It was a quiet month. On the day this report was due we heard about a dog needing help in Spokane, but we haven’t had an answer to our message to the owner. She looks like a young dog, and she is having seizures despite medication. We have to be careful before taking a dog with a medical problem, but if we hear back we’ll ask for a release to speak to her vet. Like all Facebook dogs, we have no idea whether we’ll hear anything more.

Sophie and Tessa are warming up more to Kathy, although I still can’t get close unless it’s bedtime and I’m handing them a bedtime snack while they sit in crates. Here is a recent photo of Kathy sitting on the lawn combing Tessa. When Kathy is in the yard both dogs will approach her for scratches, and seem to enjoy the attention. We expect to visit with Kathi and Fena soon and we’re looking forward to that.

Abby has been on Prozac for a month and has calmed a little when food is around. She still barks, but we have a few more minutes at dinner before she begins her incessant demand to have food. She has some significant health issues; her back legs are getting weaker and she has trouble getting up. She also has a skin problem on her back that may be Cushing’s. Time will tell what happens. It’s getting more difficult getting a dog to the vet, so she hasn’t been diagnosed.

We are still considering one last rescue picnic in late summer. We’ll let everyone know if the decision is made.

Winslow, the Puppyland puppy, found his forever home. Melissa fostered him for a month while we searched for the right adopter. Many thanks to Karen Rochat, who gave us the lead that worked out perfectly. She called them and suggested they submit an application right away. They did, and Natalie Greene took care of the home visit for us. They already had two Samoyeds so they have the experience to take care of a puppy. Their dogs have Hawaiian names and Winslow is now Pono. Both their other dogs have accepted him and reports are positive.

Three dogs popped up online last month. Two mixes in Pasco and Port Angeles, and a purebred listed on Craigslist in Bonney Lake. We sent out the information about mixes to the people on our waiting list who indicated they would take a mix, but no luck there. Holley tried to contact the person in Bonney Lake with the purebred but there was no answer. Ken Granacki got someone to call him, who found out the breeder of the dog was in North Dakota. We then checked with Helen Corlew in North Dakota, and she told us there is a breeder in SE North Dakota she thinks would have been the breeder of this dog. His first post listed a price of $500, which is against Craigslist rules, so it was removed. He posted a new ad changing that to a “small rehoming fee,” which is permitted, but it’s probably the same amount. Since we can’t get the owner to answer, there isn’t much we can do.

Sophie and Tessa are doing well, though they are still fearful. Two of our grand-daughters were here recently and one of them sat with Sophie and Tessa and was able to pet them. It’s men they are afraid of, and we still believe a man mistreated them sometime in the past. White Fire was run by a woman, but she put them in the hands of a man in SW Washington, so we have to believe he was the one. Other dogs from the White Fire seizure were unsocialized but have not had the kinds of fear shown by our girls.\

Abby, the dog from the Kitsap humane society, is not the easiest dog we have ever fostered. She is so food-motivated that if she thinks anything to eat is imminent she starts barking. It means we get 5-10 minutes to eat our meals before constant once-a-second barks begin. Two days ago we put her on doggie Prozac to calm her down. We’ll see what happens.

One of the strangest inquiries we had in the last 20 years came a week ago, when someone wrote asking us to take two dogs and five cats. When I asked for photos of her Samoyeds she replied that one was a Great Dane and the other was a Pitt mix. I presume she wrote to everyone listed on Petfinder without taking time to find out what breeds they take. I wished her luck, while suggesting ways to search for the right rescue.

Having a good relationship with breeders has made our jobs easier for the last 20 years. We call on them for help with dogs, home visits, and other things we need. Twice this year we asked breeders to share people who are waiting for a dog, and both times we had positive responses that resulted in homes for the dogs. We know that good, reputable breeders are responsible for keeping future Samoyeds the same breed we all love.

Our goal is to have a rescue picnic late this summer. No date yet, but we hope everyone we invite will have had their COVID vaccinations by then.

We get a lot of applications from people looking for a puppy. We tell them we almost never get puppies, because the last two were 13 years ago, a pair turned over to a humane society because they were three months old and “no longer cute.” Their loss, our gain. Then last month we had an email from a man north of Seattle who said he bought a puppy at a pet store and realized he wasn’t ready for the challenge. The store doesn’t take returns, so he asked if we would take his pup. Within a matter of hours, Tom picked up Winslow, and he and Erin brought him to us. The next day Kathy drove him to Melissa, who has been fostering him since. His pedigree, such as it is, shows he is the product of a puppy mill, as expected with any dog from Puppyland. He seems a bit smaller for his age (11 weeks when he got here) than other Samoyed puppies. He is not afraid of anything and gets along wonderfully with Melissa’s dogs. We always look carefully through applications to find the right home for a foster dog, but in the case of a puppy we also look at the list of previous adopters. We need someone who has proven they know what they are doing.

Winslow is not the only Puppyland Samoyed puppy in need. Just a few days before this report, a rescue group in Pierce County listed a puppy, saying it had a Puppyland dog. She is cute, and a little older than Winslow, so I called and left a message. No answer, and she was de-listed later that day. We have to hope they found her a good home. The other part of a listing like this is that I was inundated by well-meaning people on Facebook groups wanting to know what we were doing about it.

Abby has settled in, but with two significant problems. One is her barking when she thinks food is imminent, and the other is an extremely strong alpha personality. We get between five and ten minutes at each meal before she begins barking, and she barks about once a second until she is taken outdoors or she gets her after-dinner treat. If she is outdoors she also barks, but at least it’s not as loud at the table. When Abby was here briefly in 2015 she was just as alpha, but now her weak back and rear legs mean she can’t enforce anything. When one of the others gets tired of it they can push her over, so she just tries to be alpha and barks at the others (and barks, and barks). At ten and a half years old, she may be here a long time. For the first time ever, we’re considering de-bark surgery. We definitely need to get her teeth cleaned.

We have been trying something different with Sophie and Tessa. Since previous efforts to get them comfortable with us have not been completely successful, we’re trying to force the issue a little. The leads we put them on while outdoors, initially to be able to catch them when they didn’t want inside, are part of their training. Instead of Kathy clipping them on, I have been doing it instead. Now when they see the leads in my hand they run to their “safe spot,” the shower in a bathroom, and I follow and clip leads on there. I also take time to scratch and pet them, rewarding them with a treat or a trip outdoors. Both have become slightly less fearful, though we’re talking small degrees.

Rescue doesn’t pay for puppies, a policy set in stone over 20 years ago because we would never have enough money if we began buying rescues. Well, that policy was broken exactly one time, in June, 2014. Melissa went to look at a dog named Frosty in Forest Grove. She was a leftover from a backyard breeder who died, and the woman didn’t want to give her away. Melissa saw that her eyes were in terrible condition and looked painful, and decided on the spot to give her $200 and get Frosty. Her eye problem was entropion (ingrown eyelashes) and surgery immediately put her out of pain. Freya (her new name) was adopted by Anita and Howard and has lived a wonderful life ever since. Recently some problems were diagnosed as a liver tumor that was expanding rapidly and looked like it had taken over the majority of the organ. They had surgery at OSU, and the tumor was removed. It was only 30% of the liver, and we have all been waiting for the test results. A few days ago the news came that it was benign, and now Freya begins the final years of her life healthy again.

Abby is settling in and becoming part of the pack, although she is such a strong alpha that the other dogs don’t especially like her. Her rear is so weak they know she can’t enforce her dominance, so they pretty much ignore her. She has bonded to me and is usually found at my side. Abby is a barker who is so food-motivated that we have to exclude her from the kitchen during meals, or she will bark continuously while we try to eat. None of the usual training methods work. We think she must have been starved at some point in her life and just can’t accustom herself to not being fed while others eat.

She has a problem we thought might be a perianal cyst, or a problem with an anal gland, but it appears to be a type of perianal dermatitis. There isn’t a lot to do for it; she isn’t agile enough to lick herself, so that’s not the problem. We had full blood and urine tests done and she is in pretty good shape for eleven years old. As we say, her problem is behind her.

Tessa and Sophie are still slowly improving. Kathy can pet and scratch them if she approaches slowly, but they still run from me. We are continuing to clip clotheslines on their collars as they go out, since they return when we do that (for a month or more we had trouble getting them back in the door). One of the things we are trying now is for me to attach their lines; they run to the bathroom and jump in the shower where they know they will be cornered, and I follow them slowly and hook them up. I take advantage of the situation and pet them so they get used to me, and give high value treats at the same time. Until recently I was waiting for them to make the move, but it’s time to try something new.

Last September we were asked to take a two year old dog named Casper. While we were contacting people to go meet him, the owner said he found someone to give him to and they hoped it was a good home. Last month we had an email from a woman who said a friend with a Samoyed needed to find him a new home, and after talking to the owner we realized it was the same dog. Casper has had a nomadic life. He was sold and quickly returned, then sold again to a doctor in Seattle who was remodeling his home and left Casper with a day care center a lot. Finally he abandoned his dog and the woman gave/sold him to a family in Bellevue. On the first day there Casper jumped out a second story window and broke his paw. They spent thousands getting him through that, and they are the ones who approached us last September. Their vet tech found Casper a new home, but the new owner was gone 10 hours a day and Casper was too much for him. That’s when we became involved this time. We didn’t want to bounce him around again, so rather than bring him here to foster we contacted people on our waiting list, but none were ready for a young male. Then we called breeder friends and asked if they had anyone special on a waiting list who would take an adult just under 3 years old. Darlene came through for us with a perfect home. They already had a young female, worked from home, and were anxious to meet Casper. We arranged to meet here, and Casper was driven down from Sultan while they came north from the Portland area. You know how often we say the dog picks the people, and that’s what happened again. Casper went right to them, and even ignored his owner of the past four months. It’s impressive when something like that happens. We get frequent updates and this really is his forever home.

We heard of a puppy who came into SeaTac from the Ukraine, but without the correct paperwork. Reports are that they can’t reach the shipper and don’t know who was to meet her, so she is being held in the custody of a vet. We tried to contact Customs, but they would only say it was in the hands of the airline and they can’t tell us anything because of privacy concerns. The pup is being talked about, as usual, on Facebook groups full of concerned people who can’t do more than talk about it and tell us we should do something more. Until we are asked to do something, we’re observers like everyone else.

It has been a little over a month since eleven year old Sophie arrived. We initially referred to her as “Sophie 2,” since we already had a Sophie here, but when we realized she didn’t answer to her name we changed it to Abby. We know she doesn’t hear well, but she seems to answer to Abby now more than she did to her former name. Kathy has been working on her coat, making significant progress, but just a few minutes at a time. Abby is the barkiest dog we can remember. It is primarily food-motivated; she acts like she is starving. It’s easy to see why she weighed 88 pounds the first time we had her in 2015. Since we can’t speak to the adopter from that time (he is in a care facility), or the man he gave her to because we don’t know who he was, we don’t know if once of them got her weight down or if she was on the run a long time before she made it to the animal shelter. The result of the weight loss is a desperate desire for food. She has a number of small wounds either healing or where her coat hasn’t grown back. We gave her Amoxicillin for a UTI when she first arrived, which cleared up her incontinence, but in recent days she has asked to go out in the middle of the night, so it may be back.

We know Abby came from Falling Cedar Farms. They sell to anyone wanting a puppy, do no health checks on parents, and they have accounted for more dogs we get than any other breeder since Misty Mountain, back when we started rescue in 2001. There is another connection. In looking at the pedigree we received with Abby (Sophie) in 2015, we know where many of the Falling Cedar Farms dogs came from. They were from Misty Mountain. Besides the pedigree, there is a head shape that’s common among them, shared by our own boy Rowdy. If he or Abby looks into the office we have to check nose color to be sure which one it is.

February 5, 2021 marks the third anniversary of the arrival of Sophie, Fena, and Tessa. They were three of five pregnant Iowa bitches that were “leased,” already pregnant, to a man in Brush Prairie, Washington. We were told he was going to sell the puppies, split the proceeds with White Fire, and return them. We don’t know what happened, but he offered three of them to us and we said yes. Our partner Melissa got the girls and brought them to us to foster. We had no idea what we were getting into. In 20 years of rescue work we have never seen three dogs not just feral, but petrified. They acted like they had never seen a human being.

Kathy and I made a quick decision and moved the cars from our garage and made it into a big dog kennel, with beds in one corner and pieces of x-pens and other panels fencing off storage shelves because they chewed on everything they could reach. They were totally untrained, so we cleaned the concrete floor frequently. Each day we took turns sitting with them to get them used to people being around. We fenced a small outdoor area outside the garage, set up so if they escaped there was another fence holding them in. Our vet did a home visit, and Tessa was discovered to have a heart murmur. Blood samples showed Fena was heartworm positive, so she made the first of three visits to the vet clinic for treatment. In May, Sophie stopped eating and was discovered to have eaten some plastic. A midnight surgery removed bits of a string trimmer reel. They put in 33 staples. A few weeks and a few thousand dollars later she had recovered.

In the early fall we began letting the three girls into the house, first by letting them come in through an open door, and finally moved them in the house full time with a path through the garage to their potty area outside. During that time they regressed because it was another change in their lives, but settled down after a few months. On their one-year anniversary we cross-fenced our dog yard and gave them quite a bit more area to roam outdoors. After 13 months they were finally housetrained. In the early Spring, 2019, they were spayed.

We tried to find trainers in the area and couldn’t find one willing to take them. We even contacted the prison system because they train dogs, but couldn’t get help there either. Finally we found a friend and previous adopter who said she would take one of them. A breeder friend stopped by for an evaluation and decided Fena was the best candidate, so in August she went to live in the Seattle area with a wonderful woman named Kathi. We continued sitting with Sophie and Tessa in an x-pen every day, feeding them treats, and they began tolerating it.

Being inside meant they were free to bark all night, but the fix was surprisingly easy. Kathy led them to the bedroom every night and they slept in crates. We were impressed how quickly they liked it there. Then in June we opened up the entire yard to them so all our dogs were together. In the meantime, Fena was with Kathi becoming more of a regular dog every day. About that time Fena rolled over and asked for a tummy scratch. In late Summer Fena began going with Kathi’s dog walker, a man, happily.

On their second anniversary here, a year ago, Sophie and Tessa’s progress became slower. Kathy has been able to touch them, pet them, and give them scratches and a little grooming, but generally speaking I can’t get close. Whatever a man did to them in the past must have been bad enough they still can’t trust. The exception is when they go into their crates at night, when I can feed them some kibble from my hand. In past months I have been able to pet them while they eat kibble from the crate floor. Once or twice I have been able to get close enough to put a leash on Sophie, but not Tessa. A few months ago they stopped coming inside, no matter what the weather, unless they had long lines clipped to their collars so we could catch them. The exception is at night at bedtime, when they know there will be kibble in their crates.

It’s a slow road, and we expect the two will be here the rest of their lives. We know they would both do much better if they didn’t feed on each other’s fears, but try as we might, we can’t find anyone who can take a dog this fearful. It requires either two fences or one that’s built to keep a dog in no matter what, with no way in the house to escape through a door and end up in a place not fenced. If you know someone in the Northwest who has that kind of setup, we’d love to hear from them.

We are starting the new year with a new Sophie. Perhaps new is not the right word, since we had her here in 2015, and she is ten and a half years old now. On January 7 we had an email from a woman who surrendered her dog to us in April, 2015, letting us know she received a call from the Kitsap Humane Society that her dog was there. Looking back at records I found she had been adopted to a man in Bremerton, so I called and left a message on the number he gave us on his application. About ten minutes later I had a call from a woman who identified herself as his caretaker, asking what we wanted. When I told her, she said he wasn’t able to take care of himself, let alone a dog, and that he gave Sophie away. Although that meant he had defaulted on his contract and Sophie was ours again, the shelter had to hold her for 96 hours waiting for the owner to claim her. We talked to them several times, and they told us she was not in good shape, that her coat was terrible, her nails were very long, and her stray hold would be up at noon on the 11th. Kathy picked her up a few minutes after noon and brought her back home. Sophie’s coat is bad, but probably salvageable. Her whole back is matted, but Kathy is getting some of the mats combed out. She is incontinent, but the shelter didn’t have time for a vet to check her so we have an appointment soon with our own vet.

Winston, the abuse case in King County, was released to us on December 22. Erin and Tom picked him up and brought him here. Originally they planned to foster him, but their schedule changed and we decided he could come to us instead. What we expected was a dog afraid of people, but we found quite the opposite. During the month he was at Regional Animal Services of King County the staff all worked with him, and what we got was a normal Samoyed who loves people. That’s quite a turn-around because they said he was timid when they seized him. They did a wonderful job and we are grateful to them for their efforts.

We worked with Winston’s breeder to find a good home, and it turned out to be ideal. While he was here we were contacted by people we believe were friends of the man arrested for abuse, trying to adopt him, so we are going to be quiet about where his new home is. Winston couldn’t be in a better place. He is with people who have years of experience with the breed, and he lives with two Samoyed sisters. They have a large fenced yard, with acres beyond it that are also enclosed. He goes on daily walks and is as happy as a dog could be. He deserves it.

The Sophie we already have, along with her cousin Tessa (the Iowa girls) have done better in the past month. A month ago we were having a lot of trouble getting them to come back in the house when they went out. Several times they were out all day, in bad weather, until they came in at bedtime. They missed dinner, but for some reason they have always come in eagerly when it meant going to bed in their crates and getting bedtime kibble. This month we began putting them out with lengths of clothesline connected to their collars. It meant that Kathy could go outside and step on the lines and lead them back inside; for some reason they walk on leashes like they have been trained. They began coming back inside when they were on their lines, so we shortened the lines to just a few feet and they kept coming in. It means we can let them outside more often, but it also means they are learning.

Most of our effort this past month has been dealing with an abuse case in the Seattle area. On November 24 we saw a video posted on several Facebook groups, showing a dog being hit and kicked by a man. The video had been captured by the Ring doorbell camera of a business in Mercer Island. The police were able to get the license number of the car and trace it back to a man in Bellevue. They requested a warrant, went to his home, and seized the Samoyed who had been abused. The dog is now in the care of Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC), and must be held a minimum of 15 days.
Charges were filed by the Prosecutor’s office and reported by Seattle media. KOMO news posted: “A Bellevue man has been charged with one count of first-degree animal cruelty after he was caught on a surveillance camera last month beating his pet dog in an empty Mercer Island parking lot, Tzu-Chieh “Jack” Shan, 26, has been ordered to not live with or own any dogs while the criminal case into the incident is pending, according to court documents. Shan told investigators that the white Samoyed-type dog, whose name is Winston, had urinated on the vehicle floor inside the family’s Mercedes SUV and had scratched the man’s toddler daughter in the face while they and Shan’s wife were in the vehicle as it was traveling through the tunnel in Mercer Island, court documents show.” The video was widely circulated and is quite disturbing.

Northwest Samoyed Rescue contacted RASKC immediately offering our assistance, and we have been in a dialog with the Sergeant in charge of the case. Their hands are tied to a great degree because the case is in the courts, but their answers have been prompt and caring. We have worked with them before, and hopefully they know we are trying to help. We learned the last three numbers of the dog’s microchip and have been contacting breeders in the northwest in an attempt to find out where Winston came from. We think we know, but are still trying to verify it. You can understand we aren’t going to make that public. It is our hope that a good breeder’s contract will demand the return of a dog that has been mistreated, and that RASKC can leverage that contract to remove the dog permanently.

Rescue has received donations to help this dog, and we have told each donor that there is no guarantee we will be able to help. If we can, and there are costs involved, we have the resources to do whatever is asked of us. As far as finding an adopter, we have a special home waiting that has experience helping dogs like Winston. As of this writing we are still waiting for more information from RASKC.

In early 2019 we tried giving Prozac to Sophie and Tessa. A week ago we talked to our vet and we have begun giving it to them again. They are so afraid of people that we’re hoping it will help. Several weeks ago we also began giving them a supplement of hemp, valerian, and other calming herbs. We haven’t seen a change yet, but it’s worth trying. If they go outdoors without leashes they refuse to come inside until bedtime, and with winter weather it means they get pretty wet. Kathy has been leash walking them, and they act like they were leash trained ages ago. The problem is that they won’t do their business, which is why we are walking them. Recently we tried clipping them to a 20-foot long clothesline so Kathy could catch them. Unfortunately they walk next to her even though she isn’t holding them, and still won’t do their business. We tried six-foot pieces of clothesline, but again, they think it means they have to walk next to her. We hope with some more time on the lines they will understand what’s going on.

Each night at bedtime Sophie and Tessa dive into a crate together and I feed them from my hand. I began dropping kibble on the crate pad, trying to pet them while they were eating. Sophie tolerated it, but until a week ago Tessa backed into the crate when I touched her. Finally she has begun to tolerate touching and petting, which is progress. Next month will mark three years here, so that progress is mighty slow.

In December 2017 we picked up a senior dog named Nanuk, surrendered by a woman in Sultan. She sent us a few photos showing how beautiful he was. Kathy met her half way, and the owner pushed out a dog from her car, covered in filth and matted to the skin.  Kathy did her magic and got him cleaned up nicely, and we found him to be as wonderful as only a Senior Sammy can be. From what we could determine he was kept out in a muddy yard.

Once he was ready to adopt we called John and Theresa, who had recently lost another rescue boy named Scooter. They hesitated to adopt another old dog because Scooter had been so expensive at the end, so we worked out a deal. They took Nanuk as a foster dog and we took care of costs. It didn’t take long for him to worm his way into their hearts, and they gave him a life that made up for anything that happened in his early years. He had his own place in their RV, a fenced yard with all the toys he wanted, and at least one walk each day along the river. They named him Nikkee and he had everything he could ask for, but most of all a loving home.

In July, they let us know Nikkee wasn’t feeling well and they were taking him to their vet, who immediately referred them to an emergency clinic where it was determined Nikkee was bleeding internally from a tumor on his spleen. It was removed, but the report said cancer was likely to return in a few months. They brought him here in August so we could visit with him once more, and he was doing quite well. Then last month, as we knew would happen, he began to decline fast and they had to let him go. In a breed where we have many favorite dogs, Nikkee was one of those we will always remember, just as we will remember the love and great care John and Theresa gave him. Nikkee was 13 years old.

I don’t know how many times we have reported “slow progress” with Sophie and Tessa, but probably most of the rescue reports since February 2018 said something like that. When you compare them today with what we had then, they are considerably changed, but changes are still glacially slow. Kathy has begun walking them around the yard and they are doing surprisingly well on leashes. They are still slow to come through the door into the kitchen; unless there is food in the offing they usually decline, so we don’t let them out as often as they would like. Sophie will take food from my hand, but not Tessa. Kathy is able to pet them both, at least sometimes, but I’m not. The one exception is bedtime, when I give each some kibble in their crates, when I can reach in and pet them. Recently Sophie came into the office next to me and actually laid down, the first time that has happened.

Sophie’s sister Fena is still with Kathi, and she has turned into a much better adjusted dog. Kathi sent this photo recently showing Fena’s first trip into Mud Bay. Congratulations, Fena!

This past month we have seen two Craigslist advertisements for Samoyeds. We always write and let the people know who we are and try to get information. Advertisers remain anonymous unless they choose to give us name or numbers, so that’s about all we can do. We know that one wanted $1500 and the other wanted $400. Both of the listings disappeared so we can only hope the dogs went to good homes. Just a week ago we had an email from a woman who wanted to surrender her two and a half year old male. I wrote back asking for photos, but heard nothing. Since we have her email address I’ll check back again. There’s a fine line between helping and pushing too hard.

The high point of our month was the adoption of Max, who is now named Sundance. He first arrived here in late January, an independent dog who needed a lot of socialization. Although Max was a nice boy, and from a good breeder, he was first sold to people who might have wanted a beautiful dog more than a companion. He was given to their daughter, then to the daughter’s boyfriend, and finally sold on Craigslist. The woman who bought him contacted us and we emailed back and forth for months before she decided he needed a new home. About two months after he got here he began to seek out affection, and finally turned into a wonderful dog. We knew all along he needed to live where he was dog number one, not number six as he was here. We got lucky when a couple from the Oregon coast came to visit. Max, who wasn’t always wild about new people, jumped up on both of them. That was the first time we saw that, so once again the dog picked the people. They agreed to take him to a veterinary ophthalmologist for his right eye problem, which our vet said was a clogged tear duct, but which turned out to be an allergy of some sort. There were a couple dogs in their neighborhood named Max, so they now call him Sundance. He just celebrated his third birthday in his new home. He is in wonderful hands now and happy as can be.

We heard of a dog in the Vancouver area who was tied out in the back yard and needed a new home. We were able to make contact with the sister of the owner, who said she would try to convince her brother to let us have him. Over the next few days her brother had a change of heart and asked her to take the dog. She wasn’t wild about the idea, but our understanding is that she did. What will happen in the future is unknown, but she has our contact information. We also heard of a dog in Goldendale and sent the Craigslist post to one of our applicants. He wrote back saying he was also looking at a female from a breeder and was wondering if he should get them both. He has had two or three Samoyeds at a time for most of his life and we said we couldn’t see a reason not to do it. Besides, we’re a backup if the two don’t work out, even though we think it will.

A woman in Seattle advertised on one of the many dog listing sites, and a family in Redmond ended up with a two year old male Samoyed named Casper. They thought he would be a good friend for their own young male, but after taking him the two young males began fighting. The first day there, Casper jumped out a second story window and broke his paw. For over two months they dealt with his recovery, keeping the two dogs apart, and then reached out to rescue. While we were arranging to have an applicant visit them, the vet tech they worked with found someone to take him. It sounds like it was a suitable new home.

Rory, the boy we talked about last month, ended up in a good home. Kim dropped by to check on things and reported his new people understand dogs and he is happy with them. He had quite a life, and he earned his place with a great family.

Nanuk, now called Nikkee, is still a foster living with John and Theresa in Kalama. He went through major surgery a few months ago, but has bounced back and still loves his long walks every day. He will have his 13th birthday soon and still looks great.

There’s not much to report about Sophie and Tessa. Their progress is still very slow. Kathy has been trying to get them out on leashes occasionally, and they behave fairly well though they aren’t wild about the idea. In the house it takes effort to catch them to attach a leash, and of course outdoors there isn’t a chance. There is an area of our deck that is usually out of the weather, and if they go outdoors they usually won’t return until it’s time for treats or dinner. The two girls will probably live out their lives here.