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This has been a month that brought both highs and lows and was mostly about senior dogs, with a couple puppies thrown in for fun. It also brought change.

Last October we found Sophie at the Bellevue Humane Society. Our vet gave her a check-up and she was in bad shape. Besides bad teeth and a heart murmur, she also had cancer. We decided she would stay here as a hospice dog, but when Carey heard about her he called to offer her a home. Sophie moved in with him November 10, and for over two months she lived happily as part of his family. She began to fail in the middle of January, and on the 29th she passed away in his arms. She now lies under his favorite rhododendron and will stay with him forever.

Without the support of people like Carey we couldn’t do rescue. This is the third time he has taken an old dog. He knew his heart would be broken, but he took Sophie because she needed him, and we think he is one in a million. He wrote a touching message about Sophie and we would like you to take time to read it below.

We have good news about two senior dogs. Dakota was the first dog we placed after taking over from Cheryl and Steve, and we were astounded when his family of over five years decided they would not take him along when they moved. A few days after he arrived here he turned 11 years old, and we worried it would be difficult to place him. Fortunately he was no trouble to have here, and has been the only foster dog we ever allowed to roam the house at night.

A few weeks ago we had an application from a woman in British Columbia who saw Cody listed on Petfinder. We corresponded about all our fosters, and on February 2 she drove down to meet them and introduce them to her Malamute girl, Ursa. I think all of us thought she would be taking Cody back with her, but when Cody saw Ursa he told us she was too much girl for him! He parked in the hallway outside the room most of the time they were here. Dakota, on the other hand, who is a reserved and quiet boy, walked up and gave Ursa a big nose poke. When she flopped down on her back we knew the chemistry was good, and Dakota is now a Canadian dog. He had dental surgery for a bad tooth last week (we discovered the tooth the day before he left), so as agreed we will send his new Mom a refund of the adoption fee as partial reimbursement of the vet bill. We’re delighted he is doing so well.

Cody, who decided big girls aren’t for him, felt quite the opposite about another senior male named Mishka, who lives with an older couple in north Seattle. When they visited on the 7th he presented us with the second adoption surprise in a week. We expected Katie to be a better match, but it was Cody who jumped up on the sofa and snuggled with his new Dad. We don’t know how old Cody is but we suspect at least 10; he is as active as a Samoyed can be, and appears to be completely recovered from removal of a testicular tumor in September. We had a full panel run on him two weeks before he left, and all was quite normal.

With two of our three fosters placed, it seems very quiet with only Katie remaining. She has been here nearly a year, had puppies, shed completely and grown her hair back, and has also battled quite an allergy. She chewed on herself her entire life, to the point her front teeth are worn to the gum line. Katie is on her third brand of special dog food, searching for the one that will keep her from itching. Right now we are also giving her a very low dose of cortisone and that is keeping the allergies under control.

We needed to update rabies shots on all three fosters before we had our visit from the Canadian adopter because she would need a current certificate to get her dog back in the country. Our rescue vet didn’t have an opening so we took them to the vet we use for our own dogs, and he had a different suggestion for Katie. He believes it is a severe flea allergy, and after consideration we think he may be right. Cody brought fleas into the house, and it was about then she had a terrible problem with scratching and hot spots. Only twice have we found a flea on her, but she is the only dog who had a problem. Our vet suggested a new flea treatment called “Comfortis” which is especially effective for allergic dogs. Whether or not it is our imagination, we think Katie is feeling better. Certainly she is displaying more energy and not scratching herself at all.

On January 31 we spotted two puppies in a shelter in Hillsboro. Melissa checked the next day and was able to get them out right away. The story is that the breeder dropped them off because, at 11 weeks, they were no longer cute enough to sell (we have a pedigree on hand if anyone wants a copy, but you probably won’t recognize any dogs on it). Melissa called her good friend Gail, who has had Sammies all her life; we called Lon and Mary, who after adopting so many old and frail dogs over the years deserved to have a puppy. Both of them jumped at the idea, and on February 9 everyone met at our home to see the puppies off to their new lives. We took dozens of puppy pictures, which you can see at http://nwsams.smugmug.com/gallery/4272382.

A month ago Melissa heard from a woman in Salem who wanted to surrender her Samoyed because she couldn’t afford to keep her. After some careful checking, Melissa discovered the dog has a chronic cough and her vet wanted to run some tests her owner couldn’t pay for. We gave this a lot of thought, and rather than take a dog into rescue and run the tests ourselves we offered to pay the vet bill. We established this was a genuine hardship case, and the best interests of the dog will be to keep her in the home she knows and try to make her healthy again. Payment went directly to the vet, and we are waiting to hear the results. Our first mission has always been to do what is best for each dog, and we think we did that. Funding came from the Northwest Samoyed Rescue account.

A significant event happened early in February when we received the IRS “Letter of Determination” that announced Northwest Samoyed Rescue is now incorporated as a 501(c)(3) public charity! This has been in the works for over a year and a half, and a lot of effort has gone into making it happen. SCWS Rescue and Samoyed Rescue of Oregon will combine and be a single entity dedicated to helping Samoyeds in Washington, Oregon, and northern Idaho. As before, we will assist when possible in Western Montana and will help Pat Cummins in British Columbia. It will also mean we can be listed on the SCA and AKC websites.

What does it mean to SCWS members that we are going to be independent of the club? Practically speaking, nothing. We will still be members of the club, and NWSR will be affiliated with both SCWS and WVSF. It means we will carry our own insurance, insulating the club from any potential problems, which is the reason most rescues are becoming independent. Rescue reports will still be in the newsletter, and we will still ask for help from everybody as we always have. You will now get to hear about Oregon dogs, as well as the ones we help in Washington. The biggest change is that donations will be tax deductible, and we will be able to pursue grant money. We will publish financial statements and keep the clubs apprised of our activities. As agreed over a year ago, the current SCWS rescue account and the SRO account will be combined with existing NWSR funds. Every penny you ever gave to help rescue will be carried forward, and now there will be even increased accountability.

Board members of NWSR have been set since our state incorporation in May 2006. They are Melissa and Terry Hopper, Ron and Kathy Manor, and Joy Ritter. Anyone interested in viewing our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws can ask for the link. Even though we are proud of this change, our mission will never change. It’s always going to be “all about the dogs.”

Following is the message we received from Carey:

Ron and Kathy, friends and family,

Sophie, my Sammy girl friend, passed away at home and in my arms on the afternoon of January 29th 2008 after her somewhat brief struggle with Cancer. She was a good girl with a pretty face. She never asked for more than I could give and she was a joy to have in our home. It was an honor and a privilege to care for this old gal. She was only with us for a short time.

After my inquiry about Sophie around October of last year, Ron and Kathy of Sammy Rescue told me she was a really sweet girl but also gave me the honest truth about her health in regards to an aging girl of around 12 years old with some health problems. She would be placed as a Hospice placement due to the Cancer that was reported in her health check-up upon entering rescue… “She may last a week… or a month and in the end she was going to break your heart” they said. They then asked in the next breath… “Do you still want her”? She arrived in our home a week later and yes; in the end she truly did break my heart. They always do. Her few months with us were good and pain free. She got around well and claimed her doggie bed and old green blanket very quickly. She always used the doggie door… and even to the very end she never had an accident on the floor. Two weeks ago she just stopped eating, I took her to the vet’s last Friday and was told her time was coming to an end. I found her in the yard early the next morning, she fell down while going to the bathroom and was never able to stand by herself again. I carried her into the house and laid her down on her bed, she never tried to get back up. She had her last appointment with the vet late today- but she decided to take her last breath at home around 2:00 pm while I was by her side.

I dug her grave the day before her passing in our yard next to a large pink and white Rhododendron bush that I love so much. It was lightly snowing and I thought to myself that it was a fitting day to let go of my old Sammy girl; it truly was a snowy Sammy day. My eight year old Sammy boy “Cheyenne” sat nearby and watched as I dug and dug. He would look at me then look at the hole and then look back at me as if to say, “she may have been bigger than life, but I think that hole is plenty big”. As I wiped away a tear… or more, I adjusted the size of the hole and stepped back to look at my handy work. Looks just right I thought, big enough to keep her cozy and shallow enough for her to hear the other dogs bark and play in the yard and also to hear me yelling at Cheyenne this spring to get the hell out of my garden beds and to stop digging up the flowers.

This afternoon I wrapped Sophie up in her favorite green blanket “just as snug as a bug in a rug”. I placed her in a pine box I made for her the day before, gave her one last kiss on her fuzzy white cheek, place a dog cookie- well two- next to her paws. I screwed on the lid as I said “good night ole’ girl- sleep tight” and placed the box in the hole. All along Cheyenne was sitting next to the grave watching every movement I made, as if standing guard over an old trusted friend, sniffing the cold air and licking the fresh fallen snow as it collected on the ground around us, his beautiful white coat gleaming in the cloudy filtered sun light of a cold January afternoon. I finished filling in the hole with dirt and then gave Cheyenne a great big bear hug- he didn’t need it, but I sure did. The late afternoon sun begin to get much more blurry as Cheyenne tried to lick away the tears. As we walked away and I looked back over my shoulders, I knew that someday in the future I’d be out here digging yet another hole- right beside the last– not because I want to, but because I find it an honor and a privilege to do so….

Thanks as always to Ron and Kathy for everything you do for Rescue as well as to its volunteers and donations that are made. Many thanks to the people that donated cash in Sophie’s name as she entered our rescue organization. I know money spent on a few bad cracked teeth and her other medical needs as she came into the program was not cheap, but it truly made her last few months of life a lot more comfortable to say the very least. She deserved every dollar given.

I’d also like to remind our Sammy community that if you have never fostered or better yet made room in your home and your lives for a Samoyed in need- young or old, to please give it a try. You will come to find that it was the right thing to do and yes… in the end they will break your heart, and each time it hurts just as much as the first. This has been my third senior rescue in the last few years- and it will not be my last. As long as I have a roof over my head and capable of caring for at least one Samoyed in need that I will always MAKE room in my home and my heart, especially our seniors. I don’t need to save them all, just one at a time.

Carey

There is no other feeling quite as bad as discovering your dog is missing. You panic as you try to think of the best way to find him, but it’s hard to remember everything at once. What do you do?

1. Call for help! Finding your dog is more likely with all your friends looking. Your local Samoyed Rescue group has been through this before, and has a checklist and lots of contacts all over the northwest. If you grab your cell phone and call us as you are circling your neighborhood for the first time, we can put out the word to your friends immediately. Please don’t wait.

2. Make a quick circuit around your immediate area. Keep the window down and tell everyone you see that you are looking for your dog. If you have more than one dog, take another dog along. Ask friends who are helping to take a dog with them. A lost dog is more likely to come up to a stranger with a dog than one without. NEVER chase a dog who is loose. Get down low and talk softly. If that doesn’t work, run the other way and call and they will usually chase you to play. This may sound silly, but don’t forget to take a leash and food with you when you’re out looking.

3. If you don’t find him fast, go home and print flyers, or ask someone close to you to do it. Don’t be fancy, just put LOST DOG on it in large letters with your phone number and a picture of your dog. Don’t use a show photo; use something that shows a family member and the dog happily together. You don’t want people looking for a show dog they can sell, but for a loved family pet. If you don’t have a picture of your dog, find a picture of a Samoyed. Most people won’t know the difference and you can look for a better picture later.

4. Walk around the neighborhood and knock on doors. Leave a copy of the flyer with everyone who answers the door. Ask them to call friends who live close by and tell them about it. By this time you should have friends helping, so get them to do the same thing. If you see a postal carrier or UPS driver or anybody making deliveries, give them a flyer. Don’t say your dog is microchipped, but let people know he can be easily identified. Often people will see a stray and rationalize that someone didn’t care about him to let him run loose, and they won’t try very hard to look for the owner.

5. GO to all the shelters. Don’t just call. Visit in person or get someone else to do it. File a missing dog report. If your dog is microchipped, call the chipping company and report a lost dog. If you didn’t get around to filling out that information card the vet gave you when he was chipped, call the vet’s office and make sure they have your current phone numbers (the vet is where the chipper will call). If you have a rescue dog, call us instead because we chipped him here.

6. Visit grocery stores, restaurants, butcher shops, and every other place a dog’s stomach will want to investigate. One dog in Seattle who got out more than once always headed for his favorite restaurant. Visit homes in your neighborhood again and talk to people who weren’t home the first time. Keep putting up flyers on power poles (it isn’t legal in some cities but this isn’t a time to be technical about that).

7. Most Samoyeds who escape will run between one and two miles before they get tired. Often they will stop to rest on someone’s porch. Start branching out and enlarging your search area. Make sure you have flyers posted in every direction for at least two miles.

8. Advertising for a lost dog in the newspaper is free, and you can place an ad by phone. Do it immediately. Make sure you post something on Craigslist and the Petfinder classifieds. Go to the police station and file a lost property report. Tell them your insurance company insists you file a report before you can file a claim.

9. Contact every vet. Call groomers and pet supply stores. If you are in an urban area ask retailers if you can put a flyer in their window.

10. Sometimes it takes a while before you find your dog. Keep going to shelters, and check their dead list. It’s easier to know if the worst has happened. Go every day, and don’t depend on the shelter to call you. Don’t depend on the microchip company to call you. You are in charge of this search, so be persistent.

11. Don’t give up! People who find a dog will often keep it because they don’t want to take it to a shelter. After a couple days with a wet and dirty Samoyed they may change their mind or give him to a friend. The friend may take the dog to a shelter outside your area. Check shelters in the next county. Keep looking!

Now, what can you do to make things easier if this ever happens? If it has been a few months since you walked around the yard, now is a good time. Fences need repair, so check to see if boards are broken or nails have come loose. Is the latch on the gate still good enough if a dog jumps up on it to see what is on the other side? Have you put something next to the fence the dog can use to jump over? That once happened to us, when one of our dogs used a compost pile to launch over the top of the fence.

Is your best friend microchipped? If not, call your vet and ask about it. Or call rescue, because we chip all our rescues and we are happy to do other Samoyeds too (your vet may not be in the office when your dog is found and scanned, but if our phone rings at 2 am we answer it).

Take snapshots until you get a good picture of a well-loved and happy Samoyed you can use if something ever happens. Go ahead and make up a flyer. If you make one, you’ll never need it – right?

The best piece of advice we can give: THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO RECOVER A LOST DOG IS MAKE SURE HE IS WEARING A COLLAR AND A TAG WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER. You can also use a felt pen and write your number on his collar if you don’t like tags. A good quality collar won’t hurt his coat and it’s invaluable if he is lost.

Some of these ideas originally came from the USDA Missing Pets Network at http://missingpet.net/. You can check there for more information. Thanks to Sidney Boardman, director, for the article this is based on.

We first saw Thor in July when SRO sent him here to see our vet for neutering. Melissa found him when Malamute Rescue called (not, as I first understood, the shelter). He was placed in a home in Corvallis with a couple looking for a companion. Things initially went very well until they unexpectedly asked us to take Thor back. He was fearful when he was placed, but it escalated until he bit someone. He got along here after he came back, for the most part, although he had one fight with one of our dogs. We seriously considered whether the liability would be too much to place him, but a woman who lives on Vancouver Island said she would take him and work with him. Kathy drove to Canada and delivered him, and his adopter signed a contract agreeing she knew about his biting (it had a “hold harmless” clause to protect Rescue).

At first Thor was shy and a bit fearful, and over the course of a couple days things went well. Then one day he reacted violently to her other dog and an expensive vet visit was the result. She realized he would never be dependable, and as fearful as he was he was not a happy dog. After consultation with us the decision was made to euthanize Thor, and she gave him one last good day with lots of chicken livers and love before he left.

Dakota was the first dog we placed after we took over rescue in 2002. He lived with a family in Lacey for five years, and they brought him to the rescue picnic each July. Last month we had a call that they were moving and would be leaving Dakota behind. After we got over the surprise and shock, we said we would take him, as we would say for any dog who has been in our rescue program. He arrived here the day before Thanksgiving, a few days before his 11th birthday. He is not a purebred; his original paperwork shows him to be 3/4 Samoyed and 1/4 Alaskan Husky. Dakota is surprisingly active and fit and enjoys running with the other dogs.

Cody had dental surgery a few weeks ago and he is now ready for his new home. We were concerned about the growth in his mouth, since he had a tumorous testicle removed soon after he arrived. Fortunately the new growth turned out to be nothing to worry about. Cody is an outgoing, extremely friendly boy who came to us from the Shelton shelter. He had been in Shelton only two weeks after being given away by someone in the Fort Lewis area; more than that we couldn’t learn. He is a senior dog, probably 10-12 years old, a little deaf and doesn’t see well. He is enthusiastic about life, loves everybody, and can out-jump most of the other dogs when dinner is imminent. His barking is also enthusiastic, sometimes incessant, and he has pronounced separation anxiety. He was visited by a prospective family on the 10th and they decided the barking would be too much for their close neighbors. On the positive side they are now interested in Dakota and will let us know soon.

We removed Katie from Petfinder while we try to get a handle on her allergies and skin problems. We tried an herbal remedy which did nothing, and she has now completed a full course of Prednisone. She is beginning to scratch again and we will need to see what else can be tried. We recently had news of all three of her puppies, now eight months old. All have been spayed or neutered and are doing well. Sadie, with Sue Yim, was at the Dog Walk a month ago. Cubby and Sparkle are with the Barths in the Portland area enjoying their family.

Our Holiday Fundraiser, featuring two designs by Holley Irvine, is doing very well. The first printing for orders received by December 10 was shipped on the 13th. There will be one more printing for any more orders placed by January 2. We appreciate the people who buy our sweatshirts year after year, because funds we take in this time of year are what enable us to help dogs all year around. You can see the designs at http://www.nwsams.com/fundraiser.htm.

And last but not least, we reached an important goal this month with the official filing of our IRS application to become a 501(c)(3) federal non-profit organization. We have no idea how long it will be before we hear back from Uncle Sam, but the ball is finally in his court.

The last line in the October Rescue Report was “We started out with two dogs, thinking we could foster one at a time. Now we’re at seven and it seems normal.” We didn’t have a clue that a short time later we would have eight dogs in the house. It was quite a month.

Thor was a combined effort of SCWS Rescue and SRO. He came from a drug house in Corvallis back in July; SRO was called to take him when the sheriff refused to let him return there. Thor was a timid dog, probably abused and very dirty. When Melissa’s vet didn’t have any appointments available to neuter him, Thor came to stay here so our vet could do it. Those of you who came to the Rescue Picnic in July might remember him as a large blonde mix.

Thor was adopted by a couple who met him briefly in Corvallis; they have homes in Corvallis, Portland, and on the Oregon Coast. For over three months we received reports that Thor was fitting in wonderfully and had a great home. Suddenly out of nowhere we were told Thor was coming back because they no longer wanted him. Although the story isn’t complete, we now realize they fancied themselves experts on dogs but didn’t have any idea how to handle a timid dog. They reinforced his insecurities until he didn’t want to be with them, and then one of them reached into the crate while he was hiding. The result was a dog with a bite history.

We considered whether or not we would have to euthanize Thor, something none of us wanted to do when his only offense was the result of fear. He came back to live with us and get an assessment, and he showed himself to be insecure but looking for direction in his life. We called an applicant in Campbell River, BC who was on the waiting list; we gave her Thor’s complete history and she is going adopt him. She is knowledgeable about dogs and lives alone with one other Samoyed in a quiet area. At this writing transport is scheduled for the 12th. We are not charging an adoption fee, and in return the adopter has agreed to sign a “hold harmless” agreement to protect Rescue in the event he bites again, but we truly don’t believe he will.

Katie has been listed on Petfinder for weeks now without a single inquiry. A combination of her age and mixed ancestry means people who want a Samoyed don’t ask about her, while people willing to take a mix don’t look at purebred rescue listings. She has probably had skin allergies her entire life, judging by the wear on her teeth from chewing on herself. Her hair has grown back now that she has proper nutrition but her allergies have not gone away. Recently she was put on an herbal supplement we hope will help; if it doesn’t then we will have to consider cortisone and/or allergy testing.

Cody came from the Shelton shelter in September. When he was neutered the vet found one testicle was a large tumor so we wanted to wait to see if it had spread. We’re ready to adopt him to a good home, but he has developed a small growth in his mouth and we need to get it removed first. He is a happy go lucky kind of guy, always at our feet and wanting attention. Slightly deaf and possibly a senior citizen, he will be a good companion for someone who doesn’t want the chore of taking on a puppy.

The first dog we placed after taking over rescue was Dakota, adopted by a family in Lacey. On their application they answered the question about what they would do if they moved, and they said “we would never move somewhere we couldn’t take our dog.” Well, a week ago they called to say they were moving and Dakota didn’t have a place in the new home. He is now 10 years old and has spent more than half his life loyal to them; now he needs a new home. We may get used to this sort of thing in rescue but we will never understand how people could do this to part of their family. If you are interested in helping a dog who is still active and gets along well with small children, please contact us.

We close this month with the happy story of Sophie. It started sadly as we picked her up from the Bellevue Humane Society. She had been a stray in Renton and her family hadn’t come looking for her. She is a very old girl, small in size, and her teeth were in terrible shape and she must have been in great pain. When she had urine in her blood our vet did an x-ray looking for stones and found a large mass surrounding her left kidney. Sophie also has a significant heart murmur.

Who on earth would adopt an old Sammy girl who is only going to be a hospice dog? For the third time in the last few years, the answer is Carey Grummitt. He previously took Madison and Snowy, both from the Tacoma Humane Society, and each time he lost one he called to say he was ready to do it again. On November 10 he came to meet her, and when he left she was sitting comfortably on the seat next to him. Now Sophie has a real home to live out the rest of her life. Carey is officially a foster home so we can help with medical expenses (we had a number of donations specifically for Sophie), but she will know this as her real home. Please join us in offering our sincere thanks to Carey for his love and support of old dogs who need him.

This month saw an upgrade to our electric fencing. Katie is the only foster we ever hosted who went over the fence, and last month we had to turn on the juice to the wire around the top of the fence. A few weeks ago she didn’t come when called and we found a large hole under a fence.

Those who know our property know it’s difficult to find a dog when she escapes, so we were fortunate she went exploring at the home of our closest neighbor a quarter mile away. When I called to ask them to keep their eyes open they said there were two dogs at their house and one might be ours. As I went out the door Katie came running back in, so we went to check with the neighbor to see who was there. To our surprise, Oakley was there making new friends. There are now additional wires a foot off the ground, all the way around all the yards.

The biggest surprise about Katie is her energy level. She expends a lot of energy running along the fence, protecting us from all the dangerous rabbits she knows are there. She and Braun love to play, running circles and jumping on each other. We know she isn’t a young dog, but she acts like one. She had a visit from a disabled woman looking for a Samoyed, but we decided together that Katie is too much dog for her.

Braun’s grooming is going slowly and he hasn’t had his bath yet, but we have shown him to two prospective adopters. The first hasn’t called back, and the second decided to pass when we asked them to neuter the male they already have. Braun is a big teddy bear of a dog, an oversize puppy learning to play and to be a dog. He acts like it is a relief to have a normal life after being tied out since he was a puppy. At three and a half, he is a perfect age to join an active family.

New this month is Cody, who came from the Shelton shelter. We picked him up just after the Specialty, and were told he was about three years old and his owners were tired of bailing him out. With some detective work we learned he had only been in Shelton for two weeks after being given away by someone at Fort Lewis. We suspected a testicular tumor, and when he was neutered we were unfortunately correct. Our vet believes she got all the tumor and that it hasn’t spread. The good news is this is a very slow growing tumor; the bad news is that it doesn’t happen in young dogs. The estimate of his age is now 8-10 years old, and he is also partly deaf. His recovery has been slow because of the size of the incision (the tumor was the size of a lemon) but he is nearly healed now. We are looking for a home where he can hang out with a human and they can just enjoy each other’s company. He would be perfect for the disabled woman who looked at Katie, but she wants a female.

On the horizon is a five year old girl in the Olympia area. We are attempting to get pictures of her to determine if she is a Sammy, since the description of her is small and fearful. She sounds like an Eskie, although she was purchased from a backyard breeder who claimed she is a Samoyed; the people got her free because of her temperament. In cases like this we ask them to prove the breed before we do much more.

Summer is usually a quiet time in rescue but this year has been unusually busy. We have three fosters here, the first time we have done that, and with seven dogs in the house we feel like we are bulging at the seams. Cody has been a special challenge because he was not housebroken (we have gone through a lot of carpet shampoo). Any more dogs needing help will have to go somewhere else, so if you’re willing to take a dog in need we would really appreciate hearing from you.

Remember, we are now selling WHITE PINE COLLARS as a rescue fundraiser.
Details and ordering information are at http://www.nwsams.com/whitepine.

Katie is just unbelievable. Despite being one of the smallest dogs we have fostered, she is the one and only dog to jump over our fence. We had to hook up a new line of electric fencing to dissuade her, and even then it took two bumps before she gave up. A few days ago while we were having breakfast we looked out just as she dug her way out. She went deaf to our calls, naturally, and dove down the hill into the woods. Kathy and I went different directions trying to head her off, and fortunately Kathy found her before she got too far. Now we have a second new line of electric fence, and Katie is spending her time running back and forth wishing she could go chase those darn rabbits. Her hair is just beginning to grow back after whelping, but she still looks pretty naked.

Kai is a dog from Coeur d’Alene who came west July 20. We were attempting to get transportation arranged when Joee Dauer called. I mentioned Kai to her and she said she was going to CDA and back the next day. The timing was perfect, and Kai came back with Joee the next day. We were going to foster Kai here, but Melissa was going to meet an owner from LaPine surrendering her male the next day, so we worked out a swap. Melissa brought the male to Kelso and handed him off to Kathy, then went back through Longview and picked up Kai. She is a stunning girl, a mostly-sammy mix with piercing blue eyes and dark tips on the hair on her back. We got to meet Kai soon after that when Melissa’s groomer refused to groom her the day before she was scheduled to meet a potential adopter. Kathy, Melissa, and I triple-teamed her on the table, then gave her a bath. She was well behaved throughout, and we still don’t know what the groomer’s problem was. The next day she met her new Mom, and a week later moved into her forever home in Vancouver.

Braun from LaPine is three and a half years old. He was with an older couple until the man died and his widow moved where she couldn’t take him. The grandkids didn’t have room for him and were glad when Melissa arranged to take him. Just imagine an 80 pound puppy, never socialized, never indoors, never at a vet and never groomed in his life. Braun is all of that, and also such a sweet and submissive guy that he got along perfectly with every other dog. Within a day he understood it was OK to be indoors and hasn’t had a single accident. He began playing with Charlie, then Oakley, and to our surprise with Katie. The two of them run circles around each other, bouncing and having a great time.

The mats on Braun were on a scale we never experienced before. The small mats were baseball sized, and there were two on the back of each leg. There were larger softball size mats behind both ears, and his tail was essentially three big clumps. The worst was his back, which had a saddle shaped mat the size of a dinner plate. His belly was a solid felt layer. Over the course of three days we split the mats so they could be combed and cut. Do you know how much hair it takes to make a pile that weights almost three pounds? That’s what we removed, and three weeks later we aren’t done yet. He is obviously more comfortable now and happy to be free to move again.

Thor was here briefly just before the Rescue Picnic. Melissa’s vet didn’t have time to neuter him, so we transferred him and our vet did it. Three days later he rode back from the picnic with Melissa, and a couple from Corvallis who had applied to both of us adopted him. Reports are all positive and they seem to truly understand that their patience is going to get him over some of the rough times he had living in what we believe might have been a drug house.

The high point of our rescue year is always the Rescue Picnic in July. This year we had about 40 dogs and 40 people here to enjoy the company of other adopters and a potluck picnic. If you couldn’t make it this year, please join us next year. It’s a unique experience and it showcases not only the great dogs, but also the wonderful people who take these Sammies into their lives.

Our puppy stories conclude this month with the adoption into permanent homes of Sadie, Sparkle, and Cubby. The experience we gained whelping a litter gives us a great insight into the work involved, and appreciation for the people who happily bring quality puppies into the world. We will be forever glad it’s them and not us. For movies and lots of pictures of puppies, look at http://www.nwsams.com/katie.

Sadie, who was “Big Girl,” was adopted by Sue Yim. Sue previously adopted Biscotti and has a girl named Gracie, and Sadie is working into their family nicely. Sue and Sadie loved each other at first sight on their first visit. We kept her here while Sue prepared her home, and on June 15 Sadie went home.

Sparkle and Cubby, formerly “Little Girl” and “White Boy,” found their homes when a family from Gresham, Oregon came to visit them on June 30. Their new dad went through 4-H obedience for ten years as a youth, and the family now has two boys, 8 and 10 years old, who want to do the same. We were impressed with the maturity of the boys and the commitment of their parents, and the puppies liked them right away. Every report we’ve had of all three puppies confirms they are in the correct homes and will have great lives.

Katie, the puppies’ mother, is still with us while we search for the right home for her. She has changed so much we decided not to place her in the home we originally chose. When Katie came here she was a tired old dog with allergies and worn teeth who plodded around the yard. Now, although nearly naked after shedding her coat, she runs in the yard like a young dog and her coat is growing back nicely. She acts years younger, and her activity level is so high we can’t place her with the older couple whose home we thought would be right for her. Katie is, unbelievably, the first dog we ever fostered who jumped over our fence and got loose because she wanted to chase a rabbit. Fortunately one thing hasn’t changed, her desire to lean on a human and be scratched.

We told you about Harley last month, the dog who has been in a shelter four times. Different excuses were given, but it was probably because of his barking. What we found was an enthusiastic boy who wanted SO badly to be your friend that he couldn’t help telling you so. He is an intelligent dog who understood within a day what we meant when we asked him not to bark. An application came from the Lake Stevens area from a family with three dogs, two of whom are too old to play with the young one. His name is Chief, and when they came to visit it seemed Harley and Chief would do well together. Best of all is that they understand Samoyeds (and dogs in general) and see no problem with Harley’s barking because they know he can be trained. Kim did the visit and has been working with the family grooming him.

Holly was fostered by Jeff Bienstadt, who hosted a visit by a couple from Monroe who already have a Samoyed named Cloudy. Holly and Shawna, who has become her new Mom, were attracted immediately to each other and Cloudy approved. There have been some barking issues, which we understand to be actually neighbor issues. No news is good news, and it seems the problem has been addressed successfully.

We’re working with Samoyed Rescue of Oregon, who just got a male through Malamute Rescue from the Medford area. Their vet isn’t able to neuter him for several weeks, so we are moving Topper here for a few days for our vet to do it, then on Saturday at the Rescue Picnic he can go back with Melissa. She has a home arranged for Topper with people from Corvallis.

Finnegan came to us from the Bremerton area in May, 2005. The director of the shelter knew his coat needed grooming, and when she called she urged us to come pick him up “before some fool on the staff shaves him.” We always laughed about that. Kathy spent days grooming, pulling out dead hair, and at the end we had a good looking dog. Finnegan was mostly deaf and he walked like his back hurt, but it looked like a lot of love was left in him so we listed him for adoption.

Twice we invited applicants to look at Finnegan. The first time someone came he saw them, turned, and walked to the bedroom and hid. The second time he had visitors we closed the gate in the hallway, so he walked into a corner and pretended they weren’t there. That’s when we gave up and listened to him, and he stayed with us as a family member. Finn was always mellow and happy with a huge smile, and didn’t have an aggressive bone in his body. A few months ago he began having serious problems getting around. X-rays showed a great looking spine, and the diagnosis was neurological problems. He became more incontinent and finally reached the point he couldn’t stand without help. We helped him cross the bridge and he said good bye quietly. He was a special boy, one of the dogs whose memory will always remind us why we do rescue. In his memory, we told Oakley he now has a permanent home with us.

It’s true! There’s nothing like puppy breath. Our three little house guests have passed six weeks and are developing real personalities. White Boy is timid and would just as soon snuggle than play hard with his sisters. Big Girl is mellow but always willing to roll around with the others playing. Little Girl is a fireball, pouncing on the others and running her little legs off. She is also the most affectionate, but with puppies it’s hard to rate affection. All of their little tongues get going when a human face gets close enough. Check http://www.nwsams.com/katie.

After considerable research we elected to go with the new vaccination protocols as recently published by nearly all the vet schools in the country. That means we will wait until they are 8 weeks old for the first shots, and won’t let them go to their new homes until after the second shots at 11 weeks. If you aren’t familiar with the changed protocols, please read them no matter how old your dogs are. You’ll find the new schedule at WSU’s Vet School site: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/pets/. There is a growing body of evidence that over-vaccination is harming our dogs.

Katie had a few days where she didn’t feel well when the puppies were about four weeks old. That’s when we decided to seriously work on weaning them, and as a result their weights went up even faster. Katie’s check-up showed great vital signs, so the only help we gave her was with feeding, with some herbal support for her diarrhea. She is as close to perfect a mother as she could be, even to the point of still nursing three pups with mouths full of needle-sharp teeth. Still, at her age, we’re relieved that she will never have to go through this again. Her recovery from her c-section/spay was incredible, and from the time she jumped a baby gate one day post-op she acted like nothing ever happened (yes, we blocked her from doing that again). Whoever gets Katie is going to have as loving a dog as they ever met.

Because we can’t take any fosters until after the puppies’ first shots, we had to leave a Sammy girl at the Tacoma Humane Society for quite a long time. This year they announced they are trying to be a no-kill shelter and they have staff actively looking for rescue groups to take dogs. We’ve had a great relationship with them for years, and now it’s even better. They gave us updates several times a week as we kept our fingers crossed she would be adopted. Kathy (Buckner) Thomas did an evaluation that showed a dog that was possibly a mix but might be a poorly bred purebred Samoyed. Finally, after three weeks, we decided enough was enough. We wrote an appeal on the NW Samoyed Rescue list, and Jeff Bienstadt responded. Jeff adopted Sasha four and a half years ago, and has expressed interest in helping Rescue. He drove to Tacoma and pulled “Muffy” (the shelter named her) and took her home. Now her name is Holly, and she is doing well there and we have listed her on Petfinder.

May is the month we hear about more dogs than any other time of year. This week we were asked to take an eight year old female in North Bend. The woman who has her says Nikita was given to her a couple years ago, and she doesn’t do well in a situation with so many other dogs; she boards other dogs and has as many as a dozen at a time. We will list Nikita on Petfinder as soon as we have a signed release, and she will remain where she is while we take applications. We also heard from two other people recently who want help with their dogs, but we had to give our regrets because they were obviously not Samoyeds, probably not even mixes. That doesn’t mean we didn’t help; we have an extensive list of other rescue groups and individuals who can help with most breeds, and referrals are a big part of doing the business of rescue.

Oakley is still with us, waiting for the perfect home. He is still timid but getting much more confidence and asking for attention frequently — and he is a real face-washer when he gets it. The man who surrendered him claimed he had Oakley for five years and was told he was nine years old when he arrived. This is obviously not a 14 year old dog, and lately we have wondered if he was nine months old. That would make him about six now, and would be consistent with his behavior.