Sophie, Fena, and Tessa have been here for a month now, living in the garage. Progress has been slow and we have come to realize this will be a very long term project. We moved the cars out, picked up a lot of junk, and put opened x-pens around the perimeter so they couldn’t chew on things like the furnace wiring and gas line (call us cautious). When we built, we insulated the garage so a small portable heater, raised to the top of a metal cabinet and lashed to the wall, is keeping it warm. That means we can leave the door open to the house so they can come in and explore the laundry room as they get braver. There is a gate between it and the kitchen that lets them get even closer and experience normal noises in the house.

At first, all three girls were nearly feral and afraid of their own shadows. They seem to have never experienced human contact, or at least positive human contact. At two years old, and having had litters last November, they were totally unsocialized. We took turns sitting with them in the garage, just being there so they would see us as benign, and offering treats. Within a week or so, Sophie was willing to cautiously approach to take pieces of cracker. Fena has occasionally come close enough to take something, while Tessa hangs back.

The girls escaped once by going under a fence, but it was from one yard to another so they didn’t get completely away. It happened the first week when they were still terribly afraid of everything. We herded one back into the garage, and the other two hid under a trailer. Kathy crawled under and got leashes clipped to them. While we were getting one out, the other ran back into the garage and we shut that gate. It was a real adventure for both dogs and people. Since then we added panels of hog fencing to the area we have given them, and they only have access when we are monitoring them.

We asked our vet to do a house call, which happened late in February. Each girl donated blood samples, and two gave up fecal samples because they were so scared. The results showed they had roundworms, and Fena has heartworms. This is our first experience with heartworms, and we have begun a month of Doxycycline in preparation for the heartworm meds. Sometime soon we will take her for a chest x-ray so we can determine the severity of her heartworm problem. These are turning into very expensive dogs.

Recently Kathy was able to sit next to their beds with a jar of peanut butter, doling it out until Sophie began to accept some petting. The others dozed next to her, so we considered it a breakthrough. There will be good days and bad days for months to come.

We still have Nanuk. He would be good in the right home, but at ten years old we had no inquiries and we ended up keeping him. At this point he has settled in so perfectly, and plays so well with Rowdy, we’ll keep him here for the rest of his life. Herbie is going on 15, still the sweet old man he has been since we got him at 13. Both Nanuk and Herbie went through surgery to remove sebaceous cysts, and both have healed up well.

Knut was the sickest dog we ever had in rescue. In January we reported that after $5,000 in vet bills he was about to start the second half of his life, but sadly it wasn’t to be. He went downhill fast. He stopped eating and had problems with his esophagus. Rowdy donated blood for a transfusion, and the vet clinic kept him for hydration. Unfortunately, while he was there he developed mega esophagus, and then he bloated. The vets got together and felt there was nothing that would save him. They did a partial necropsy to see if they could determine what really happened to Knut, and the fluid in his abdomen wasn’t clear, as it should have been. It looked like he had a tear in his abdomen at some point and the contents leaked out. The infection was so severe he couldn’t have survived no matter what happened. There is no way to know if it was associated with the lesion in his stomach, which was probably an injury from eating a chicken bone, or if it was something that happened during the surgery to repair the lesion. We tried everything, but ultimately nothing could save him.

Herbie and Nanuk both had surgery this month for sebaceous cysts. At 14½ we had real concerns about putting Herbie under anesthesia, but he recovered well. He was visibly in pain for the first day and got all the pain meds he wanted, but he feels OK now and is recovering well. The vet removed a second smaller cyst while he was out.  Nanuk’s cyst was enormous, both wider and deeper than most, to the point we agreed to send it for histopathology (it came back clear). He wore a t-shirt for two weeks, had his stitches out, and is finally dressed only in fur. Nanuk is Rowdy’s playmate and they have both have missed their romps in the yard. Between Knut, Nanuk, and Herbie, the last two months have been expensive, with more than $8,000 paid out to vets.

A few months ago we heard from a number of people about a new backyard breeder in Brush Prairie, close to Vancouver, WA. They were advertising lots of puppies for sale and nobody knew who it was. Then his web page changed to say he wasn’t going to breed Samoyeds after his litters were sold. We were surprised when he called Melissa to ask if rescue could take three of his five Samoyed bitches. We tried for all five, but he claimed he had to return the other two to the owner, which turned out to be White Fire Samoyeds. He had only “borrowed” them to get his breeding started. White Fire is the one that recently began dumping their dogs in a shelter in Mason City, Iowa. After nearly a week of negotiation with her, he drove the three bitches to Melissa’s home, and she took them to Ron and Kathy for fostering. And now he is advertising puppies again.

The three we got are Sophie, Fena, and Tessa. The first two are litter sisters born in March, 2016, while Tessa was born in October, 2015. All three had litters last November. We have since learned he was probably dumping his breeding bitches so he could return to White Fire and get more that are pregnant. We were lied to many times during the transfer. The result is that we now have three completely unsocialized young Sammies who are afraid of everything and will take months of work just to integrate into a home. Make no mistake, these are Samoyeds and we will get there eventually. It’s just going to take a long time.

Googling White Fire yields many complaints about dogs dying of cardiac problems. An Iowa friend told us Samoyeds in that area have a terrible reputation for cardiac defects. The guy who surrendered the dogs we have told Melissa one may have a heart murmur. We would like to know, but we literally can’t take the to a vet for an exam because we can’t catch them. They are that wild. This is going to be an adventure that will last a very long time. Unfortunately it means until we get to the end of this road we can’t take any more foster dogs.

Remind me to never claim we had the busiest month in years, because it got worse. Last month we talked about Cloud, the 1½ year old male Darlene was fostering. The applicants in Boise drove to Coeur d’Alene to visit, and Cloud went south with them to his new home. Recently, we heard from his new family that he was intimidating them, and we realized Cloud is the husband’s dog and the wife hasn’t dealt with a large dog before. They called in a trainer and we’re optimistic. We have been talking about the situation this puts us in, and have concluded we will not adopt to someone outside our area again.

Knut, who will be 6 this month, belonged to a young man in Spokane who got him when his father died. We believe he loved the dog, but he did not understand how sick his dog was getting. We were first contacted by a woman who saw him in a dog park and recognized his decline. She talked him into going to a vet, but after the visit the man still didn’t understand the gravity of the problem. It took time, and an offer from us to pay for another vet visit, and by the time Darlene picked up Knut he had gone from 61 to 39 pounds. He wasn’t eating or drinking and was near death. Darlene’s vet did tests and transferred him to the ER vet in Post Falls for the Christmas weekend. The following Tuesday they did an endoscopy and found a lesion in his stomach, probably from eating chicken bones. That was followed by surgery by Darlene’s regular vet, which was successful. Darlene has been fostering Knut and very soon he will be hitching a ride with Cheri to the west side and moving in with us. It looks like we caught the problem just in time, and with $5,000 of care, Knut is beginning the second half of his life. This is a special dog we need to place in exactly the right home. We believe we have one lined up.

Nanuk is a dog we got from Snohomish County. His owner got him as a gift from her stepfather, but he was never wanted. She told us she has had him “6 or 7 years,” and didn’t want her stepfather told about him. Nanuk has been living alone in the yard and was in horrible condition when he arrived. Once the transfer was made the woman refused to answer calls or emails, so we began searching for her stepfather, the breeder. We found him in Oklahoma and learned Nanuk is ten years old. During the month he has been here we have had higher priority rescue work, and Nanuk settled in as a pack member. He gets along with our other dogs and has so much energy at 10 he wears out 2 year old Rowdy.

Several years ago, Ryann signed up to be the Samoyed representative for Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue. When she hears of a dog we work together to help it. She got a message from the SW Washington Humane Society about a senior dog they had; there was a mix-up getting it, but he was still there. We reminded the HS that we registered with them many years ago, and after checking their records they acknowledged we were listed. The delay meant a 12 year old named Charlie sat there for two weeks. The story was that his human dad died, so the widow dumped him at the shelter. The good news is that Melissa went in and bailed him out, and Charlie is with Melissa and Terry now. She says laid back, well behaved, and loves everyone.

Getting home visits done and finding the right adopters for each dog is a monumental task. Although we have thirty apps on file, when we eliminated those who wanted a female, and the ones who wouldn’t take any dog that wasn’t young, there were only a handful remaining. In the past few weeks our friends have visited a number of people, all of whom would be good homes, but not quite right for Knut, who is our highest priority. As always happens, some people don’t answer email and some have already adopted another dog without telling us. It means, as usual, that Melissa, Terry, Kathy, and Ron will end up fostering more dogs than we have room for.

A Canadian breeder asked for help with a young Sammy male abandoned in her care, and we reached out to Lon and Mary who instantly offered to foster him. A day later the owners returned, and he will go back to them. We appreciate Lon and Mary’s offer. They have been helping rescue for nearly 30 years.

Thanks this month go to Kathy Thomas, who twice in the last week visited applicants and did home visits. Our daughter Kristina did photo shoots on both Cloud and Knut. Monika Wamack is the dog lover who alerted us to Knut and helped convince his owner to do something, and in doing so almost certainly saved his life. Maxine Schvaneveldt is an Aussie breeder in Boise who did a home visit for Cloud’s family. Cheri Hollenback is providing the transportation for Knut from Coeur d’Alene to western Washington. And most of all this month, Darlene Rautio. She fostered Cloud until he left for his new home, then shepherded Knut through all his vet visits and surgeries before fostering him. Without Darlene stepping in we wouldn’t have saved Knut. It takes a lot of people to do rescue when it’s this busy, and we love all of them.

No doubt about it. This has been the busiest month in rescue in years. It began when we heard a woman who surrendered a Sammy last year had purchased a puppy from a northwest breeder. We felt last year that she was completely unsuited for a dog and didn’t understand the needs of a Samoyed, so we told the breeder our feelings. At least the breeder will be able to keep track of the puppy and be sure it’s doing well. We are not optimistic.

Soon after that, we heard of a dog in the Qualicum Beach area on Vancouver Island. Of course we let Western Canada Samoyed Rescue know, but we also asked one of our adopters in the area to go take a look. He did, but the dog had been adopted already.

We were contacted through Ryann by a woman in the Spokane area telling us about a Samoyed she sees frequently in a dog park, who is declining and visibly unhealthy. She talked to the owner and he can’t afford a vet, and she thought he might be willing to turn the dog over to rescue. After a few days of contacts, the owner had taken the dog to a vet and he looked better. We asked her to be sure he knows about us, and Darlene said she was willing to go talk to him. We may hear back, or we may not.

Next came a message about a single mother with six kids whose home was being foreclosed. She received a puppy from her stepfather, a breeder, “6 or 7 years ago” and she didn’t want him. She said he was too much bother in the house, so he has lived in the back yard. We arranged to pick him up in Renton, halfway between our home and hers in Snohomish County. The paperwork she promised was non-existent, and all we got was a dog and a signed release form. There were no toys, no possessions, and she hasn’t answered our emails since that day. He came to us horribly dirty, with huge mats almost to the skin. His name is Nanuk and he hasn’t been cared for his entire life.

With a half dozen grooming sessions over four days, Nanuk’s mats were clipped and combed and he got a bath. He’s a big boy who loves people and gets along with other dogs. He was neutered and is recovering as we look for his new home. Not knowing his real age was a handicap, since he could be six and might be ten. We knew the name of the breeder but were having trouble locating him until we had a lead that he was founder of a garden club and an expert in Rhododendrons. With that information we wrote to the national Rhododendron society and they forwarded our inquiry to him. Since that time we talked and emailed, and now we know Nanuk is ten years old. The breeder acknowledged it was his stepdaughter’s dog. He was an SCA member at one time, but Nanuk is from his final breeding. He offered to fly Nanuk back to Oklahoma, but we are confident we’ll find a good home for him here.

In June we were asked to take an owner surrender dog from Spokane. We exchanged emails for a few days and then the owner quit writing. We heard nothing more. On December 2 we were contacted by a woman in Spokane asking if we could take a 1.5 year old male named Cloud she was given several months ago. Her life is too full to handle a young dog and she needed our help. She told us she had permission from the first owner and that she had been given the dog without conditions, although she told the first owner anyway. Right after that we received a threatening email saying the first owner was going to call law enforcement if we took “her” dog. That’s when we learned the first owner was the same one who asked us in June to take him.

We wrote back and reminded her of that, and that our only mission is to help Samoyeds. An hour later she said to go ahead and take the dog into rescue. Darlene picked up Cloud and is fostering him for now. We have about 30 applications on file and we think we found the best one for him. An Aussie breeder in the Boise area did a home visit for us, and very soon that family will drive north to meet Cloud. A thousand thanks to Darlene, who did an assessment on Cloud, picked him up, and is fostering until we find a home. She also went through this entire soap opera with us. There is nothing as important to a rescue group than good friends like Darlene.

Celine: November 2, 2006 – November 2, 2017

In early June Barb left a message that there was a Sammy girl in a Coeur d’Alene shelter. By the time we called back, Barb had picked her up. The shelter said they called the number on her microchip record and got a woman who said “My husband got her in the divorce. I don’t know where he is and I don’t want the dog.” The next day Barb met Kathy in Ellensburg and Celine came to live with us. She was a small Samoyed in stature, but weighed in at 61 pounds. She was so fat she couldn’t clean herself, and the accumulated urine caused an ulcerated vulva. When the vet techs shaved her to treat it, everyone in the clinic listened to her scream for over ten minutes. X-rays of her hips showed the worst we have ever seen, and we put her in a carrying harness so we could help her stand. She had dry eye in her right eye for so long she was nearly blind on that side. She was in such rough shape we didn’t tell people we had her because we really didn’t think she would make it.

But with time, Celine improved. We gave her NSAIDs and painkillers to make her comfortable, and she had an accelerated course of Adequan. Every day we cleaned around the ulcer. Several times each day she got drops or ointment for dry eye, which she really appreciated. Celine is the only dog we’ve had who would stand next to me and wait for me to realize she wanted drops. We trained her to eat green beans, which all our dogs get, and her weight began to drop. With that and her increased mobility, she was able to clean herself and the ulcer healed. The Adequan helped her enough she began trotting in the yard, and finally started running after the other dogs. She became a happy dog, didn’t growl as much, and ended up as a happy 47-pound Sam.

Around the middle of last month she started vomiting bile, sometimes with a little food. About two weeks ago, she began leaving part of her dinner, and eventually stopped eating some meals completely. We tried an appetite stimulator and it worked for one day. Ultrasound showed her stomach was full and we thought she might have a blockage. Some of our dogs have been goats, but Celine never ate anything inappropriate, which made us think it was not something she had eaten. The next day we took her for x-rays, and then barium x-rays, but nothing showed up definitively. That left exploratory surgery, which we did on November 1st. It showed what we feared, tumors on both her liver and pancreas. The cancer had thickened the pyloric valve and her stomach wouldn’t empty completely. The vet thought she might have a few good days remaining, but it wasn’t to be. The next day she faded so fast we took her to an ER vet and let her go. It was November 2nd, her 11th birthday. Despite the outcome, Celine was a success story. She knew she was loved and appreciated during her last days, and she must have felt so much better until only a few days from the end.

Since 2001 we have had 186 dogs in rescue. Celine was the first who had cancer while living with us. For that we’re quite fortunate. Our successes are displayed at www.nwsams.com/rescues/. Here are thumbnails of all the dogs.

Late in October we were contacted by a out-of-state breeder who asked for our help. She had placed a dog in the Portland area, and because of circumstances needed to find it a new home. It’s a part of rescue we don’t mention often. It doesn’t matter if the dog came from a reputable breeder or a puppy mill; our job is to ensure it gets to a good home. We’re here for the dogs, period. Naturally we hold good breeders to a high standard, and expect them to take dogs back most of the time, but sometimes “stuff happens” and the dog’s welfare is most important. Don’t forget we have about three dozen homes waiting, and many are repeat adopters we have known for years.

Last month a new backyard breeder in Brush Prairie began advertising. He bragged that he had saved a Samoyed bitch from a puppy mill and now had puppies available. There was great concern in the community. Not long after that his web page changed to say he had a zoning problem and all his dogs were for sale. We can’t pay for dogs, so all we could do was tell people we had good homes if they could get the dogs for us. At this moment he is still advertising breeding stock for sale, so we’ll expect more dogs in rescue in coming years. It’s a cycle that never ends.

Last month we mentioned a Sammy girl in Montana who was getting help from Denver Samoyed Rescue. Her name is Gogi and she went to Dorinda (Samoyed Rescue of Utah), where she got some training before being placed in a terrific home there. It was good to work with two other Samoyed Rescue groups we have known for so long.

Milo came from a shelter in Pasco, and after a short stay here he went to live with Hans and Holley. When they first came to see him they told us of a planned trip and we said Milo could return while they were gone. He is 10 months old and our boy Rowdy is two years old, so they have been running the legs off each other. They have also discovered brand new things to get into trouble, but that comes with young dogs with too much energy.

Of course old dogs are fun too.  Herbie just passed 14 years old and is happy to lie around and be a friend. Celine is about to turn 11 and is making a lot of progress. She went from not walking at all, to getting around the yard, and lately has been chasing Milo and Rowdy when they play. Naturally she can’t catch them, but is doing incredibly better than when she arrived.

A few weeks ago we were asked by a breeder whether we had good homes available for a Samoyed who was returned. That’s a question we love to get, because we especially like to work with good breeders. We believe the future of our breed is in their hands. In return, we are glad to help wherever we can, because the bottom line is a good home for every Samoyed. It’s not we get a really well-bred dog because a good breeder stands behind their dogs and always take them back if there’s a problem. On the other hand, sometimes circumstances work against people and that’s when we can help by placing their dogs for them. We understand in different areas of the country there is a “breeders vs. rescuers” mentality; in the northwest we work together. Our predecessor was Cheryl Loper, and her mantra was “It’s all about the dogs.” We’re lucky to follow her. In this case, the breeder found a home for her dog, but we’re ready to help next time.

Earlier this year we heard about two Samoyeds listed online in an Eastern Washington shelter. They were brother and sister, and after a day or two their listings disappeared. We called and were told they ran away from home and their owners came for them. A month later we saw their listings and pictures again, and the story was repeated. Then, last month, they appeared once again. Same shelter, same pictures, and the shelter seemed to think the people might not come back for them again.

This is a shelter we’ve worked with before, and they had our paperwork on file, but their policy is to put a dog out for adoption for a few days before letting rescue have a chance. We offered to pay regular adoption fees for both dogs but they declined, citing policy. Well, when a shelter is stubborn or unreasonable we try to find someone who is willing to go adopt the dogs. Liz and Ken came to our aid, and enlisted a friend to go along with them. At one minute past the expiration of the stray hold they drew straws to decide who got which dog, and they took the male while their friend took the female.

Both dogs are young, only nine months old. Their friend decided she would like to keep the female, so Ken and Liz loaded up Milo, the male, and took him to Enumclaw where they met Kathy; she brought him here to be fostered. What we found was that he was incredibly mellow and laid back for his age. He fit into our pack after a brief disagreement with our boy Rowdy, so we started looking for a home.

It is rare that we find a young dog in rescue; in fact we explain to applicants we almost never have any. When we do take in a very young foster we approach adoption very differently. Over the years we have met some special people who go above and beyond the care we expect. Some spend a great amount on medical bills. Some enrich their dog’s life more than we could expect. All have proven themselves to be deserving of special consideration. This is the case with Holley and Hans, who have adopted twice before. Both dogs, Mori and Nicky, lived lives filled with love and extra special caring. Nicky passed away a few months ago, and we called to ask if they would be interested. They said they would come and visit.

Let’s digress for a moment. The first dog we ever fostered, back when Cheryl ran rescue, was Mori. He was a big boy we later discovered was part Malamute. When the first applicant came to visit, Mori was friendly but didn’t get too close. Instead, he turned his back and played with another dog. She eventually decided he would be too much for her, but Mori’s lack of response had something to do with it. A few days later, Hans and Holley came to visit Mori. When they walked in the door, Mori went to them and didn’t leave their sides; he ended up going home and he was the perfect dog for them.

When they came to visit Milo, exactly the same thing happened. He went to them when they walked in and he stayed with them the entire visit. They were concerned initially because they have a vacation planned, but Milo was such a perfect gentleman while he was here that we offered to keep him while they are gone. Our boy Rowdy is going to love it because the boys had just begun to play.

Celine continues to improve. When Kathy does barn chores, Celine now joins the other dogs who always go with her. Celine has been exploring, and recently even started running in the yard. The NSAID, the painkiller, and the Adequan are all working on her and she obviously feels much better.

Denver rescue has been working with two dogs in Montana. One of the dogs, who needed advanced training, went to Dorinda at Samoyed Rescue of Utah, where she is learning to get along with other dogs. The other had some leg surgery and is recovering well. They think they have an adopter lined up. We enjoy working with other rescue groups, especially when they are as professionally run as Denver and Utah.

One of the pleasures of an established rescue group is working with other rescues; not only Samoyed rescues but other breeds. Several weeks ago we had an application from a family who wanted to add a Sammy to their home. They already have two Siberian Huskies, and because we have so few dogs, and Sibe rescue has so many, we asked if they would like to think about another Sibe. The answer was yes, so we reached out to a Sibe rescuer in the area (if you were at the picnic you may have met Susan). We forwarded their application form to our applicant and with luck they will link up with a Sibe.

We also work with the Samoyed rescue groups surrounding us. To the north, the Western Canada club has a rescue arm and we frequently exchange info on people looking for a dog. Pat on Vancouver Island has been rescuing dogs since before we existed. Recently it was Denver Samoyed Rescue who was asked to help two dogs in Montana. One of them will go to Samoyed Rescue of Utah for training (Dorinda is an experienced trainer), and we are working to find a home for the other dog. Most of the rescues across the country are doing this for the dogs, without the frequent politics you hear about, and we all lean on one another from time to time.

Snowy has been here since February. She was a fearful dog, unwanted by two families, and dropped at a shelter. She had a bite history before the shelter got her, and our first attempt at placement resulted in another bite. We are pretty sure these were “Sammy bites,” where a dog will turn and grab a hand of a human trying to force her to do something she is afraid of. We had pretty much decided she would stay here with us when she and Lily had a fight. Snowy was probably trying to take over the alpha spot in our pack. What we didn’t know at the time was the shelter was wrong, and Snowy was not spayed after all. After the fight we suspected that, and our vet confirmed it and she was spayed as soon as we could. It didn’t affect that we had to have gates and doors closed all the time, and it was no longer a harmonious pack. Because she was a sweetheart of a dog, we knew we could live with the inconvenience and she settled in.

About that time we were contacted by a former adopter whose family lost their Sammy girl a few months back. They thought Snowy might fit their home, and we already knew they would have the patience to make it work. They came to the picnic in July and kept Snowy with them on a leash for five hours. It went well. A few weeks later Kathy drove Snowy to north Seattle and spent the day waiting for her to look comfortable. That finally happened and we decided to leave her there to see what happened. Rather than an adoption, we wrote it up as a foster home so they could work with her.

Every update has been positive. They spent hours and hours with her, comforting her and teaching her she was safe. The graduation ceremony, so to speak, was a large family gathering where she greeted people and had no problems. We will wait a few more weeks and let her new family decide when it’s time to make it a permanent home.

Celine is coming along very nicely. She gets an NSAID every day, pain meds when needed, and had a four week course of Adequan. For the near future she will get a maintenance dose of Adequan monthly. She can stand without screaming, or even whimpering, and although she is slow to get up she gets around the house and yard as though her hips don’t hurt. The week of this report we decided to remove her lifting harness and start really working on grooming. Her weight was 62 pounds when she got here and is now 56 pounds. We’ll keep her on a diet and hope for continued slow improvement. Her personality has improved from grumpy to friendly and she looks for attention now. It’s a big change. We’ll continue working with her and hope she is eventually adoptable.

Good old Herbie has been here since someone dumped him in July last year. He celebrated his 14th birthday recently. Most of the day you can find him dozing, but he is wide awake at feeding time. His weight is now perfect. It’s hard to say how long he will be here, but he is welcome as long as he sticks around. There is nothing quite as nice as a Senior Sam.

In May 2015 we heard of a Sammy girl at the Everett shelter. They told us Princess was bought as a puppy and turned out into the back yard, and lived there until she was 11 years old, when her family didn’t want her anymore and took her to the shelter. Friends Erin and Tom picked her up and brought her to us. Kathy was on a trip to see relatives at the time, so Princess and I got used to each other. They said she didn’t like men, but we got along fine. She was quite fearful and didn’t like surprises or sudden moves toward her. But by the time Kathy returned, Princess was bonded to me. Everywhere I went, she tagged along. If I went out to the garage, I knew when I opened the door to return that she would be standing there watching the door. Then she would scurry away like I wasn’t supposed to know she followed me.

She had a limp most of her previous life, which we know because the shelter was so disgusted with the people that they gave us all the records, names included. We treated her with Adequan and a newer procedure called “platelet rich plasma.” Between the two, she got better. She remained a little fearful and nervous the rest of her life and spent most of her days curled under my desk. We soon concluded she would be a permanent foster, both because of her age and her timidity meeting new people. We enjoy our seniors and Princess fit right in.

A couple weeks ago our pack got kennel cough. We think it was from a shelter dog although we can’t be positive. Each of the dogs coughed for a while and then recovered. Princess had it for about a week, but was doing OK and still eating and drinking. She acted like she didn’t feel great during the evening of June 25, but at bedtime she seemed better and laid down to sleep. I woke at midnight and her breathing was labored. As we were deciding what to do, Princess took her last breath. It might have been that the kennel cough went into pneumonia, or maybe her heart just gave out. Princess was only here two years, but it felt like she was a part of the family. We’re going to miss her terribly.

We were concerned about Celene, who came from the Kootenai shelter early last month. She was in such poor condition we were worried we might have to let her go. We decided to let her rest as much as possible, and began giving her Meloxicam and Tramadol. She is almost double her proper weight, and x-rays show her hips are the worst we have ever seen. In addition, she had vulvular dermatitis that was so bad it had ulcerated. Every day we had to clean her with a special soap and use an antibiotic ointment.

As time passed, she began to stand without crying. Recently she has been trying to run a little, and although those hips are never going to improve, the treatment seems to be helping. We just began giving her Adequan injections and we’re cautiously optimistic.

When Snow came from the Clackamas County shelter she was shown as a spayed female. Recently Rowdy, who is neutered, nevertheless began showing great interest in her. Snow went to the vet for a quick check, and although she wasn’t in heat, our vet examined her and found cells that are only present in an intact female. We had to delay her spay an extra two weeks because of kennel cough, but surgery found she had all her parts, and that has now been remedied. We believe we might have the perfect home for her. We’re going to take this very, very slowly because of her history. With luck, her future will be as an only dog in a wonderful home.

Herbie’s 14th birthday is July 20. He came last year on July 4, a day after someone dumped him in the Kent area. Through his microchip we learned his exact age, but unfortunately his people never thought to update their records after they moved, so he stayed with us. Herbie is a giant of a dog, a big gentle guy whose goal in life is to block doorways so he knows when we pass by, so he can follow us.

We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t have favorites over the years. We lost two of them in past weeks. Scooter was placed with a woman who had adopted previously, so in 2013 we were astonished to hear of a dog found as a stray who turned out to be him. We subsequently placed him with John and Theresa, who must have seemed to Scooter to be Saints. They nursed him back to health, then through a number of further health challenges as he got older. His body finally gave out and they had to let him go. The second was Nicky, who was placed with Holley and Hans in Seattle. He showed his regal side as he took his daily walks every day among his subjects around Green Lake. Toward the end, he got his own doggie stroller so he could continue to be admired on his regular walks. We are humbled by the love and caring of our adopters.

As this is written, our annual picnic is a few days away. Each year we post pictures of it, which you can see at http://nwsams.smugmug.com/rescue/ (along with pictures of the rescue dogs and fosters).

We had an eventful month in rescue. Snow, who we would love to place, decided she wanted to move up in pack order, and she did it by picking a fight with Lily. One morning as they were coming in from the yard for the first time, Snow jumped her. We have had quarrels before, but this one was a serious fight. The result was a series of vet visits for Lily and a closed door between them ever since. Our lives have definitely changed, and we’re back to where we were in the days we had Shadow and Charlie. Worse, perhaps, because Shadow was blind and we could sneak Charlie by him. Both girls are as sweet as can be separately, but teeth are bared if they even see each other. At this point we’re trying to decide how to find Snow a home, but with a bite history we don’t feel comfortable with the liability issues. It seriously limits our ability to take more fosters. We have begun giving her a med that takes the edge off, and it’s helping, but we don’t expect the girls will ever be safe together again.

The newest development came about the time of the deadline for this report. It looks like Snow, who we thought was spayed, may still be intact. It’s possible she has a UTI, so we are going to see the vet this week for a determination. If she is intact it would explain a lot, but it will also create new questions about who she really is. The vet we called identified her and told us she is spayed, but if that’s not correct we don’t know much about her past. Snow’s coat is short, which we took to mean someone had shaved her in the past. Maybe not. It’s going to be interesting to find out what’s going on.

On June 6, Barb found a Sammy in the Coeur d’Alene shelter and called to leave us a message. By the time we got home and returned the call, she had picked up Selene, a ten year old girl with serious health issues. She has no tear production in her right eye, so it may be partly blind. She is overweight by at least 50%, maybe close to double what she should be. Her hips are weak, not surprising at that weight. But Selene’s most significant problem comes from dermatitis of the vulva, which has gone untreated, resulting in ulcerated skin in a very uncomfortable place. Barb drove her to Ellensburg, where she met Kathy, and Selene moved in here. We took her to our vet the following day where the techs cleaned her as much as possible. Her pain must be incredible because everyone in the clinic could hear her screaming. Our instructions were to wash the area every day and treat it, and we’re getting a similar reaction. It does seem to be getting better, and now we have a topical pain spray that numbs the area before we begin. She is on two antibiotics which seem to be making a difference. Kathy has been grooming Selene for short spells several times each day, and her coat is looking better than it does in this picture. There weren’t really that many mats; it was mostly dead undercoat that had never been blown or combed out.

This gives us seven dogs in the house. Our ideal number, if there is such a thing, is three or four. Seven means we are absolutely unable to take any more foster dogs. Either we have to find people to adopt directly from shelters or we have to leave dogs there. Of the seven, three are seniors, so we won’t have this number many more years, but in the meantime if you can occasionally foster a dog we’d really like to hear from you.

Herbie is still here and approaching 14 years old. Princess is nearly 13. We love our seniors, but we would really prefer not to end up having to keep all the old dogs here. We need people who can take seniors and make them happy in their final years.

This year’s Rescue Picnic will be Saturday, July 15.