 2014 Rescue Picnic is July 19!  We hope to see you there.

Last month we talked about Stormy, who came to us from a woman in Oregon City who left her outdoors in the yard although she was house-trained. She first posted Stormy on Craigslist but became spooked at the people who were calling; none of them would let her come and see their home. She called us and Melissa picked up Stormy, who has lived the last month with her and Terry and their other dogs. She had an eye problem when she arrived, but the vet couldn’t find anything wrong. Stormy began her stay a bit fearful, and it looks like she might have treated roughly when she was caught after being out. Melissa has slowly convinced her that coming to a human is a good thing. Like a typical Samoyed, she rewards her humans by stealing food off the counter whenever she gets the chance. Stormy recently was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection so she will stay where she is for another couple weeks. We are talking to a couple different potential adopters about her.

Rocky is the dog dropped off at the PAWS shelter in Lynnwood. His owner moved to an apartment and Rocky complained about the lack of exercise by barking. She got tired of it, and rather than give him what he needed she turned him over to the shelter. Ryann was able to pick him up two days later, as soon as he was neutered, and brought him here. A woman in Portland visited him, and after a week’s delay while she was out of town, she and her family returned to take him home. Rocky now has a young boy all his own.

We mentioned we were going to get a dog from Korea, who was rescued there and flown to Seattle. Erin and Tom met her at SeaTac and took her immediately to their home for a bath. Seems the crate was a couple pounds over the limit so they removed the blanket. It was a very long flight and she arrived soaked in urine. Jinju got another bath here the following day and was spayed the following day. Jen and Rick drove up from Troutdale and Jinju immediately decided they were perfect for her. Jinju is a work in progress, almost completely untrained, but they can handle the challenge.

We often say we never know what’s going to appear in our mailbox. Someone wrote to ask if we could help with her brother-in-law’s brother and wife’s dogs. She said he was terminal, and when he died his wife would be moved to assisted living. The dogs were hers and she was upset they didn’t know what to do with them. The dogs were eight and a half and ten and a half, and that’s not an easy age to re-home. As luck would have it we had previous adopters in Bozeman looking for another dog, and they opened their hearts to take these seniors. We had a wonderful thank-you note from the woman who originally wrote, saying their owner was so relieved her dogs would be loved and not put into a shelter.

Another Craigslist ad popped up around the first of the month for two young Samoyeds in Snohomish County. They have been killing chickens at the neighbor’s house so they were being placed. Rescue immediately wrote to offer help, but there was no phone contact listed and they didn’t answer the email. The listing was recently removed so we can only hope the dogs found good homes.

As this is being written there is a female Sammy in the Walla Walla shelter. We just committed to taking her and we’re trying to work out transportation. She has a very sad story. They found her with a litter of mixed-breed puppies living by the river and scrounging for food. The shelter took her in and kept her until the puppies were old enough to place. They said she was not only filthy but loaded with ticks. They removed over 200. Now she is clean, looks good, and has a bright future. They named her Fanny Lou, and we’re planning to change that, but since we will foster her here we’ll wait till we get to know her. We’re fortunate to have so many shelters willing to give us intact dogs, knowing we will do the right thing.

Last July we took in an aging Malamute mix because we were promised he was a Samoyed. By the time he got here he had been in the WSU vet hospital for a week and we couldn’t back out. Trent’s kidneys were in bad shape but we were able to get his health improved enough to give him a chance. He gradually improved and bonded to Kathy, but never completely trusted men. It shows what his life must have been, since he lived with a single guy. He had a neurological problem in his back and his rear feet didn’t follow his front feet. He looked like front and back were two different gaits, and sometimes he had trouble getting up. Meloxicam kept him walking but eventually it stopped working. He laid down on March 26 and didn’t get up again. The following day we let him go. We’re glad to have had the chance to know Trent and discover what a sweet old Malamute is all about.

Our Rescue Picnic this year will be July 19. Save the date!

Finally, the rescue business is picking up. The past month has brought a number of dogs to our attention, and while some didn’t need our help at least two are coming into rescue.

Some time ago a loose-knit group in the US was asked to help get a dog out of Korea and into a good home here. The dog was shipped and placed successfully. Now a second dog needs help, and the adopter they had backed out, so they asked us if we could find an adopter. We did some checking, and this is all above board, so we said yes. The schedule now is for her to fly to Seattle on the 25th and come here for a few days (to be spayed and recover) before moving to her new home. Her name is Jinju and she will be living with Jen and Rick in Troutdale.

Late last month a dog was listed on Craigslist, saying she was trained to be indoors but has lived outdoors for the past several years. People on Facebook started posting and re-posting until she was almost everywhere, with any number of critical comments. We tried writing and followed up with a call offering our services but got no answer. So many people were passing around her email address and phone number that we were genuinely concerned for the dog. If you have been around rescue for a dozen years or more, and subscribed to Samfans, you probably heard the story about the dog who was euthanized because it was too much trouble for the shelter to deal with all the people calling them.

Fortunately, the owner of this dog wrote to ask us to help. She said she was getting spooked by the number of people who wanted her dog but wouldn’t allow her to visit their home to check it out. We arranged for Melissa to pick her up and foster her, and as of this writing she is still there. Melissa would like to work a little on training, and then she will move on to a permanent home. Her name is Stormy and it seems she probably hasn’t had a wonderful life – until now. She is recovering from a minor eye problem but is otherwise healthy.

Ryann is listed as the Samoyed representative for Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue (SPDR), one of the oldest breed rescues in the northwest. It works out well for us because it’s one more way dogs can end up in rescue. Ryann had a call while working at the Seattle Dog Show saying a male Sammy was coming into a shelter the next day. He was dropped off because his owner used to be on a farm and now lives in an apartment, and she can’t walk him. He does what every three year old boy will do without enough exercise; he barks a lot. She said she didn’t like him anymore and dropped him off. He will be in foster with Ron and Kathy by the time you read this, and he already has a visit scheduled from people in Portland with prior experience with a young male. He will be in the home he deserves very soon. Many thanks to Ryann.

Our Rescue Picnic this year will be July 19. Save the date!

Our month began with lost dogs, which we try to help no matter where they are. The first one was a dog in California who was taken from a vehicle. The national network of rescuers, admittedly informal, really gets in gear when a dog is lost. We all notify everyone we can, and there were dozens of people looking for a Sammy named Freedom. He was found two days later and it looks like all the publicity made someone drop him off where he would soon be returned to his owner.

The second time it was two dogs of Josh and Norma’s, who were let out by a delivery person who left a gate open. After much detective work they found the dogs had wandered to a nearby apartment building. A man who was being evicted put them in his car when he left; since someone knew his name he was eventually tracked down to another apartment not far away. Norma and Josh went to confront him, and the dogs started barking when they heard the familiar voices. This turned out very well, especially considering how difficult it would have been without help from others at the first apartment.

A big part of the reason we hear of so many dogs, both lost and found, is the work Holley does online. She checks Craigslist and other online sources daily, without exception, and the results are sent to the national rescue secretary, who forwards dogs to the closest rescuer.  We have another opening for someone who wants to volunteer for rescue; it would also be a daily task and has the potential of helping many Sammies. If you think it sounds like something you could do, please ask Ron for more information.

On the first of February a Samoyed girl was listed on Craigslist in central Oregon. As always we responded to let them know who we are and offering to help, or send people to her who wanted a middle-aged female Samoyed. She asked for us to let one of our applicants know, and although that didn’t work out she was able to find someone local to her who adopted her girl.

Northwest Samoyed Rescue has had some extraordinarily generous donations recently, and we want to thank our supporters. We have enough on hand to ensure any dog who needs medical help will get it. We’re also pursuing an AKC grant for the future. This money lets us keep our adoption fee the same it has been for twenty years. At $150, we have the lowest adoption fee of any Samoyed rescue group in the country. Thank you!

We have been working with a rescue group in Oregon to find a home for Nita, a mix who recently went blind at seven years old. We think their description of her as a “Samoyed/Lab” mix is a bit optimistic, but she seems to be a very nice girl and we know blind dogs are easy keepers, especially at that age. When someone fills out one of our application forms there are check boxes for ‘purebred,’ ‘mix,’ or ‘either.’  We keep a list of all those who would consider a mixed breed dog, and when a dog like Nita comes along we send email to them. Over the years this has worked well, especially since we only take purebreds into rescue. Of course over those same years we’ve mistakenly taken many mixes in, but that’s part of rescue. Since reasonably priced DNA testing has come on the market we have learned how many ‘Samoyed mixes’ have little or no Sammy in them.

At year end we always get a few donations, but 2013 was a stellar year as many of our friends remembered donations to rescue are tax-deductible. We feel honored that so many people think Samoyed Rescue is a good place to donate. We can also provide what you need to talk to your attorney about estate planning, as some of our friends have.

How many of you routinely donate to the Humane Society of the United States? They have come under fire from people who say they aren’t really helping dogs. Well, I’m one who likes to do my own research and not take the word of others regarding how I spend my money. You know something? The detractors of HSUS are absolutely right. If you go to a website like guidestar.org you can investigate all charities (NWSR is included) and learn how they spend your donations. In the case of HSUS, they spend a great deal of money trying to make more money (fundraising expenses), and their officers are very well compensated. The greatest part of their spending is on lobbying, and their beliefs align very closely with other ‘animal rights’ groups like PETA. Less than one percent of their spending, actually closer to one half of one percent, is spent helping dogs. Their federal tax returns are online for all to see. A good site for more information is www.humanewatch.org.

This is a good time to remind you that we keep microchip records on all the dogs we place. Since we are a ‘chipping agency’ (that means we buy the chips and implant them here) we are usually the first place called when a lost dog is found and scanned. Do we have your most current information?  Ideally we should be able to locate you almost immediately, so we like to have home, work, and cell numbers, as well as neighbors’ phones and all the email and text addresses you have. Over the years we have had many successes returning dogs home quickly. If you’re a breeder whose litter we chipped, this would be a perfect time to ensure your puppy people have provided you recent information.