Category: Uncategorized

There is not much new this month with Sophie and Tessa. After almost a year and a half here they have plateaued on confidence. They are taking food from our hands, but they still run if confronted with anything more than a shadow (and sometimes a shadow spooks them). They come in the door to the house a little more easily. With good weather they like to sleep in the yard, but still come running when it’s time to eat.

We thought we had the right home for Max with a couple in BC, but they decided he would be a little too much dog for someone their age, and reluctantly we agreed with them. He and Rowdy don’t get along, so we keep the gates shut in the house. Every month he mellows a little and he’s going to be an ideal dog for his next family. We will soon begin home visits again and we have someone in mind for him.

Last month I mentioned that Nanuk had been attacked by a Pit mix but was recovering nicely. His only injury was on his muzzle, and now that the stitches are out and the hair is growing back, he’s once again a handsome boy.

Each month we’re going to feature a special rescue dog from the past. This is about Hope (from June, 2010)

There are as many stories of mistreatment of dogs as there are dogs who find their way to rescue. We experienced a first this month when we heard of a dog at the Puyallup shelter and checked on her. The shelter said she was afraid of everybody and they thought she had been dumped. They were pretty sure she was kept in a crate for months, if not years. They said she was so horribly matted that her intake form actually said “intact male.”

Kathy was there to pick her up the moment she was available. She hid in a half-bath off our laundry room. When we got close she tuned out as though we weren’t there. If she had room she scurried out of the way. It appears she never had a moment of socialization or human contact. The area she was found is residential, nice, and not the place a puppy mill or even a backyard breeder would be. She is debarked, which isn’t done casually, and it was a well-done surgery. If someone cared that much it’s impossible to understand her history. We named her Hope, because it’s how we see her future.

In July, at our rescue picnic, a couple met Hope and asked to take her home. They were patient with her and she because accustomed to people. She was happy there, although they fed her way too much.

Max has been here since early this year. When he arrived he paid little attention to people, didn’t know his name, and tuned us out most of the time. Now he has become a social dog who loves to be with us, obeys (most of the time), and treats the girls with respect. Well, at least most of the time. He doesn’t get along well with our boy Rowdy so we’re keeping them on opposite sides of gates when indoors. Outside they ignore each other. Having Max around and watching him learn and grow has been a joy.

Sophie and Tessa continue to make progress, which is now very, very slow. Although I can’t touch them yet, there is one exception. When they go in their crates at night I can hand them food, and when they eat what they drop from the bottom of the crate I can pet them. The next step is to gradually teach them it’s safe to let me approach at other times, but honestly I don’t ever expect that to happen. Fortunately, Kathy is able to walk up to them in the kitchen and feed them from her hand. Increasingly, they let her touch and sometimes pet them. If they ever leave here they need a home without men.

Nanuk is recovering from an encounter with another dog. He was in his own yard with Theresa when a pit bull mix staying across the street got loose, ran over, and bit his face over the fence. Fortunately he didn’t get in the yard. The owner said he would pay the vet bill, but poor Nanuk has a number of staples in his muzzle. The police were called and a report was taken.

A couple weeks ago we heard about a disabled puppy who needed a home. She has some sort of neurological problem, caused by something at birth, and can’t walk on her own. Two of our wonderful previous adopters said they would take the challenge and see what happens. After working with the puppy, whose new name is Hope, they know they need some formal rehabilitation. Whether it’s water therapy or someone who has experience with dogs like this, they need someone with experience who can help with the job. It might be one of you, or a professional trainer, or someone who does doggie rehab. If you have any idea who in the Portland area can do that, please contact us. This is a pup who needs our whole village.

In the past 18+ years of rescue we’ve had a lot of challenges, but none as great as having to do nothing. Since we are in the age category of “high risk,” we’re sheltering in place, going nowhere, and not letting anyone visit foster dogs. While we still plan take in dogs in need, we’re not going to place any until we are comfortable letting outsiders into our homes. That means Max will be staying here, which gives us an opportunity to work with his training. He has been here now for four months, during which we weren’t able to find the right home. Although we may have an idea for one now, we still have to wait.

Tessa and Sophie have been here for 27 months, improving gradually in trusting, but still afraid of nearly everything. What happened between the puppy mill and the backyard breeder was criminal. Literally criminal, in this case, since Barb Kavars, owner of White Fire Samoyeds, has ended her appeal of the charges against her because she ran out of places to appeal. She was convicted of animal neglect and given two years of probation, a sentence of 420 months (suspended) and a fine of $910. When you consider the 300+ Samoyeds she neglected and mistreated that’s a slap on the hand, but at least it’s an official slap with a prohibition against owning dogs for two years. We will continue working with the girls until they trust humans.

We were asked to take a pair of young dogs last month because their owner died. He bought them from a backyard breeder in the Midwest because he didn’t think he could get one in the Northwest because of the home visit requirement. While we were trying to locate that breeder to ask whether she wanted them returned, the family gave them to someone who already had a Sammy. Since that time we learned it was a good home, and we’re happy a solution was found.

We have been working with a woman in the Bellevue area who found a dog that looks like a clipped Sammy. She found him and decided to take care of him herself because she doesn’t want to take him to the shelter, and meanwhile is making posts on social media trying to find the owner. Years of experience tell us that’s a bad idea, because people automatically check shelters first, and there are still a large percentage of dog owners who aren’t on Facebook and don’t know to look at Craigslist. We have to be careful because many people believe shelters are bad, and would rather not take a dog there. As it happens, we have a good relationship with King County and we know they have some good people. If we push too hard we might break the lines of communication, so all we can do is urge the finder to do what we know is right. At this writing she still has the dog, and we’re trying to let people know.

On February 28 a woman left her four month old puppy in her car at lunch and he was stolen. She notified everyone she could, including us, and we put his flyer on our Facebook rescue page. She also posted it herself in many places, and someone contacted her (and us) with the name of the person who allegedly took him. She contacted the police department with the information; according to her they sent an animal control officer who got no answer and left. She decided to take shifts with her friends watching the apartment until the people were there, and somehow (we don’t have details) got them to open the door, at which time the dog ran out. They chased him down and caught him and he is back home safely again. The people at that address have been convicted of theft before, but this time nothing happened to them. We understand the dog is a 50/50 mix of Samoyed and Sibe, bought from “a breeder in Michigan.” The bottom line is that a stolen dog may not be high priority enough to get help from the police department. She took a huge chance, and fortunately this time things ended up okay.

Max is still here. We are trying to find a home where he will be the only dog, and it should be with experienced Samoyed people. He is uncommonly strong-willed and turns off his hearing when he doesn’t want to do something. Because he doesn’t want to be with other males we have to separate him from Rowdy, who doesn’t especially care for Max either. He wants to play with the girls but he doesn’t hold back; Sophie especially doesn’t understand how to respond. She cowers and he knocks her down, so we have to keep a close eye on him when they are in the yard together. His former owner surrendered him because he “didn’t get along with her older female Sammy.” After this much time here we think it’s likely he wanted to play and she didn’t. Whatever the cause, Max needs to be an only dog, or at the least be in a home with one female and a very experienced alpha human. None of the applications we have on file are quite right, so he is stuck with us for now.

There are no real changes with Tessa and Sophie. Recently Kathy has been able to do a little grooming on Tessa, which is positive. Sophie has tolerated that for several months already. The biggest change has been with Fena, who is with Kathi Bacon. Fena seems to enjoy her dog walker, a man, and that’s a very big deal.

In February we received an email from a rescuer in Virginia. A friend of hers was in Seattle picking up a dog she bred because the owner couldn’t keep him. She had a new crate shipped for his trip back east, but the airline refused it because his ears touched the top. She planned to buy a larger crate locally and wanted to donate the first one to rescue. We got in touch with her, and Tom Sitterley offered to help. He met her and suggested where to get a larger replacement, and then helped at the airport. Tom and Erin are storing the crate, which means we now have an extra in Seattle for the next dog who needs to be transported to us. All this, from the first email to her flight back, happened in just a few hours, so we’re grateful for Tom’s quick assistance.

Last month Jiaozi was about to move in, and this month we have Max. We’re talking about the same dog, because we decided since he didn’t know his name we’d give him one that can be pronounced. After he arrived we were able to trace him back to his breeder, and he comes from someone we know and respect. She sold him as a pup to a Chinese couple who sent reports that he was doing well, but it appears they gave him to their daughter and didn’t mention it. The daughter moved and gave him to her boyfriend, whose green card expired. He moved to China, but before he left he posted the dog online and sold him to a woman in Seattle last May. In June she contacted us because he didn’t get along with her older Samoyed, but each email took her longer to answer. Finally we saw her post on a Facebook group saying she was sadly rehoming him and we wrote to her again. It took another few weeks but she finally agreed to release her dog to us. Kathy met her half way and he came to live here.

Max, who still doesn’t seem to recognize his name, has been with us longer than usual. Since he didn’t get along with the older Sammy girl, we’ve been looking for a home where he would be the only dog in the house. He and our boy Rowdy let us know the second night that they don’t like to be in the same room, so we have closed all our gates, which we have at almost every doorway. Fortunately, in the yard they ignore each other. Since he seems to have a pronounced prey drive we also don’t want to risk him being with cats or other small animals. He seems to have never had any training, so the home must understand how strong-willed and downright stubborn these dogs are. Homes where the people have had a Samoyed, where there are no pets now living, and who want a male, are few and far between. Hans and Holley did a home visit in Lynnwood and reported it would be great, but two days later the people wrote to say they are getting a Border Collie this Spring and weren’t ready for a Samoyed. We went through our entire waiting list and we don’t have anyone quite right for Max. Our plan is to put him on either our Facebook rescue page or my personal page. It’s a question of which will find the most suitable home and we’re still deciding. For now, we continue living with dogs that have to be separated.

Sophie and Tessa are still here, still fearful of the world in general and men in particular. Fena is with Kathi Bacon and doing much better than the dogs we have. We also have a foster boy in a home in Kalama, Nanuk (now called Nikki), who is a senior and will be there permanently. By establishing him as a foster dog, we agreed to be responsible for any extraordinary costs. The dog they had before Nanuk had some severe medical issues that cost well

into five figures. Nanuk couldn’t be in a more perfect home. He gets long walks daily, has his own place in their RV, and loves his humans. Cloud is still with Darlene as we try to find the right home for him, too. Her willingness to foster a dog when she has new puppies is a really big deal to us and we are grateful to her for keeping him.

Last month we had just heard about a seizure of dogs in Montana and that a couple of them might be Samoyeds. Tom Hannon found someone who was able to go to the shelter, and she confirmed that their report of Huskies was correct.

As we say so often, our volunteers are what makes Samoyed Rescue possible, and we love them all. Thank you!

In recent years we haven’t seen the number of dogs we did in the “old days,” but the beginning of this year feels like we have gone back in time. First was Starla, the young female we picked up from a home where they didn’t have the time she needed; we are more convinced than ever that Starla’s family genuinely had her best interests in mind. Starla has a new home now and couldn’t have landed anywhere better. She now lives with Bruce and Bess. Starla (now Star) has decided she loves to run, including in the snow, and she gets daily walks and weekends full of skijoring. They are carefully watching her weight and she is losing her extra pounds while getting in shape. It must feel like being at fun camp. We traced the breeder and placed him with her knowledge.

Since June we’ve had our eyes on Jaiozi, a young male in the Seattle area. The owner asked if we could help, and we were able to work out a meeting with a previous adopter. Jaiozi moved to eastern Washington – for a day. He turned out to be too much for our adopter because he had too much energy and pulled on the leash, which she couldn’t handle. A month or two later we saw the dog on Facebook, and we contacted the owner again. Communication has been slow, but if things work out the way we expect, he should be in foster in about a week from the writing of this report. Our fingers are crossed. He is being re-homed because he doesn’t get along with the other resident Samoyed.

We are grateful to Darlene for fostering Cloud, a boy we placed two years ago in Boise. His family had an opportunity to buy a business in Hawaii but couldn’t find a place to rent that would take Cloud. Darlene stepped in and took him while they kept looking, but word came that they just can’t find anything they can afford. She checked her own list without success, so now we’re going through names on our waiting list. There are at least two that match his needs, and we’ll decide which to call.

Each month we have small successes with Sophie or Tessa. Having kibble in the office, and offering Sophie a piece from my hand if she asks for it, has been helpful. Gradually I have put the kibble farther back on my hand, and now when she takes it I can touch her under the neck. She retreats, but comes back for another, while Tessa stands in the hall and catches hers. At night when the two go in their crates I’m able to feed both from my hand, and now when I drop some on the crate pad I can pet them while they eat it. First it was Sophie, and in the last few days Tessa doesn’t jump back when touched. A lot of this is desensitization, and although it’s glacially slow it’s beginning to work. Kathy is able to approach both of them, and depending on surroundings can often scratch both Sophie (she seems to like it) and Tessa (who tolerates it). The end of this month will mark two years since they got here. It looks more and more like they will live out their lives with us.

Fena, who is living with Kathi, is becoming more a normal dog every day. All three dogs came to us afraid of men, but Kathi has a dog-walker her dogs all love. Fena jumps in his car, goes to the dog park, and comes when he calls her. It has been a tremendous benefit that Kathi has a well-adjusted Samoyed girl who shows Fena that life is good there and everyone can be trusted. That doesn’t mean strangers are okay, but she is working on that too.

There was a seizure very recently in western Montana, where news reports say 25-30 “adult huskies” were taken from a bad situation where they were neglected and “in the wild” and saved just in time. After watching their video, we don’t see wild dogs, but we DO see at least two that look like Samoyeds. We’re trying hard to find someone we can trust to visit and tell us whether they are Sammies, but Hamilton, MT is 200 miles from anyone we could ask. If anyone has any ideas we would welcome your thoughts.

Brand new this month is Starla, a three year old Samoyed girl from the Tacoma area. We first saw her listed on a Facebook group, and replied that we exist to help find Samoyeds a new home. The woman had received Starla as a gift for her daughter as a puppy, but as she got older she was just too much for a single mom to handle. We get that a lot in rescue, and usually the people are really trying eliminate all the work. We are confident this one was different. The woman and her daughter desperately wanted to keep Starla and decided to find a new home for her benefit. The owner worked full time and her daughter is in school, so Starla was alone much of the time. Kathy went to pick her up, and reported the woman was in tears the whole time she was there.

Starla came with enough toys, food, and bedding to fill most of the car. They apparently compensated by giving her treats, and as a result she is a full figured girl at 67 pounds (we think 50 would be about right). Starla has an appointment with our vet for a check-up and we expect she will get a clean bill of health; she is current on all vaccinations. They are transferring her records from the woman’s vet, something we routinely do. When Starla is adopted we will call the new vet and give them our vet’s name and number so the records will follow her. We have already contacted someone we know would give her a terrific home. More photos of Starla are at https://nwsams.smugmug.com/Rescue/Starla/.

Last month we had Bear, who now lives in Lake Oswego with an ideal couple who have had Samoyeds in their lives for a long time. The husband calls the downstairs room his “man cave,” but as Melissa pointed out, man caves don’t have doggie doors and this one does. Outside the door is a large doggie area which opens to an even bigger yard. It was too bad we didn’t need another dog because Bear was wonderful. Combine that with a couple so nice that, after she did the home visit, Melissa asked them to adopt her along with the dog. It’s a memorable match. Incidentally, we called their vet to transfer records from the former owner; we don’t disclose names to either the former or new owners, but we give complete info to the vet so they can get the records. Having a health history from puppyhood through their entire life is a benefit to every dog.

This sounds like a broken record, but Sophie and Tessa continue to make progress. Kathy is now able to pet Sophie whenever she is near, and can approach Tessa without her running away. A couple weeks ago she was able to sit and pet Tessa’s head. I now keep a container of kibble on my desk and offer some in my hand when they come into the office. The last few weeks I have been trying to put the kibble on my palm so my fingers can scratch Sophie as she takes it. She has gone from backing up quickly to tolerating the touch. I still have to toss the kibble to Tessa, who won’t come that close, but she is a phenomenal catcher. At night I feed both of them from my hand after they go into their crates, and drop some in front of them. While they eat, I pet them. Slight improvements from week to week are all I’m getting, but it’s progress.

Darlene continues to foster Cloud, the dog we placed in Boise a couple years ago, while his owners try to find a rental in Hawaii that will take him. Many thanks go to Darlene for doing this.

At the end of the year we think back and remember all the generous donors who help us run rescue. Some send small amounts every month, and some send larger donations annually. Others send funds for special occasions, or in memory of either dogs or people. We appreciate every single one of them because they are the reason we can do rescue and charge a lot less for dogs than they cost us. There is a different way of donating that you may not think of, and that’s donation of your time. We have a cadre of friends and volunteers who check dogs in shelters, find them online, and do those things that we aren’t able to do because of distance. Thank you to all of you for your generous support. If you want to see what your help has allowed us to do, look at https://nwsams.com/rescues/

Remember this time of year that you can be a great help if you go to Amazon through the link on our website. They send a small percentage to us from everything you buy, and it adds up. The link is at https://nwsams.com/amazon/ (click the Amazon logo).

Ron

New this month is Bear, a foster we picked up at the Everett shelter. He was surrendered on his 7th birthday by a family who became homeless. The shelter called us right away, and Erin and Tom were there the next morning to pick him up and whisk him to us. Bear is a big friendly boy who passed the puppy stage long ago and is a real lover who just wants to be with people. He is quite underweight, something we don’t see often. So far he is getting along with all the other dogs, for the most part, but Rowdy is beginning to object to another male and we’ll have to deal with it. In the meantime we’re working on finding him a new forever home.

During the recent nice weather, Tessa and Sophie wanted to sleep in the yard, and except for meal times they preferred not to come in. No amount of persuasion got them through the door, so for the first time we had to leave a dog in the yard while we were gone. It’s not a big deal except for years of habit; we would rather dogs were inside and secure before we leave. Now that the rains have returned they are willing to come in the door and stay in most of the time. I have been giving Sophie kibble from my hand each time she enters the office, which is helping her to understand it’s OK to get close to me. Kathy is able to approach both of them and is starting to put hands on Sophie. With Tessa it’s only when she is cornered that she can be touched. We’ll keep working with them.

Two years ago Darlene fostered a dog named Cloud until a family from Boise could meet and adopt him. Recently they decided to move to Hawaii, and were not able to immediately find a place to rent that would take a large dog. We saw the photos of Cloud with their kids, and it was heartbreaking to think they might have to give him up. Darlene stepped in again and will foster him while they move and look for the right accommodations. We were happy to find out the laws on quarantine have changed, and with some tests here they will be able to fly back and take him to his new home on the islands. We’re extremely grateful to Darlene for helping keep this family together.

This month we had a visit from Terry, a friend who has twice adopted dogs from us. She and her late husband Dennis were loving parents to multiple dogs over the years. While she was here we talked about the possibility of giving Sophie a home after her senior girl Tasha passes on. We hope that will be a long time from now, and we know it will be quite a while before Sophie learns to trust. Just like Fena, who is now with Kathi, it will help her confidence to learn she can cope with being a single dog. Equally important, if we can split Sophie and Tessa it will help both of them because their fear feeds off each other. Both are coming along slowly, and although it seems we say that monthly, it is true every time. I’m keeping kibble in the office now and both the Iowa girls frequently come and ask for a bite. Tessa hangs back in the hallway, while Sophie comes in and takes it from my hand. We’ve experienced some regression with Tessa, who would rather stay outdoors in good weather, who won’t come back in. With time and patience she always ends up in the kitchen eventually but it takes a while. Handling them is difficult so we can’t clean their feet, and the mud on our kitchen floor is testament to that.

The big news of the month is that Annie has been adopted. We contacted a previous adopter in British Columbia who has had dogs from both rescue and a breeder; she lost her Samoyed girl a few months back. After several tries, put off because of travel and a cold, she was finally able to come and meet Annie. When she got here she sat down Annie began showing interest in her; we have said many times the dog chooses the human, and it happened again. Annie rode back north with no problems at all, and is settling into her new home. This was an ideal match. We’re still getting used to her absence because she spent ten months with us. It seems much quieter, and on the positive side we have been able to fill in some holes in the yard and plant a little grass. So far Annie hasn’t begun digging in her new yard, possibly because she has more attention there.

Nanuk is still officially on the books as a rescue dog in a foster home. He needed some minor dental work, which was done at our vet’s office locally, so we had a chance for a short visit with him and his people. He is a strikingly handsome boy who is thriving in his home. We consider this boy one of our biggest successes. He came into rescue matted and filthy and his life changed forever when he went to live with John and Theresa. He gets daily walks with John (you might say John gets daily walks with Nanuk), and he goes everywhere with them. This is a perfect definition of a lucky dog.

We keep responding to dogs we hear about, like the one in Abbotsford BC recently. Most of the time we check in with either the shelter or the party listing the dog, and sometimes we hear back. Usually we don’t, but we keep trying.

Many of our friends go to Amazon using the link on our website, and we appreciate that a lot. Well, bad news. Amazon decided a week ago that we were not in compliance with their rules because “friends, relatives, or business associates are using our link.” The email we got was quite rude, and allowed for no appeal. We tried to explain that we don’t know who uses the link because they won’t share names, but we got a second copy of the email. Amazon pays two months in arrears, and when they closed the account they kept two months of contributions.

What we have been using is the “Amazon Associates” program, designed to drive business to them by incentivizing “partners” to get people to use special links. It gave us from 1% to 5% of each purchase, which has been a substantial part of our income. They have another program called “Amazon Smile” that is built especially for charities, which gives 0.5% on everything. That’s all we have now, and the link on our webpage has been adjusted. It’s all we can do. If you previously bookmarked the link, please DO NOT use it any more. Go to Amazon through our website (www.nwsams.com/Amazon) and bookmark the new link. It we can get just a few dozen people shopping with that link our dogs will benefit greatly. Thank you.

Did you know grapes can be toxic to dogs? If they have enough (and that may only be a few) their kidneys can shut down. Early on September 5 Annie counter-surfed and pulled down a large bag of grapes while we were out of the room. Sophie, Tessa, Lily, and Rowdy all helped clean them off the floor. We know the danger and we had an unopened bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the cupboard. The first two, Rowdy and Tessa, gave the grapes back after a large dose of peroxide. Annie didn’t so we knew it would be an emergency trip to the vet. We took her, along with Sophie and Lily, to an expensive morning of treatment. First they gave the three dogs Apomorphine (to induce vomiting), then something to calm their stomachs. The drug didn’t initially work on Sophie, so they did a quick x-ray and found her stomach was packed with grapes and gave her peroxide. That worked, and they said it was an impressive quantity. All three received a liter of fluids, and all had to drink a bottle of activated charcoal. We’re fortunate we have a great relationship with our vets, and were able to contact someone outside normal hours who could arrange to give us immediate help. During the morning we talked to three vets and a half dozen vet techs, and our dogs got terrific care. Two days later we took the same three dogs back for tests and their kidney functions were all normal.

During the grape scare, both Sophie and Tessa were involved. Tessa is still very fearful, and we were lucky the hydrogen peroxide worked on her and we didn’t have to take her to town. Sophie went with us, double-leashed and crated, and handled things surprisingly well. Both the Iowa girls are improving steadily, especially Sophie, who has lately been coming into the office and bumping my arm, hoping I am carrying kibble in my pocket. When I pass out treats, whether it be kibble, cookies, or green beans, she always takes them from my hand. Tessa is coming closer, and every few days will take something before scampering back out of reach.

Of the three original girls, Fena is the closest to recovery because she is with Kathi in a home with normal, well-adjusted dogs. Her dog-walker, Zak, is doing a remarkable job of getting Fena used to men. All three are much more afraid of men, but Zak is now able to take Sophie to the dog park where she gets along well with the others.

Annie has been here since November and is ready for her new home. As mentioned last month, we have arranged for a previous adopter in British Columbia to come meet her, but that is slightly delayed because of a minor health problem. Annie is our resident digger, counter-surfer, and barker, but our adopter is ready and experienced. Sometimes it’s hard to see a dog leave, and that’s definitely the case with Annie. Her faults are because of her age, and we know she is close to the point of settling down and will be an amazing companion.

We will soon get to see Nanuk again. He’s being fostered in Kalama by John and Theresa, and they will be bringing him to our vet for a dental. On their way back they plan to stop and visit, which we know we will enjoy. He is a wonderful dog; if he got along with our boy I’m confident he would still be living with us. As it is, he landed in the perfect home.

Last month we were working with a man in Sandpoint, Idaho, who had a six year old male and twelve year old female he asked us to re-home. Recently he wrote to say the old girl was sick, and he thought he better keep her for now. When we asked what was wrong he couldn’t say because he couldn’t afford to pay for the tests the vet wanted to do. From the symptoms, we were quite concerned, so our board voted unanimously to pay his vet for the tests. Unfortunately, the ultrasound showed a large mass and he elected to euthanize her. We’re sorry that was the outcome, but rescue takes a lot of different forms. Sometimes just doing the best thing for a dog makes it worthwhile. We’re giving him a while to decide whether he really wants us to place the six year old.