December 2017
No doubt about it. This has been the busiest month in rescue in years. It began when we heard a woman who surrendered a Sammy last year had purchased a puppy from a northwest breeder. We felt last year that she was completely unsuited for a dog and didn’t understand the needs of a Samoyed, so we told the breeder our feelings. At least the breeder will be able to keep track of the puppy and be sure it’s doing well. We are not optimistic.
Soon after that, we heard of a dog in the Qualicum Beach area on Vancouver Island. Of course we let Western Canada Samoyed Rescue know, but we also asked one of our adopters in the area to go take a look. He did, but the dog had been adopted already.
We were contacted through Ryann by a woman in the Spokane area telling us about a Samoyed she sees frequently in a dog park, who is declining and visibly unhealthy. She talked to the owner and he can’t afford a vet, and she thought he might be willing to turn the dog over to rescue. After a few days of contacts, the owner had taken the dog to a vet and he looked better. We asked her to be sure he knows about us, and Darlene said she was willing to go talk to him. We may hear back, or we may not.
Next came a message about a single mother with six kids whose home was being foreclosed. She received a puppy from her stepfather, a breeder, “6 or 7 years ago” and she didn’t want him. She said he was too much bother in the house, so he has lived in the back yard. We arranged to pick him up in Renton, halfway between our home and hers in Snohomish County. The paperwork she promised was non-existent, and all we got was a dog and a signed release form. There were no toys, no possessions, and she hasn’t answered our emails since that day. He came to us horribly dirty, with huge mats almost to the skin. His name is Nanuk and he hasn’t been cared for his entire life.
With a half dozen grooming sessions over four days, Nanuk’s mats were clipped and combed and he got a bath. He’s a big boy who loves people and gets along with other dogs. He was neutered and is recovering as we look for his new home. Not knowing his real age was a handicap, since he could be six and might be ten. We knew the name of the breeder but were having trouble locating him until we had a lead that he was founder of a garden club and an expert in Rhododendrons. With that information we wrote to the national Rhododendron society and they forwarded our inquiry to him. Since that time we talked and emailed, and now we know Nanuk is ten years old. The breeder acknowledged it was his stepdaughter’s dog. He was an SCA member at one time, but Nanuk is from his final breeding. He offered to fly Nanuk back to Oklahoma, but we are confident we’ll find a good home for him here.
In June we were asked to take an owner surrender dog from Spokane. We exchanged emails for a few days and then the owner quit writing. We heard nothing more. On December 2 we were contacted by a woman in Spokane asking if we could take a 1.5 year old male named Cloud she was given several months ago. Her life is too full to handle a young dog and she needed our help. She told us she had permission from the first owner and that she had been given the dog without conditions, although she told the first owner anyway. Right after that we received a threatening email saying the first owner was going to call law enforcement if we took “her” dog. That’s when we learned the first owner was the same one who asked us in June to take him.
We wrote back and reminded her of that, and that our only mission is to help Samoyeds. An hour later she said to go ahead and take the dog into rescue. Darlene picked up Cloud and is fostering him for now. We have about 30 applications on file and we think we found the best one for him. An Aussie breeder in the Boise area did a home visit for us, and very soon that family will drive north to meet Cloud. A thousand thanks to Darlene, who did an assessment on Cloud, picked him up, and is fostering until we find a home. She also went through this entire soap opera with us. There is nothing as important to a rescue group than good friends like Darlene.