In August last year the authorities in Delaware and Pennsylvania cooperated on the raid of a property that straddled the state line. Forty four Samoyeds were seized and taken to the SPCAs in each state, and after a court case resulted in a guilty plea to animal abuse the dogs were released to MidAtlantic Samoyed Rescue in late October. One of the dogs was known as Delaware-14, and MASR was told her rear was paralyzed.
When they got her they found an eager young girl who was deformed but could get around quite well. All the dogs were vetted, cleaned up and prepared for adoption.

When we first saw DE-14 we asked if we could adopt her. Our home was built for accessibility and we felt it would be good place for her, and MASR agreed to place her with us. She was flown from DC to Seattle in mid-November. We named her Sasha.

Because we also do rescue they allowed us to spay her after she arrived, and our rescue vet did that. She was treated for a persistent urinary tract infection and x-rayed to look at structure. The pictures showed she has no hip sockets, and the top of the rear leg bones are floating in muscle. The vet said it was a birth defect.

We disagreed with the treatment for her UTI and took her to a different vet, where she was treated with two different antibiotics. After her third visit we were in the waiting room when the clinic owner walked by, looked at Sasha, and said he knew what caused the deformity. He was at least the seventh vet to have seen her and the first to recognize what happened. He is an orthopedic specialist and had seen a prior case. He believed Sasha’s mother had a parasite when she was pregnant.

The parasite is called Neospora Caninum, and is more technically an intercellular protozoan. A pregnant dog with it can transmit it through the placenta to a fetus, and although some puppies are not affected, those that are look like Sasha. It can also be fatal to puppies.

Neospora Caninum is an infectious disease requiring two hosts; the primary is the dog (less often wolves and coyotes) and the secondary is cattle (also goats and sheep). It is spread by contamination of cattle feed by dog feces; transfer between cattle is congenital, through the placenta to the fetus, and can cause spontaneous abortion. Calves can be born without symptoms but still carry the parasite and pass it along to their offspring. It returns to the dog when it consumes meat from an affected animal.

This parasite was first identified in the mid-1980’s in Norway, when cases previously diagnosed as toxoplasmosis were found to come from it. It is now a major cause of spontaneous abortion in cattle worldwide and has been found many places, but is a particular problem in the U.S., Netherlands, and New Zealand. Because there is still a lack of knowledge there is no recommended regimen to protect from it. Infected cattle should immediately be removed from the herd and dogs should not be allowed near cattle feed. It is not infectious to humans.

Testing can be done to find whether a dog has Neospora Caninum. The first is the ELISA test (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) which should determine if antibodies are present (the cost on that test should be in the range of $25-$35). If they are, a more expensive specific test can be done which shows if this exact parasite is present. Sasha has been tested, as well as several other dogs from the Delaware seizure, and all dogs so far are negative. [ed. note: As of April 2013, at least 4 are positive] It was important for rescue to make these tests because of the risk to other dogs if any of them still carried the parasite. At this point it looks unlikely that is the case, but if any dog displays rear end weakness it should be tested for this parasite. There is nothing that can be done for Sasha because her rear and back leg problems are permanent, but nothing much bothers her and she is fairly mobile and very happy. For more pictures of Sasha go to http://nwsams.smugmug.com/family/sasha

This information was compiled from information from our veterinarian, from the USDA website, and from various sources on the net. Illustration from USDA. For more about Neospora Caninum you should consult with your own veterinarian.

Last month we heard of a dog in the Clackamas (Oregon) shelter. Our experience is that they don’t especially like to work with rescue, preferring to place dogs on their own. There are still a few like that, but fortunately more and more shelters are recognizing the benefit of purebred rescue groups. Melissa contacted them and was promised they would call her if he wasn’t adopted. It appears he is still available, so we will touch base with them once again.

We realized a few weeks ago that our NW Samoyed Rescue website had been hacked. There was malicious code on every page, and after uploading new files to the server it happened again, three more times. Hours and hours were spent on the phone with the service provider, passwords were changed, and ultimately the entire website was deleted and re-created. It’s difficult to understand who would want to do something like this to a dog rescue group. It finally appears we defeated the hacker, but it’s a good time to remind everyone that good virus software is a necessity, not a luxury.

We enjoy getting updates on the dogs we have placed over the years. We recently had a message from Holley about Mori, the first dog we ever fostered, who passed away a year ago. She told us that her vet still talks about him, and that he had a note on his chart that he could be bribed with a Kleenex. Nicky is still with them, and we received this picture of him with an antler, his favorite chew. If you would like to send pictures of your adopted dogs we would love to see them.

At the end of 2012 we received a number of donations, which we deeply appreciate. Please remember that all donations to Northwest Samoyed Rescue are tax deductible because we are a 501c3 charitable corporation.

It has been a fairly slow month in rescue in the northwest, which is fortunate because we have been assisting MidAtlantic Samoyed Rescue with their thirty three dogs. Seventeen came from Delaware and eighteen came from Pennsylvania. Originally twenty nine were taken in the Pennsylvania raid, but the shelter kept some and others were euthanized. All were the result of raids on Linda Wilson, who lives in PA, and her sister who lives in Delaware. Linda Wilson pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and was fined $5,000. We have since learned that she still has a number of Samoyeds who were living elsewhere during the raid, but the judgment did not include a prohibition from owning dogs.
Since the seized dogs have come to MASR, vet checks have revealed that many of them are positive for Lyme Disease and some are heartworm positive. A substantial number of them have foot problems because they had been kept in cages of rabbit wire. None of them had any muscle tone and now they are uniformly getting stronger and healthier.

Last month we said we expected to get a few of the dogs here, but we ended up with just one, a special needs girl we said we would adopt ourselves. She arrived after a flight from DC to SeaTac, met by Kathy and Erin. Her rear legs are deformed as a result of some kind of birth defect, and she moves by hopping. We knew we could provide a safe place because our home is a single level with two steps to the yard; we have a ramp for the old guys so she could use that. We named her Sasha and she fits into the back nicely. As time has passed she has become much stronger, and still refuses to use the ramp. Often she doesn’t even touch the step and jumps from the yard to the deck. She has a spay appointment soon and our vet is going to take x-rays to determine what her exact structure is so we can give it a name. Her personality is as sweet as any Samoyed we have ever had. The original estimate of her age was four, but now we think she is much younger than that. Her pictures are at http://nwsams.smugmug.com/family/sasha/

In the meantime, the Delaware dogs are adopted or in foster homes. This month the Pennsylvania dogs are being spayed or neutered and their medical problems are being addressed. In just the first week of this month bills topped ten thousand dollars with at least four thousand still owed to one of the vet clinics. People all over the country are helping financially and it’s taking all of that just for MASR to survive as a rescue. There is a “donate” button on their website at http://www.samrescue.com.  Right now MASR is going through dozens and dozens of applications received recently, contacting people, and getting ready to place the dogs after they recover from surgeries.

Throughout this report we’re calling the group MASR, which is correct, but what we didn’t say is that MASR is primarily one woman. Her name is Danielle, and she is helped with paperwork by Jeanne and with fostering by Ellen, but she does the bulk of the work. Danielle has lived on granola bars she keeps in her car as she travels back and forth to the vet, kennels, and meeting potential adopters and foster homes. Some of the members of PVSC have stepped up to help, primarily Tamara and Jan, but with lots of help from others.

If you would like to read an article on the seizure and rescue efforts, Tamara wrote all the details in an article on the PVSC website at http://www.potomacvalleysams.com/Samoyed_Rescue.html. Pictures and a daily diary Danielle has been writing are on the MASR website.

Last year we were entrusted with one of the dogs seized in Texas. Christie brought him to us and we placed him with a woman on Vancouver Island we had previously adopted to. She is one of our favorite people, and she and Rikki (formerly Graham) are doing wonderfully together. She sent us this picture of herself with Santa and Rikki. Her name is Lorraine, and in October she turned 99 years old. She and Rikki keep each other young.

You have seen the word ‘serendipity’ in these reports before, and it’s a part of life we rely on. Every so often a dog comes along and a perfect home comes from nowhere. It happened in October.

Two years ago we placed a Sammy (or Sam/Mal) named Kenai, who had Cushings Disease, to Michael. When he came so they could meet, Kenai walked over and put his head on Michael’s lap. That sort of bond is more common than you might think, but this was as strong as we ever saw. That day Kenai went home with Michael and had an ideal life. He was still sick, and Michael nursed him through it as his coat improved and his energy increased. Sadly it was only to be two years before Kenai failed and Michael let him go.

About that time we heard of a dog in SE Portland who was the casualty of a divorce. His owner needed to find him a home so she put him on Craigslist, and when we wrote she responded to us (which is uncommon). It took a couple weeks but a friend of theirs was heading north and was able to drop him off here.

Back to Michael, who soon realized he needed a Samoyed in his life and called to talk. We made the decision to tell him about the dog coming the next day, and it sealed the outcome when I told him the new dog was also named Kenai. We had new Kenai here just under 22 hours, and now he lives happily with Michael. He went from an outside dog without human company to a dog who can be anywhere he wants, and both of them are thrilled.

Last August there was a seizure of dogs in Delaware and Pennsylvania. The authorities raided two properties owned by sisters and took over 40 Samoyeds to shelters; one in Delaware and one in Pennsylvania. The court case was settled a few weeks ago with a plea of guilty to one count of animal abuse and a fine of $5,000, and a call went to MidAtlantic Samoyed Rescue. MASR has three people, one of whom is responsible for the care of the dogs in rescue. That’s Danielle, who picked up the first 15 in Delaware and put them in a kennel. Those dogs had received “less than minimum care” while with the SPCA, probably worse care than they received in the raided home. Almost every dog had ear and skin infections; some were worse than others.

Most rescues around the country are not rich, so a burden of that many dogs is frightening. A plea went out right away and people around the country have responded like never before. Our rescue group has a fundraiser going now selling sweatshirts and t-shirts in three new designs by Holley. Info is on the front page of our website at www.nwsams.com.

Then on November 10, MASR received the Pennsylvania dogs. Apparently some of them had been euthanized, some of the youngest and healthiest were kept by the shelter, and Danielle ended up with 18 more dogs. That means right now MASR is responsible for 35 Samoyeds, with a boarding bill of more than $7,000 dollars a month. Instead of saying she “ended up” with those dogs, what really happened was a trip with a rental truck and borrowed crates and a drive from 9:30 am to just past midnight. It’s the kind of workload Danielle has right now and she needs our help.

A small number of the dogs have already been placed. Denver Samoyed Rescue is going to take four of the dogs, and we arranged to take a few here. Erin has been working hard to negotiate a shipping discount with airlines, and at this writing it is getting close to happening.

We believe as part of the Samoyed breed we are all responsible for our dogs, whether they come from good or poor breeders, top kennels or back yards. Think what would happen if we suddenly got a call for that many dogs here. Please look at the MASR website at www.samrescue.com and the pictures of the individual dogs, and if there is any way you could add one to your family and your heart, please let us know and we will try to make it happen.

We’re in a slow time for rescue, and we haven’t had any dogs to place for a while. That’s great for the dogs, but not so great for two dozen families we have waiting in line for a dog. A number of them are past adopters who we know to be wonderful homes. One way we help our applicants is to let a select few of them know about puppies from good breeders; we are careful in those cases to contact the breeder first to ask permission. We all know there are people who want to support rescue but would do very well with a puppy. We will always place our rescue dogs first, but with a waiting list so long this benefits all of us.

We heard of a one year old Samoyed in the Idaho Falls area, which is so far south it’s much closer to Utah Samoyed Rescue. We let Dorinda know about him, and she followed up immediately. After talking to his owners she was able to pick him up. He has cataracts, but she had a previous adopter who stepped right up to take him. We enjoy working with the surrounding rescue groups.

There was also a Samoyed/Great Pyr mix in Montana needing a home. Our understanding is the woman has two females from the same litter and they don’t get along. We had two apps from Montana we were holding in case we found a dog too far east to help, but neither of them could help. Our advice to the woman was first to find a trainer, since we could tell talking to her that one of the girls was alpha over her owner. We don’t know what happened because we didn’t hear back. That happens a lot.

A few times a year we hear from someone who wants to volunteer to help rescue. That happened again last month. We always explain that our volunteers come from our fellow club members, friends, and adopters. First we have to know someone and then we can ask for help. Unfortunately rescues get offers too often from people who think they can get a dog faster by saying they will foster (and then keeping the dog). We invited the woman to come to a club event or drive to our home to meet our dogs but we didn’t get a reply. We’re very lucky to have so many friends who will step up and help, even though fosters are our biggest need.

An adopter from about ten years ago wrote to say she recently had her dog’s DNA tested. What we had placed as a Samoyed mix turned out not to have any Samoyed DNA at all. This made us curious about Katie, the girl we took in six years ago who had a mixed breed litter. We knew she wasn’t purebred, and for some time have doubted she had any Sammy in her at all, so we bought the Wisdom Panel test from Amazon. Sure enough, she had no Samoyed in her. One side was a golden/sibe mix, while other was so mixed it could be anything. Breed identification is one of the hardest things in rescue, and one of the reasons we have become a purebred rescue except in special cases. We ask on our adoption application if people would be willing to take a mix, and when we hear of one we write to those people with contact information so they can proceed directly. DNA testing is becoming cheap enough we may incorporate it into our decision making process.

Fostering is always our greatest need, and people who are willing to take a very old senior dog are a genuine rarity. Doug and Michelle still have Char with them, and they report she is shaky and slow to trust, and they feel she has been abused at some time. She wants to stay outdoors and trembles when brought in. We’re sure that will improve with time as she gets used to them and finds that she is living with good people. One of the biggest rewards in rescue is seeing an old dog learn that some people can be very nice to them. They all deserve that.

We heard recently about a six year old Sammy boy in BC who needs a home, and we referred that one to Pat. She is going to check on him and see what’s up. It’s very nice that western Canada is officially covered now by the new Western Canada Samoyed Club. We let them know we will be glad to help whenever asked.  Also on the horizon was a nine year old in Arizona we were asked to help, but we emailed Arizona Samoyed Rescue (who didn’t know about him), and they are handling him. It takes a wide network of rescuers to cover the whole country, even though there are still areas nobody can help.  One of those is southeast Idaho, where we share the territory with Utah Samoyed Rescue. A one year old popped up on Craigslist in Idaho Falls, and since it’s not far from Salt Lake City we immediately passed that listing to them.

A few weeks ago Holley forwarded another Craigslist ad for a three year old male Samoyed in the Seattle area. We made contact with the poster to let them know we were willing to help, which we always do with Craigslist ads, and this time we got a reply. We have been emailing back and forth and right now we’re waiting for the listing info. Since we have a couple dozen applications on hand we know we can put him in a good home quickly, assuming they carry through. There may be some hesitation in placing him when they realize surrendering a dog means he goes away forever. It’s pretty common. If they ask for it we’ll offer some counseling and put them in touch with trainers or other Samoyed owners for advice.

The last time a Sam was in the Olympia shelter was six years ago, but thanks to Ryann’s association with SPDR we heard there was an old guy in the hold area. She had a call in to them, and asked if I would follow up since I was local. I called when they opened after the weekend and found out the owner had picked him up. It seems there was a house-sitter who didn’t think to check the shelter when he went missing.

At the deadline for this report we heard of three older dogs in Montana who need homes. We don’t have foster space, but this is a good time for Petfinder listings. Sometimes we don’t use Petfinder because it brings out the people who want pretty white dogs, with no knowledge of what they need. But this is a perfect example of when it’s valuable to us — and to the dogs.

You may have already heard of a seizure of 28 Samoyeds in Pennsylvania, but it’s been fairly quiet so far because the media called them “white Eskimo dogs.”  Several rescuers got involved immediately and have been able to keep in touch with what’s happening. The primary contact is Danielle of MidAtlantic Samoyed Rescue, and she has previous experience placing dogs from a seizure. It’s a incredible job to do, but everyone will rally around if we need to, and dogs will be sent to adjoining rescues. If that happens they will need help in the form of money, since there is no place to foster that many dogs; they will need to be kenneled. In the meantime, the dogs are in no danger.

In October 2006 one of our adopters, Sheila, was working in a medical office and had her Sammy calendar on the wall.  A man walked in and saw it, and asked if she had one. When she said yes, he asked if she wanted another. Sheila told him about rescue and got his information. We were at the National in Post Falls that week, so we asked Judy to go look at him. She said he was a handsome purebred boy who was tied to a tree. The owner said he had been there five years, and the people he got the dog from claimed he was nine years old. Judy was sure this information was wrong, so she helped him get to us.  His name was Oakley and he came to us to be fostered.  He fit in perfectly, and to make a long story short we ended up adopting him ourselves. After six more years, we knew he really had become a very old dog. He began to have problems, including senility, and then incontinence. We suspected kidney problems and a test showed he had lost 3/4 of kidney function. Although he still seemed happy, his heart was also failing and it was a matter of weeks, so we let him go before there was any pain. Oakley was one of the most genuinely nice, mellow, and friendly dogs we have ever known. He, and dogs like him, are the reason we do rescue.

Early in May a Craigslist ad appeared selling a young female Samoyed for $500. We couldn’t do much, since Rescue can’t pay for dogs, but after a few days another ad appeared lowering the price to $375. Then it went away.  A while later another ad appeared from the Bremerton area that seemed to be the same dog, named Chloe, with an unspecified “rehoming fee.” We forwarded the link to several people on our list of applicants letting them know about her, and one of them jumped to find out more info. Eventually we learned that a woman had responded to the original ad and had negotiated the price down to $200 in order to save the dog, and she was asking to be paid back. She said she was afraid what might happen to Chloe because the first owner was leaving town and couldn’t take her. Our applicant asked our opinion and we told him we believed that was a reasonable amount for a young female Samoyed. He adopted her and was so excited he sent a picture from the ferry on the way home. It looks like Chloe has the best possible home now, and is happy to be there.

Northwest Samoyed Rescue often refers people directly to dogs, especially in cases where someone is asking for money. It bypasses our requirement that dogs come to us at no charge; the dog gets a new home and our applicant gets a great dog. It means we don’t get an adoption fee, but the welfare of dogs has to come first.

There are several states adjoining our coverage area that aren’t served by any of the established Samoyed Rescue groups. We often get asked to help in Montana, occasionally in Wyoming, and sometimes in western Canada. With the advent of a strong rescue presence in the form of Western Canada Samoyed Rescue, that area is now in good hands. We do what we can with western Montana, but in eastern Montana we just take apps and write to those people about dogs in need. Southern Idaho is covered by Utah Samoyed Rescue. Denver Samoyed Rescue tries to handle the needs of Wyoming, as they recently did with Thor, a senior dog in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We are glad to say we have good relationships with the other groups around the country who do the same work.

The longer a rescuer works, the more we hear of dogs we placed who have since passed away. It’s always sad, as it was this month when we heard that Samson, placed in 2006, had reached the end. We celebrate the years Samson had with a wonderful family.

Over the years NWSR has tried to ignore that most rescues have an age limit. Senior dogs take a lot more of our resources; more time, more money, and longer times being fostered. Sometimes they are never placed. The proof of that is three dogs we have right now. Cody is either ten or eleven and came to us after his owner died. Her niece called and we agreed to take him. Cody is a nice dog who acts much younger, and we have a tentative home. Unfortunately it’s with someone whose old dog is declining and she isn’t able to make the trip here from Ellensburg. We will keep Cody here for now and keep our fingers crossed. We also have Chip and Ozzy, ten and thirteen, whose stories have been told in past reports. We took them because their owner couldn’t provide a good home. A couple weeks ago the former owner’s son wrote to tell us she was in hospice care and not expected to live more than a day or two. It came as a shock and surprise, but now we know we made the right decision to keep them here.

What it means is that we have three old fosters and no more foster space. We know from experience that there are few things as rewarding as caring for a senior Sammy and knowing what a difference you make in an old life. They don’t demand much and give a lot back. But because we have no space, we turned down an old Sammy girl for the first time ever. The Everett shelter called us for help, and we had to suggest they call Old Dog Haven instead.

They did, and while that was proceeding we kept looking and kept asking for help. Fortunately for the dog, whose name is Char, Doug and Michelle Manis stepped up to the plate and offered to foster as long as needed, knowing it might be for her lifetime.  Char has obviously had a very hard life, and her coat showed it. Her nails also did, with one of them so long it curled into a corkscrew. Now she has been cleaned as much as possible and is recovering, and gradually will begin to feel at home. Sometimes it’s a long process, but Doug and Michelle have handled her with much love and compassion. We are indebted to them for their help.