December 2012
It has been a fairly slow month in rescue in the northwest, which is fortunate because we have been assisting MidAtlantic Samoyed Rescue with their thirty three dogs. Seventeen came from Delaware and eighteen came from Pennsylvania. Originally twenty nine were taken in the Pennsylvania raid, but the shelter kept some and others were euthanized. All were the result of raids on Linda Wilson, who lives in PA, and her sister who lives in Delaware. Linda Wilson pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and was fined $5,000. We have since learned that she still has a number of Samoyeds who were living elsewhere during the raid, but the judgment did not include a prohibition from owning dogs.
Since the seized dogs have come to MASR, vet checks have revealed that many of them are positive for Lyme Disease and some are heartworm positive. A substantial number of them have foot problems because they had been kept in cages of rabbit wire. None of them had any muscle tone and now they are uniformly getting stronger and healthier.
Last month we said we expected to get a few of the dogs here, but we ended up with just one, a special needs girl we said we would adopt ourselves. She arrived after a flight from DC to SeaTac, met by Kathy and Erin. Her rear legs are deformed as a result of some kind of birth defect, and she moves by hopping. We knew we could provide a safe place because our home is a single level with two steps to the yard; we have a ramp for the old guys so she could use that. We named her Sasha and she fits into the back nicely. As time has passed she has become much stronger, and still refuses to use the ramp. Often she doesn’t even touch the step and jumps from the yard to the deck. She has a spay appointment soon and our vet is going to take x-rays to determine what her exact structure is so we can give it a name. Her personality is as sweet as any Samoyed we have ever had. The original estimate of her age was four, but now we think she is much younger than that. Her pictures are at http://nwsams.smugmug.com/family/sasha/
In the meantime, the Delaware dogs are adopted or in foster homes. This month the Pennsylvania dogs are being spayed or neutered and their medical problems are being addressed. In just the first week of this month bills topped ten thousand dollars with at least four thousand still owed to one of the vet clinics. People all over the country are helping financially and it’s taking all of that just for MASR to survive as a rescue. There is a “donate” button on their website at http://www.samrescue.com. Right now MASR is going through dozens and dozens of applications received recently, contacting people, and getting ready to place the dogs after they recover from surgeries.
Throughout this report we’re calling the group MASR, which is correct, but what we didn’t say is that MASR is primarily one woman. Her name is Danielle, and she is helped with paperwork by Jeanne and with fostering by Ellen, but she does the bulk of the work. Danielle has lived on granola bars she keeps in her car as she travels back and forth to the vet, kennels, and meeting potential adopters and foster homes. Some of the members of PVSC have stepped up to help, primarily Tamara and Jan, but with lots of help from others.
If you would like to read an article on the seizure and rescue efforts, Tamara wrote all the details in an article on the PVSC website at http://www.potomacvalleysams.com/Samoyed_Rescue.html. Pictures and a daily diary Danielle has been writing are on the MASR website.
Last year we were entrusted with one of the dogs seized in Texas. Christie brought him to us and we placed him with a woman on Vancouver Island we had previously adopted to. She is one of our favorite people, and she and Rikki (formerly Graham) are doing wonderfully together. She sent us this picture of herself with Santa and Rikki. Her name is Lorraine, and in October she turned 99 years old. She and Rikki keep each other young.
