On February 24, Sandy Goodspeed’s dogs Meekah and Loki escaped her home. A number of club members immediately offered to help search for them, and email was sent to all the major email lists. Flyers were posted, miles were put on cars, and the following morning someone called after seeing a flyer. She saw the dogs the previous day, recognized they were lost, and kept them safe overnight. They were in great shape and didn’t even need to be groomed. Thanks to Liz and Kathy who helped in the search.
Rescue has been involved in quite a few searches for lost dogs over the years, and in all of them the most important factor in getting dogs returned soon is whether they are wearing an ID tag. Microchips are great, but dogs need visible identification to be returned quickly. When we pick up a dog we always take a rescue collar with us and it has a tag with our phone number. We put the collar on the dog the minute we first see him. Good quality collars don’t bleed or damage the hair, and having a tag gives great peace of mind.
Holley, who has been doing designs for our t-shirts and sweatshirts for many years, has another less public job. Every day she combs through every Craigslist post in the US, searching for the word “Samoyed.” All listings are sent to the SamFans rescue secretary (which remains the only non-political place to send them) and forwarded to the closest rescue group. As people move away from classifieds and toward Craigslist, this is an invaluable help to rescue.
Recently a dog named Shadow was listed in Olympia that we could handle without asking for volunteers. When we visited we found a mix, possibly partly Samoyed, but with all the great qualities of the breed. We worked with the owner to find a good new home, and although the dog was never actually in rescue we were happy to help.
A call came from a breeder who leaned a dog had been sold with forged papers to a backyard breeder in Oregon. The AKC was contacted and the papers frozen, and we were asked to help move the dog. Joy picked him up and met Kathy; we kept him two nights and took him to Liz, who drove him to Lon and Mary. The next morning a Great Dane breeder from Bellingham took him across the border and put him on a plane to his breeder.
This story was a real soap opera plot with aspects we can’t publish here. This was not a rescue dog, but we benefitted nonetheless. There is now a backyard breeder who no longer has a good quality stud dog and who can’t register the two litters for which this dog was sire. The dog is happy, once more an inside dog (he ran loose at the BYB), and his breeder is relieved.
Please remember that Northwest Samoyed Rescue is a dealer for White Pine collars and leashes. We have a full range of colors in stock with next-day shipping. We also benefit from your Amazon purchases if you use our website to enter their site. Both these fundraisers are linked at http://www.nwsams.com. Together they bring in a couple hundred dollars a month to help our rescue dogs.
Sam has a forever home! After he returned from his first placement we knew we had to find the perfect family for him, and it took some time. Sakura and Tatiana offered to foster him after he came back, which was perfect because Tatiana worked with him on leash training. Meanwhile we started working our way through a long waiting list of people who wanted a rescue Samoyed. Lately we’ve had from twelve to twenty families waiting, but we didn’t have anybody wanting a male of that age, and of that size (very tall). We even checked with people who wanted females, small dogs, or older dogs.
Many times over the years we have been saved by serendipity, and it happened again for Sam. Into our inbox popped an application from a family with another Samoyed, a well fenced yard with a concrete base, and they really understood the breed. Kathy Thomas did a home visit for us, and considering how important this home would be she gave them every potential problem she could imagine. They weren’t worried, and asked to visit Sam. They drove from Bothell to Graham, where Kathy Manor met them at Sakura’s home. They took their time getting to know him, and at the end of the visit they asked if they could take him home. Everybody agreed and Sam moved into a perfect home. He gets along with their other Sammy and hasn’t has a single problem like he had in his first placement. His family sent a picture taken during the January snow. Is this a happy dog? Thanks very much to Sakura and Tatiana for taking him in, and to Norma who fostered him right out of the shelter.
Chip and Ozzy are still here. We haven’t tried to place them yet, primarily because of their age. Ozzy is thirteen years old, and although he gets around fairly well he isn’t able to walk on uncarpeted floors (we have mats where he has to walk). He doesn’t hear well, and his eyesight is failing. We have to consider him a hospice dog; not the first time we have done that. Chip is only ten but has one bad hip. He is otherwise in good shape, and we’re waiting for the right person to be just right for him. In the meantime we’re enjoying their company.
Let’s take a moment this month to thank a special volunteer, Danna d’Asaro. She has filled a special niche by twice taking dogs when people have problems in their lives and can’t keep their dog but don’t want to give it up. In the first case a Sammy was with her for months before going back to the original owner. In the current case, she has been caring for a Sammy for many months, while keeping in touch with the owner. It takes a special person to foster a dog for that long, knowing it will someday leave and go home. Many thanks go to Danna.
Happy New Year to all our great rescue friends! Over the holiday season we received many donations from supporters, and we are truly grateful for each and every one. One of the donations was a box of calendars from Wolf Packs, which we sold on our website. That raised $700, which we will put to good use helping our dogs.
Chip and Ozzy have been here for several months, with no prospects for a new home. They have settled in and become happy and comfortable. Chip is ten and a real people dog, good with other dogs and with everyone who meets him. He has a distinct limp when he first stands because of previous hip surgery, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. Ozzy is good after he warms up to you, but has his grumpy moments like most 13 year old dogs. He spends most of his time on a big pillow in the corner of the living room. We expect Ozzy is going to be a hospice dog and spend the rest of his days at the Manor Bed and Barkfest.
Last month we told you that Sam, the dog from the Tacoma Humane Society, was doing well in his forever home. Now we have to report it wasn’t quite the right home, because the people weren’t realistic about getting a young dog, under two, who is pretty much an untrained 78 pound puppy. During their home visit they were told how much energy he had, but they didn’t listen. Fortunately, Sakura & Tatiana said they would foster him and do a little bit of training. They have been taking care of Sam since then, and he is doing well. Meanwhile we have been working our way through our list of applicants, which takes time. At deadline for this report we think we have located a home for Sam. The family has Samoyed experience, a fence with concrete under it, a covered kennel if needed, and another Sammy. They even walk their dog at lunch time every day. Next month’s report should be much better for Sam. He has now lived in 6 different places: 1. With his breeder in Port Angeles 2. With his family at McChord 3. At the Tacoma Humane Society 4. With his first foster family when Norma had him 5. With his first adoptive family in Renton 6. With his second foster family, Sakura and Tatiana His next home will be the seventh, so you can see why it’s so important to find the perfect place.
Twice this month we heard of dogs on Craigslist. Both were mixes, but we keep a list of people who would like a mix and we always let them know. We didn’t hear anything, but that’s often the case.
Happy New Year to all our great rescue friends! Over the holiday season we received many donations from supporters, and we are truly grateful for each and every one. One of the donations was a box of calendars from Wolf Packs, which we sold on our website. That raised $700, which we will put to good use helping our dogs.
Chip and Ozzy have been here for several months, with no prospects for a new home. They have settled in and become happy and comfortable. Chip is ten and a real people dog, good with other dogs and with everyone who meets him. He has a distinct limp when he first stands because of previous hip surgery, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. Ozzy is good after he warms up to you, but has his grumpy moments like most 13 year old dogs. He spends most of his time on a big pillow in the corner of the living room. We expect Ozzy is going to be a hospice dog and spend the rest of his days at the Manor Bed and Barkfest.
Last month we told you that Sam, the dog from the Tacoma Humane Society, was doing well in his forever home. Now we have to report it wasn’t quite the right home, because the people weren’t realistic about getting a young dog, under two, who is pretty much an untrained 78 pound puppy. During their home visit they were told how much energy he had, but they didn’t listen. Fortunately, Sakura & Tatiana said they would foster him and do a little bit of training. They have been taking care of Sam since then, and he is doing well. Meanwhile we have been working our way through our list of applicants, which takes time. At deadline for this report we think we have located a home for Sam. The family has Samoyed experience, a fence with concrete under it, a covered kennel if needed, and another Sammy. They even walk their dog at lunch time every day. Next month’s report should be much better for Sam. He has now lived in 6 different places:
1. With his breeder in Port Angeles
2. With his family at McChord
3. At the Tacoma Humane Society
4. With his first foster family when Norma had him
5. With his first adoptive family in Renton
6. With his second foster family, Sakura and Tatiana His next home will be the seventh, so you can see why it’s so important to find the perfect place.
Twice this month we heard of dogs on Craigslist. Both were mixes, but we keep a list of people who would like a mix and we always let them know. We didn’t hear anything, but that’s often the case.
As the year comes to a close we can report one of the busiest months in recent memory.
Chip and Ozzy are here for the foreseeable future. Although they are good dogs who deserve a great home, senior dogs are difficult to place. Chip is ten, while Ozzy is thirteen. They came from a woman on the Kitsap Peninsula who had been unemployed a long time and couldn’t afford vet care for them. We took care of their medical issues and returned the dogs to the woman, only to find out from her son that she has some other issues. He thought the dogs would be better off elsewhere and we agreed to take them back. Now, after six weeks here, they have settled in and we can see their real personalities. Both of them are loving dogs but probably didn’t have much physical contact with the previous owner. They are now beginning to separate emotionally from each other and finding their own places around the house. That’s good, because we are confident now that placing them in different homes would be OK. Despite their ages they have a lot of time left to give to a new family.
Tundra, who came back to us last month, has found a perfect new home. We don’t know her past, or why she has a case of separation anxiety, but she was causing damage when left alone and that’s why she was returned. Our friend Harry, who found two previous dogs through us, lost one of them recently and was left with just his thirteen year old. His wife recently moved to an assisted living facility and he was lonely. Tundra, whose new name will be Molly, is going to help tremendously with that. She wants to be next to her human 24 hours a day, asks (or demands) attention, and at six years old will keep Harry active. The report we received is all positive. He doesn’t go anywhere without his dogs, and they are with him when he visits his wife.
A couple years ago Ryann Grady talked to us about becoming the Samoyed breed representative for Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue, one of the oldest rescue groups in the northwest. For many years there has been no rep for Sammies because SCWS Rescue, now NWSR, has been active enough nobody was needed. Nevertheless we thought it would be a good idea for her to sign up, because there can’t be too many people watching over our dogs. Until last month there was nothing for her to hear. Then, because of a change in the way things were done at the Tacoma Humane Society, Ryann was called about a Tacoma dog. Our foster space is full, so together we began asking for help. Kathy Thomas asked Norma Irish if she had room and she said yes. Kathy Manor picked up Sam and took him to Norma’s home, hoping we could place him in three or four days. We had a perfect family who have been waiting a while, but this was over Thanksgiving and they weren’t home. It took a few extra days, but as soon as they returned home Liz and Van visited and told us it would be the perfect place for Sam, just as we expected.
In the meantime Sam came down with kennel cough. You might think this would be common working with as many dogs as we get from shelters, but this is only the second or third time ever. Norma took Sam to her vet to verify the diagnosis, and she wasn’t concerned about his cough. Just as fortunately the adoptive family also wasn’t concerned, and Sam is now in his forever home in Renton. By the way, we were able to trace his story back to his breeder, a woman in Port Angeles who called us last summer to take her two dogs because she was moving to Ohio.
By now you have probably heard of the seizure of 102 dogs in Duncanville, Texas in October. The woman who had them showed her dogs, and over the years bought a number of dogs from breeders around the country. Nobody knows what happened, but sometime in recent years things changed. She kept them in crates full time, didn’t care for them, and worst of all didn’t clean the crates. For the full story you can read news reports posted at http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/duncanville/.
About a dozen dogs were Samoyeds. Lynn Sluder and Claudia Khan, of North Texas Samoyed Rescue, turned their lives over to getting the dogs to safe new homes. They went to every court hearing and worked cooperatively with the SPCA of Texas. They helped breeders get their dogs back; a number of those dogs were from Christie Smith of d’Keta. One or two were well enough to be flown back right away, but others were in poor health and the SPCA wouldn’t release them.
On December third two more of the d’Keta dogs were flown to Portland, where Christie met them. Dixie went to Linda and Paul Martin, while Christie drove Graham north to us. Graham is nine years old and has been a Champion since he was 22 months old. We could even find pictures of him over the years in the ring. He was very dirty after his experience, and luckily for us Joy Ritter drove up to bathe and groom him for us. At the end of the day he looked ready for the ring again. His ears were damaged over the years, and it looks like he was in fights where his ears were bitten and not treated. In talking to the vet who treated him twice for hematomas in his ears, we learned the ears were erect after treatment, so we may never know exactly what Graham went through during the last few years.
You may remember a few years ago the story of Casey, who went to live with a senior lady on Vancouver Island. He had been his “daddy’s favorite boy” until his owner died in his late 40’s suddenly, and from there he went to a shelter in southern Oregon. When we got him here he was filthy, to the point we had to wash him before combing, something we never want to do. About that time we heard from Pat Cummins about Lorraine, a woman she knew who always had Samoyeds and was now living alone after losing the last one. We decided Casey would be perfect for her, and he absolutely was. In the pictures we received over the years we saw a handsome and perfectly groomed Samoyed and a happy Lorraine. But then, with time, Casey became more and more infirm and she had to let him go. That was a few months ago and we have been searching ever since for the right dog for a woman in her 90’s. After consulting with Christie and people who know Lorraine well, we all decided Graham would be just right.
On the seventh of December Kathy drove Graham north to the Canadian border. She was met there by a friend who crossed the border and handed him off to Paul, the husband of Diana, a good friend of Lorraine (are you keeping all the players straight?). After taking the ferry over to Victoria, Diana and Paul delivered Graham to an ecstatic Lorraine. This second picture of Graham is with Lorraine, who couldn’t possibly have been happier.
The next morning we heard that Graham slept well all night, but took advantage of an early trip outdoors to jump on the bed and spend some time there before getting up for the day. He wouldn’t let Lorraine out of his sight, and she said she had to call a neighbor to watch him so he wouldn’t crawl in the shower with her. We don’t know about Graham’s previous life, but we know the rest of it will be wonderful.
There are many people named in this month’s report. Once again we are reminded that we owe a lot to all those terrific volunteers who help us, because nobody could do rescue alone. Thank you!
In September’s month’s report we had just heard of a dog named Rory at the Oregon Humane Society, but they wanted to place her themselves. Melissa made sure we were on their list if Rory came back, but we have heard nothing to date. We hope that means she went to a good home. We worked with a shelter in Colville who wanted help with breed ID on a dog that turned out to be a Great Pyr mix.
Two months ago we took in two old dogs, Chip and Ozzy. Their owner was unemployed and couldn’t afford vet care so she tearfully surrendered them to us. We made appointments for them to have growths removed, ears cleaned, and dental work done. When it was all done, we learned the woman had found a temporary job in California. She told us it was for three months with great pay and free housing, and that a friend of hers volunteered to take care of Chip and Ozzy. We decided these old guys would probably be better off in the home they knew, so we let her take them back.
It looks now like things weren’t what she represented them to be. We have been in contact with a friend of hers who told us the house is in terrible shape and the dogs won’t be healthy living there. The friend who said he would care for them backed out, and we were left in the dark. Before we heard about her home, she called to ask what she could do, and we gave her Lon’s name and number so she could kennel them while she was employed in California. She never called him. Apparently it was a mistake to let them go back, but things finally turned positive for these old boys. The woman’s son called us; he just came in from a deployment in Asia and found his mother in distress. He asked if we could take Chip and Ozzy again and we agreed, with the caveat that there will be no further communication with the former owner.
Tundra, the six year old deaf girl from Lynnwood, was adopted into a home we knew back in May. Since then the work schedules of her family changed and Tundra doesn’t handle being alone very well. For her sake they asked if we could take her back, and of course we said yes. Tundra is a sweet, friendly girl who is fearful when left alone. We couldn’t track her history so we don’t know what caused her problem. She is fine here for now.
Sandy in Montana called to say she heard of a dog who needed a new home there. We don’t know any more yet. Meanwhile, a woman called who has a 14 year old female she can’t keep. We contacted the breeder who immediately offered to take her back, but the woman wouldn’t do that because she wanted to put the dog somewhere her grandkids could continue to see her. Both we and the breeder tried to explain that’s not now things work, but with limited success.
On a personal note, I had major back surgery the first of November and recovery is a bit slower than we hoped. It’s something I’ve been anticipating for years, and it should make life better eventually. We decided we absolutely couldn’t foster for a few months, so naturally we have three extra dogs. If you ever thought about helping rescue by taking a dog for a short time, this is the time to let us know. There is a lot of reward in fostering a Sammy, knowing that you helped make a life better.
It has been quiet in rescue since April, and it gave us all a nice rest. Rescue doesn’t give many vacations and we enjoyed it while it lasted. Meanwhile the applications kept coming in and as of now we have a waiting list of almost thirty families.
A message from a woman in southern Idaho arrived telling us about a friend of hers who needed help. The downturn in the economy has hurt a lot of people, and her friend has been living on unemployment since she was laid off a very good job with a Seattle hospital. Now her home is in foreclosure and she can’t afford vet care for her two senior dogs. Her friend described it as a “severe neglect situation” so we called to see if we could help. The owner has lived with two Sammies since they were puppies, and now they are 10 and 13 years old. She very reluctantly and tearfully signed over the dogs and we took them to our vet.
“Severe neglect” was too strong a term for what we found. While they haven’t been given vet care and have some issues, they were fairly healthy and there were no mats in their coats. They both have a growth on one eye and both have dental issues; Chip needs his teeth cleaned and Ozzy has an abscess from a broken tooth. Both of them have yeast infections in both ears. The younger dog, Chip, had TPLO surgery on his leg a few years ago and now the other knee is weak. The older dog, Ozzy, was previously described to us as barely able to walk. He is as stiff as you would expect a 13 year old dog with no exercise to be, but he is getting stronger by the day because we make him go out and walk around the yard. The two of them played together, rolling around, for about 5 minutes on the evening of the second day here, so the exercise is helping. It could be their nutrition wasn’t good and now they are getting better food.
We’ve had many, many dogs who were surrendered by people who didn’t care for them, but this was different. We feel everything we have seen here shows an owner who genuinely fell on hard times even though she was trying to keep things going. She is crushed that she had to give up her dogs so they would get vet care. If she could find appropriate housing we think she would still be the best home for them. What will we do? We don’t know yet. Obviously two senior dogs who are tightly bonded to each other would be difficult to place. Hopefully next month’s report will be more positive.
Just before this newsletter’s deadline we heard of a 1-1/2 year old female named Rory at the Oregon Humane Society. She has been there for a while because they had to do surgery for an in-grown eyelid. It looks as though she had been shaved or clipped badly. Melissa has been in contact with the shelter, but once again they feel they can do a better job of placement than rescue, so we may not be able to get her. On the other hand, if they do their usual job the dog will return and we’ll be able to get her then.
Until recently we thought we understood bloat and would recognize it if we ever saw it in person. We were wrong. In early January Erin went to Enumclaw to pick up a dog found as a stray. She brought him to us, and she and Kathy spent several hours grooming. He had a bath that evening and seemed to be doing well. The next morning when we checked on him he was dead. Our vet told us it was bloat, which we hadn’t recognized.
Bloat happens when the stomach dilates and twists into an abnormal position. Technically it’s Gastric Dilation and Volvulus, generally abbreviated GDV. If the stomach inflates it’s called dilation; when it distends and twists it’s called volvulus. It’s a life-threatening condition for your dog. Bloat does not resolve itself without immediate care, and if you don’t get your dog to a vet quickly he will die. Even with treatment there is a mortality rate of 10%-60%.
As the stomach twists, it closes off both ends. There is no way for air to escape and the pressure stops blood flow until the tissue dies.
What causes GDV? The answer is complex and has many factors. It happens primarily in large, deep chested breeds, but Dachshunds and Pekingese are also subject to it. Some causes are:
· Feeding only one meal a day
· Having a family history of bloat
· Eating rapidly
· Being thin or underweight
· Moistening dry foods (if citric acid is listed as an ingredient)
· Feeding a dry diet with animal fat in the first four ingredients
· Fearful or anxious temperament
· Male dogs and dogs older than 7 have an increased risk
Although a study many years ago claimed that elevating food bowls decreased bloat, the study author later disclaimed that result saying there was a flaw in the way the study was done.
What do you do at home? First, listen to the heartbeat on the left side just behind the elbow (with a stethoscope if possible). A regular heartbeat is often irregular and nothing to worry about. The pulse should be between 60 and 80 in a large dog. The easiest way to check the pulse is in the femoral artery just inside your dog’s rear leg; it feels like a cord.
PHASE 1 BLOAT
Pacing, restlessness, panting, and salivating. Unproductive efforts to vomit. Abdomen begins to enlarge. Call your vet and tell him you are on the way with a bloat case. Leave immediately.
PHASE 2 BLOAT
Whining, very restless, heavy salivating. Unproductive efforts to vomit every 2-3 minutes. Dark red gums. Heart rate 80-100 beats/minute. Abdomen swollen, emits hollow sound when thumped. Apply first aid if dog is more than 10 minutes from vet, then transport immediately.
PHASE 3 BLOAT
Gums are white or blue. Dog can’t stand or has a shaky spread-legged stance. Abdomen very enlarged. Heart rate over 100 beats/minute. Death is imminent. Apply first aid immediately, preferably on the way to the vet.
A bloat first aid kit should contain:
· Instructions for use
· Stethoscope
· Rolls of tape (3 rolls, 1 in. x 10 yd)
· Stomach tube (2) (different diameters). 5 ft. length beveled at one end, with two holes drilled in tube 2 & 3 inches up from the beveled end. Pre-measured and marked for each dog in household
· KY jelly
· Gas absorbent (Digel, GasEase, etc)
Instructions for using this kit are available many places on the internet, but you should talk to your vet and use his/her instructions. If you want a copy of the instructions before you visit your vet, contact rescue@nwsams.com.
After your dog survives bloat, give serious consideration to a surgical procedure called Gastropexy. It’s commonly referred to as stomach stapling, and the recurrence of bloat is reduced from 75% to less than 5%.
Most of us know someone with a Samoyed who has bloated. This is a serious issue in our breed, and being ready for it may save a life.
Last month we heard about a Samoyed in Ocean Shores. She had been found as a stray and nobody looked for her. Unfortunately, it happens all too often. When we touched base with the shelter they told us she was matted and they were planning to shave her. We talked it over, and Kathy said she would go to the shelter and spend the afternoon grooming her to prevent that from happening.
Along with all the grooming tools, Kathy took our microchip scanner just in case. They already told us she didn’t have a chip, but experience tells us not to trust shelters. This time we were glad we checked because she had a newer style chip their old scanner couldn’t read. Kathy called with the chip number and I started making phone calls. The microchip company gave us the name of the breeder, who died a couple years ago. Because she had been in Arizona I called Bobbie, hoping she could find the name of the breeder’s daughter. She checked in with people who might know, and her friend Susan thought the dog might have been co-owned by Sakura, right here in western Washington. A quick call confirmed it was one of her dogs, and her name is Christina. She had been trying to locate the owner who had moved at least once and changed her phone number. She called Kathy directly, and Kathy paid the shelter fees and brought her home. The next day Sakura and Tasha were here to reimburse rescue and retrieve Christina. All’s well that ends well, except for the part where Sakura had to pay the highest shelter fee we’ve ever seen and spent several more days grooming Christina.
We always tell people to be sure their dogs are microchipped in case something like this happens. Now that the last two dogs we rescued had chips the shelter missed, we need to amend that. Be sure chips are the older style, not ISO, because small shelters don’t always have modern scanners. Eventually they will, but that hasn’t happened yet despite chip company promises. More importantly, collars with tags are the best identification possible.
You should also know that if you had your dog chipped by Banfield in the past few years you may not be as safe as you think. They were the first organization to use ISO chips and there have been some real horror stories. If you want to know the difference between chips, head to Wikipedia where there is an excellent article discussing the types of chips. To be absolutely safe, take your dog to the closest shelter and ask them to check the chip.
The girl we got from the Foxburrow puppy mill bust has a new home. We had email from Dorinda of Utah Samoyed Rescue asking about an application she received from someone in Portland, and Melissa visited their home. Dorinda didn’t have any dogs available but this home looked just right for Fanci; she moved in and her new name is Pip. She has some issues because of her past; she is a fearful dog who will need a lot of TLC to show her the world isn’t as bad as she thinks. It’s going to take a great amount of patience. Melissa went back for a follow-up visit to help with training.
On the day of this newsletter’s deadline we heard of a dog in southwest Montana at a Humane Society. We contacted a group that provides transportation for rescue & shelter dogs and they are in the process of working something out. We expect it will cost quite a bit with the cost of gas these days, but we’re fortunate to have so many great supporters and donors. That means another Montana dog will find a good home.
The 12th Annual Rescue Picnic is July 16.
Picnic invitations have been sent by email, so if you haven’t received yours please contact Ron as soon as possible. We expect a great turnout this year and we always have a ton of fun.
Tundra, who came to us by way of the PAWS shelter in Snohomish County, was with us for a little over a month. That’s longer than usual lately; because she was mostly deaf we weren’t in a hurry to find her a new home. As it turned out she has a perfect new home. Her mom knew some sign language already because of her job, and is working with Tundra to find the best way to train her. The bit of hearing she has may be enough for clicker training, and that will be a great advantage. She has already established herself firmly as a part of the family, and she has an Eskie for a sister and they get along great.
In February there was a news story about the seizure of 35 dog from a breeder in Canby. It was Foxburrow Kennels, run by Diane and Rick Cheadle. They pleaded guilty to animal neglect charges on April 8 and were sentenced to jail, probation, community service, and for five years they cannot own any dogs. At the time of the seizure they had only one Samoyed, left over from the time they were breeding Sammies. The Oregon Humane Society kept the Samoyed while nursing her back to health, then put her in a foster home. Finally they called Melissa, who had been in touch regularly with OHS, and let her know the dog was ready for rescue. Her name is Fanci, and she is getting along very well at the Hopper Bed and Breakfast. Fanci should be a great addition to any home.
It seems like just the other day, but that one year old dog we adopted from Cheryl is already eleven. Charlie has had a weak ACL for some time, but a couple weeks ago it ruptured and last week he had surgery. The reason we mention this is because of a new type of ACL repair called “tightrope surgery.” Back in 2003 when we had Tasha’s surgery the cast was on for two weeks and we had to leash walk her for almost three months. With the new surgery the cast/bandage came off 24 hours after surgery and therapy began immediately. In seven days he was bearing half his weight on the leg. He will still be leash walked for a couple months, but that time will be easier for him. This is a common injury in Samoyeds, and if anyone else faces it please give Ron a call if you want more information.
