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Around the first of this month we were contacted by a woman in Lewis County who had a Sammy she wanted to surrender. He was purchased from an unknown breeder, possibly in the Olympia area, by a family member who couldn’t keep him. She kept him in a kennel in the back yard because she knew he would run away if loose. For a one year old, it was a small area to live, and she knew it would be better for him to have room to run.

His name is Snowball, which she changed from Napoleon when she took him. He doesn’t respond to either, so his new family will get to choose something they like. We weren’t really sure when he first got here whether he is a Samoyed or an American Eskimo Dog, based on his size of 40 pounds and height of 20 inches. We have experienced a couple Eskies, and based on his personality we now believe he is a very small Samoyed. Snowball has every friendly and outgoing trait of a Samoyed, plus all the qualities of a very young dog. Chewing is his favorite sport and he is still learning what is appropriate. He defers to our four other dogs, male and female, so he will fit his new family. They have two Sammies already and have been on our list for a very long time. He needs the other dogs to keep him exercised and teach him what to do.

In Memory of Shadow

Back in September 2002, we had just taken over the reins of rescue when we heard of a Samoyed at the Tacoma Humane Society. We found a big, handsome boy who was about a year old, possibly a little younger. They picked him up somewhere in Lakewood where he was running loose in traffic. He was totally, absolutely blind from a congenital problem. One eye was microphthalmic and both eyes had detached retinas. How he survived is hard to imagine, but he always had a talent for sensing things in his path. A home in Montana wanted him, and we made arrangements to meet them halfway. The night before he was going to hit the road, plans fell through when the guy’s wife called and said it was his idea, not hers. We both looked at each other and said “good.” And Shadow stayed with us.

 
He had been here about two years when he misunderstood Charlie’s disciplining another dog (Charlie was the one who taught new dogs what was OK here). Shadow jumped on, and from that day the two boys had to be separated. We lived with gates for ten years, until Charlie passed away in October, 2014, and we bear scars from the times the gates weren’t enough. In the last year Shadow’s hearing went bad, so his life was a quiet, dark place. His nose still worked and he always knew when there was food around. He enjoyed being petted and brushed, and especially like an occasional doze on a lap.

March 17 Shadow finally told us it was time to let him go. He was about 14 1/2 years old. He was the last of our “original” dogs, and now the longest a dog has been with us is only four years. One of the great parts of rescue is being in a position to take the old dogs. The flip side is that we rarely have a dog for a long time, and never for his whole life.

Twice this month we were approached about taking or placing a dog. The first was a family in the Bremerton area who has a seven month old dog they don’t have time for. It’s a common story, especially at that age, and we hear it from people who bought from a backyard breeder and weren’t told how much work a Samoyed puppy is. This time it was a true backyard dog from someone who “didn’t mean to have a litter” and ended up with puppies. They asked if we could find an adopter close to them so they could be involved with their dog later. We explained to them that the adoption of a dog is similar to that of a human, and it’s unlikely anybody would be willing to do that. They plan a family meeting later this month to decide what to do, and we hope they will find a way to keep him. It’s not the dog’s fault he was purchased by someone who didn’t understand he would take some effort.

The other dog was listed as a Samoyed mix on Craigslist and we contacted the owner. He has been visiting the neighbor’s chickens and it always ends badly. When they sent pictures we couldn’t see any Sammy in the dog, but one shot looked like a pit mix. We offered to help as much as we could (without taking the dog), but fortunately they decided they will keep him and work with the problem. Hopefully they will work on fixing the fence, too.

As has been the case recently we haven’t had any Samoyeds needing homes, but we continue to get applications. Currently we have about three dozen families on the waiting list, many of them previous adopters or people with lots of Sammy experience. As good as this is for the dogs, it’s frustrating for all of us. We always say we’d love to be put out of business, but we didn’t expect it would happen this fast.

The bite Melissa received while checking on a dog last month is healing fine. We talked over the situation and decided we had no choice about reporting the dog to animal control, so she filed a report. The animal control officer agreed, but since this is a first offense the dog will be allowed to remain in her home. We feel this is an unpredictable dog, and she already has attacked several other people. She must now wear a muzzle if not in her back yard, and since the muzzle is what set her off last month, the owner can’t to put it on her. That means a life relegated to being alone in the yard. We feel bad for the dog, but it had to be reported.

A few days ago we received a picture of Misty, the young girl we had late last year. She lives with a family many of us know, people who have had Sammies their whole lives. She ended up in the perfect home. Here’s a picture of Misty greeting her family with a morning woo.

The tentative date for our annual rescue picnic this year is July 9.

In the past month we heard about three dogs. One was in McKenna, one in Spokane, and one in Billings. All of them were posted on Craigslist, all were contacted by rescue, and none of them acknowledged our mail. It’s the way of the internet and often discouraging. Finally, a day before this report was written, we made contact with an all-breed rescue that has a Samoyed mix (perhaps a purebred, but we don’t know yet). Melissa is going to visit and assess the dog, and then we will have the info we need.

Update February 14: During our discussions with the rescue we were told Bella bit her foster mom, and we will not take a biter into rescue. Depending on the assessment, sometimes we will refer people, so Melissa arranged to meet the dog in Portland. We were told she was a Samoyed or Sammy mix named Bella. Melissa discovered a huge dog, probably a good hundred pounds. What Melissa found was definitely a mix, and whether she has any Samoyed is beside the point, because after warming up to Melissa for a half hour, Bella attacked her. It wasn’t just a bite, but a full-on attack. One second Bella was nuzzling her hand, and the next she had hold of her arm. Melissa is experienced and was able to get away, but not without some bite wounds. We know now that “that’s what Bella did before” with the foster mom and two other people. Our advice to the rescue group is that this dog has to be euthanized. Melissa will recover from painful but relatively minor wounds; this is a first we would rather not have.

One of our previous adopters asked if we can help them bring a dog north from Eureka, California. Although she isn’t a Sammy, we will always do what we can, so we contacted San Francisco rescue and they told us it was a safe, no-kill shelter. The adopter will make contact, and we hope we can do more.

We are sorry we had a request to help an adopter diagnosed with cancer. There is only one rule in a case like this; we will do what they ask (and keep our fingers crossed). This is an appropriate time to ask you an important question. Are you prepared? For the sake of your dogs, make plans now. Write out your directions and keep them clipped to your will (or have your attorney draw it up properly). If you want rescue to help, please tell us so we can ask the right questions now while they can be answered. Who do you want to take your dogs, and where do they go? We always worry that our dogs will leave us too soon, but the opposite can happen. Take a moment to think about it, or better yet put your wishes on paper.

We in Northwest Samoyed Rescue are also trying to plan ahead. Although we’re helping fewer dogs than we used to, we will probably never hit the zero mark. That means we’ll always need someone willing to help Samoyeds who find themselves in a bad situation. We won’t be around forever, and we need people willing to begin working with us for that eventual transition. Right now it’s going well — but the IRS rules say if we ever stop that we have to give away our funds to other 501c3 non-profits. If that happens nobody will be helping our Sammies in the northwest. If you have considered helping run the group, now is the time to do it while we are all around to make it happen easily. Please give it some thought.

Our month began when we heard of a blind Samoyed lost in King County, close to the Cedar River. We shared the details on our list and our Facebook page and it was forwarded many times. The owners did everything right, and a day later she was found safe and sound. During that time we exchanged a number of emails with the director of the Missing Pets Network and got some good ideas. The most important thing when a dog is missing is to tell everybody you know. If you make us part of the process we can help; our adopters are all over the northwest.

Since the last report we heard of four dogs, in Kalispell, Seattle, Moses Lake, and Palmer, Alaska. All were listed as either Samoyed or Sam mix, but none of them were either. We chase a lot of listings before we find one that’s really a Sammy. We appreciate the help Holley gives us as she checks all the Craigslist posts twice a day.

December is a month when people think about taxes, and we are grateful to have received quite a few donations this year. Our goal is to make Northwest Samoyed Rescue a self-supporting charity, well-funded enough we never have to worry about getting a dog with a major problem. We’re happy to say we are getting closer every year, and it is with the help of our rescue friends. Because we applied for and received our 501(c)3 status, your donations to rescue are tax-deductible. We thank you for your support over the years.

We were also contacted by two Sam-families doing estate planning. Both wanted to know if they could note in their wills that their dogs would go to Northwest Samoyed Rescue. On average this happens two or three times a year, and we always say yes. Planning ahead means your dogs are provided for and it’s not a worry for you or your family. In one case the people want us to be called, but they gave us a list of who we should call in return, and which family members would be good for the dogs. It’s always your choice what happens to your dogs.

Last Spring we took in an old girl named Princess. She had been put in the yard as a puppy and left there until they dropped her at the shelter eleven years later. She is a fearful dog, and because she bonded with Ron we decided to leave her where she is. We had some questions whether she was purebred because of her big round eyes, as well as the fearful temperament. A few weeks ago we bought a DNA test to satisfy our curiosity, and after waiting a couple weeks we have a definitive answer: Princess is undoubtedly a purebred Samoyed. If you are curious how the tests work, her test results are online at http://www.nwsams.com/princess-dna.pdf.

Because so many people who apply to rescue want puppies, something we don’t often have, many of them turn to breeders. We are lucky to have many great ones in the northwest; we also have a puppy mill and quite a few backyard breeders. After answering the same questions over and over, we finally put an article online for people to read. Could you spare a few minutes? Please review what we posted and let us know if there is anything you disagree with, or would add, or if you think we should change our advice. www.nwsams.com/breeders.htm We all work together for the dogs, so please write ron@nwsams.com with your suggestions. Thanks!

Thanks to Holley, we almost never go more than twelve hours without hearing about new dogs listed on Craigslist. She checks faithfully twice a day, every day of the year. Her dedication is legendary, and the last day of November found her on vacation, running scripts from her computer in Maui. She let us know about a Salem dog that was just listed; we called the phone number and left a message, then followed up with email, but heard nothing. As happens on many of these, the listing was taken down by the owner a few hours later and we will probably never know what happened.

Another dog popped up in the Kalispell shelter, listed as a Sammy mix but probably a Husky. Sandy went to check and let us know it was one we shouldn’t take. Sometimes a negative answer is as valuable as a positive answer, and having volunteers like Sandy is an important part of our rescue family.

A few days ago we had a question about temporary fostering for two dogs, and we will follow up as we find out the exact circumstances. At this point it doesn’t sound like an emergency, but these things have a habit of changing abruptly.

During the Christmas season we benefit from the purchases made on Amazon by our friends. If you go to www.nwsams.com/amazon and click the logo, Northwest Samoyed Rescue will receive a little bit of purchases made on Amazon. It costs you nothing and rescue benefits quite a bit. Imagine how much the dogs would be helped if all your Amazon purchases were done that way. We also have a reminder on the website for those who shop at Fred Meyer because they have a similar program. If you want the exact instructions write to rescue@nwsams.com and you’ll get everything you need.

It’s also the time when many of you make end-of-year donations. We are a 501(c)3 federal non-profit and your donations to Northwest Samoyed Rescue are tax deductible. If your check isn’t enough documentation for your tax account, we’re happy to send a statement showing what a generous and cool person you are.

Whether it’s Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or Happy Holidays, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season and 2016 is filled with clouds of Sammy hair.

Every so often something happens in rescue that we haven’t seen before. For example, this month we took in the sister of a dog we had in rescue a year and a half ago. Her name is Missy and she came from the area around Pendleton. Her first owner gave her away to her sister in Idaho, and her sister is moving. Fortunately for Missy and rescue, Hollie Eller heard about her and stepped in to help.

Hollie picked her up and fostered her through her spay surgery, and as a bonus she did a beautiful job of grooming Missy (it’s rare we get a dog that has been professionally groomed and is ready for adoption). We put out the word that Missy needed transportation to the west side, and within a day it was all arranged. A thousand thanks to Tom and Barb, who made a 220 mile round trip to Lewiston to meet Hollie and Missy. Most of the drive was made after dark, and it was in the face of a WSU game night and thousands of oncoming headlights. The next morning a new friend named Deb met them, Missy was handed off, and Kathy met her in Federal Way late that afternoon. Transports are usually difficult to arrange, but this went as smoothly as could be.

Once we got Missy here we could compare her to Lily, the girl we found in the Walla Walla shelter in April last year, only 40 miles from the first home Missy had. Lily is the one who was covered with ticks, living with puppies along the river, and when we first saw a picture of Missy we thought they might be related. Once they were together it was obvious they are litter sisters, dead ringers for each other. They are both unusually small, badly bred (sorry, girls) but as sweet as dogs can be. Hollie told us Missy was wonderful with her grandkids, and Lily is good with our grandkids.

Many of you already know Russ and Joan in Portland, who lost their Sammy earlier this year. That’s hard on people who have had Samoyeds for over 35 years, and they were on our waiting list hoping for a female the age of Missy, which made this adoption a no-brainer. We only fostered Missy for two nights before they came to meet her, and she happily left with them for her new home.

We’re sorry to say that Iona, the senior Sammy girl taken in by a rescuer in eastern Washington, has a spindle cell tumor in her mouth and the prognosis isn’t good. She is 16 years old and her foster mom is taking her to WSU for a second opinion. They aren’t going to do anything aggressive, and will look for whatever will make her most comfortable. We are glad Iona has had the opportunity to spend time with Sandy, her foster mom, to learn what a loving dog home is all about. If there is something that can be done we will help Sandy publicize her fundraising.

Many thanks go to those great friends who helped us this month getting Missy here from Idaho. A special mention goes to Hollie, who picked her up and fostered her through surgery. It’s humbling to have friends like Hollie, Tom, and Barb.

Back in May we had a call from the Everett shelter and picked up an eleven year old girl by the name of Princess. She had lived in the yard all her life and was actually a little confused being in the house. It took us a little time to realize the reason she wasn’t eating was because she didn’t understand food being in a metal dish. When someone suggested her owners may have tossed food out the door for her we began feeding on the floor and she ate with enthusiasm. These months later she still doesn’t like a dish, so we have a special towel we put on a pillow, and her food goes on it.

Princess was initially afraid of everything. She was suddenly mixed in with other dogs and humans who wanted to be social, very different than her previous life. Gradually she came around nicely, albeit slowly, and we mark the special occasions like sneaking up beside one of us and waiting for petting. Her tail is up most of the time now, and when we call her in from the yard she runs happily toward the house. We expect she will stay with us because she isn’t a good candidate for adoption. We will enjoy her as long as she stays. The is nothing as special as a senior Sammy.

It has been a slow month in rescue. Another few applications come in each month, and we always have to say our waiting list is long and getting longer, while no dogs have needed our help. Recently we modified our application webpage to ask people not to apply unless they want an older dog, but still we have people who want young dogs or puppies. We try to help people who ask us to find a breeder’s dog, so if you know of an adult dog that is available, please let us know.

Do you remember Jack, who came into rescue a couple years ago? He had hairless patches all over his body and he was over 110 pounds. After finding him a home that didn’t work out, he came back and we decided he should stay. Over the months he has lost weight until he is now 60 pounds. We’ve had him on thyroid medicine and his coat has grown back except for his tail. We modified the meds slightly and will be taking him back to the vet in a month for more tests. Jack is one of the most mellow, well behaved, and loving dogs we have had.

Ron, Kathy, Melissa, Terry, and Joy make up the board for Northwest Samoyed Rescue. All of us are past retirement age now, and we can’t run rescue forever. If someone is willing to help, and perhaps someday take over, now is the time to step forward. We can all work with our replacements to make a smooth transition as long as we are still here. We can still do most of the work while you get experience. Otherwise, someday it’s going to be a difficult transition — or maybe Samoyed Rescue will disappear. There will always be dogs who need us and we don’t want that to happen.

Northwest Samoyed Rescue is looking for someone with experience listing items on eBay. If you know how to list things and can help us, please let us know. Rescue has a stack of donated items and none of us has time to spend on eBay sales. If you can help we will be very glad to hear from you.

Every so often a placement doesn’t work and it’s nobody’s fault. Holly is the young dog we placed in a wonderful home a month ago. Her name was Bebe and she came from north Seattle. She moved in with two other Sammies, and for a while everything went perfectly. Then Holly (her new name) and another dog decided they didn’t like each other. In our experience, once that happens there is no chance they will get along well again. With great reluctance they decided Holly should have another home, and she moved back in with us.

We had applicants in the Portland area with experience with Samoyeds and they have been waiting a long time. They came to visit Holly and it was a good match so she went home with them. They are committed to making it work and they understand she needs training (within a day they had scheduled it). The only problem is their cat; we thought Holly would be fine based on her experience with chickens but she chased the cat on sight. The people are still working on that and we have our fingers crossed.

We had a request from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help a boy who just had a bone marrow transplant. He loves Samoyeds and they asked if we could help arrange a meeting with a bunch of Sams. By the time you read this the meeting will have taken place, and right now it looks like a large group will have taken part. The organizer keeps saying how impressed she is a the number of people willing to help, and we keep thinking what a great bunch of friends we have. After the gathering we’ll put a link on our website to the pictures.

Early in July, Holley forwarded a Craigslist ad about a young dog in St. Helens named Andy. The owner was looking for a new home, so we called and talked to her.  She was receptive because she has also done rescue, and after a long conversation we agreed to share one of the applicants on our waiting list. Her name is Carol and she lives on the Oregon coast. The owner took Andy to visit her, and the match was excellent. Sometimes we take in dogs to foster, and sometimes we play matchmaker. This was the first time someone decided to keep their old dogs and let the young, adoptable dog be placed. We are still marveling over that.

In February we worked with the owner of a young female Samoyed in Seattle, and the day we were ready to pick her up they changed their mind, something about getting permission from their landlord. A month ago we heard from the same person, who said his roommate (the owner) was moving back to southern China and their vet said it was too hot there for a Samoyed. Once again we arranged to get her, and this time it went smoothly. Bebe was only 13 months old and a ball of fire, as busy as any dog we have had in a dozen years. She was well behaved but almost frantic in her activity.

Bebe moved back to Seattle to join two other Sammies in a home that turned out to be as perfect as any we have had. Her new name is Holly. Her activity level perplexed them too, and after a day they decided to hold her down and check her entire body. What they found was a very thin mat of hair behind one ear they called almost undetectable, tight against the skin. When they touched it she was visibly hurt by the touch. With patience and a great deal of time they clipped out the mat in about fifty little bits, and the more they cut out the more she relaxed. From that day forward her whole personality changed. Even though it shows that we missed something while she was here, it’s one more thing to consider when your dog is acting oddly.

Another strange event is also worth mentioning here. We chipped a young dog a couple years ago; when he went to the vet recently they couldn’t find it. We use AVID chips specifically because it can be read by any reader of any age, so it definitely wasn’t in the dog. Chipping a Samoyed is an art because of all that long hair, and we have developed a procedure over the years. After chipping we comb the area and check again, then let the dog run for a while and comb and check again. More than once we found the chip was stuck in the hair because it hadn’t been placed correctly.

A week ago there was a conversation on a Facebook group and I learned there are many people who have Sammies whose chip is no longer found. Whether there was a fault in a reader, a chip not placed correctly, or a chip that was bad, we strongly suggest you periodically ask your vet to scan for a chip. Over the years we have recovered a number of dogs specifically because of the microchip, so it’s vital you know it works. If it’s a chip we implanted here, and your vet can’t find it, we will send you another one your vet can implant.

Princess is still here and will probably live the rest of her life with us. She is getting better but will always be a fearful dog. Spending eleven years in a back yard without people has affected her social skills. We’ve been making small breakthroughs, and she will come inside now when called. Just a few days ago she was in the far part of the yard when called, and she came running with her tail up and a big smile. Those are the days that make rescue worthwhile.

You may remember Chip and Ozzy, who came as a pair of senior Sammies four years ago. Their owner couldn’t keep them and had no money for vet care. They got what they needed here and Ozzy lived two more years, leaving us in 2013 at 15 years old.  Chip has been a perfect gentleman during his tenure here, always polite and respectful of the other dogs. Back in February we thought he had reached the end, but a trip to the vet showed he wasn’t ready yet. We bought a carrying harness and have been picking him up when he wanted to move since then. A persistent cough earned another trip to the vet a week ago, and this time it was something we couldn’t fix. He was tired and ready this time, so Chip left us on August 6. He was 14½. It’s hard to believe what a large hole can be left by such a quiet dog.

We are finding fewer dogs each year to place and still trying to come up with the reason, but some of it may be the increased use of Craigslist. We’d wish we could say anything that keeps dogs out of rescue is good, but an alarming number of dogs on Craigslist aren’t being re-homed as much as being sold. Twice this past month there were dogs listed, and we wrote for information without getting an answer. Sometimes people simply don’t know what rescue is about, but more often they are really trying to sell their dog.

In mid-June we learned of a Samoyed at the Tacoma Humane Society, found as a stray. When we called to check on him they told us the owner was known and was coming in. Two days later he was still listed so we called again. The owner had come in but agreed he should be neutered before release. That’s what happened, and he is back home again.

One of the most dismaying emails comes when someone decides they want to surrender an old dog. We had one of those from a woman who has been caring for a 14 year old Sammy for two years for a friend, and wanted to place her. This case turned out better than most; we wrote back and explained how unfair it was to the dog, and the woman agreed to keep her. It developed that she was one of those rare people who was trying to do it for the dog’s sake (she is gone a lot). We suggested some options and things worked out OK for the dog.

Princess, who has been here since late May, is getting better. She is a timid dog, afraid of anything new, a result of being a yard dog for her entire 11 years. We are helping her get used to being an inside dog, living with people. In the past few weeks she is beginning to raise her tail when she sees us, and once in a while comes straight to us. It’s sad to think she spent her whole life alone; it’s challenging to work through the problems, but as rewarding as rescue can be to see the slow, steady improvement. She prefers to be alone in a bedroom where it’s quiet, so we leave her there part of the day. An odd result of her past is that she won’t eat out of a bowl. It’s as though her food was always thrown out in the yard, and that’s what she thinks is normal. Lately we’ve given her meals by putting kibble on a pillow, and she is happy with that.

Princess had a limp most of her life. The shelter was so disgusted with the prior owners they gave us all her medical records, which amounted to two meager pages of notes, each visit describing a limp. She has been to our vet several times now trying to diagnose the problem, and it appears to be a tear in the cruciate ligament. At this age we’d rather not use surgery, so our vet described a procedure they have begun doing called “platelet enhanced therapy” or “platelet rich plasma,” abbreviated PET or PRP depending on the vet. They draw blood and concentrate the blood platelets into the serum with a centrifuge, then inject that platelet rich serum directly into the joint. There is good information at http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-blood-injections-that-might-transform-orthopedics.

We had the procedure performed on Princess on July 8. If it works, the improvement should appear in another week or so and we’re crossing our fingers. She has had a sore leg most of her life and deserves to feel better. There was extra serum so they also injected the other knee. PRP isn’t cheap, but it’s a lot less expensive than surgery.

Our 16th annual rescue picnic was July 11. It was the smallest to date, as you might expect with so many fewer dogs being placed. Two and three years ago the count was about 40 people and 40 dogs; last year it was closer to 25, and this year we had 19 people and 18 dogs (and 6 of those were ours). After weeks and weeks of heat, we had rain that morning but it stayed dry during the picnic. As people were departing the rain began again, so we had a lucky day. It was great to sit around talking to a yard full of dogs and people. Here’s the group shot from this year. Two of our attendees could only be here for a short time and aren’t pictured, but I think the picture shows all the rest. We are considering scheduling next year’s picnic on a Sunday for the first time so people who haven’t been able to attend can join us. We would be interested to hear what you think of the idea.

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