February 2017
We saw a Craigslist ad early this month for a five year old female Samoyed someone wanted to re-home. We contact the poster, as we always do, and for a change they wrote back. We had a good conversation, and we learned the situation was the result of a divorce a few years ago. The couple stayed friends and shared their Sammy, but the husband was having tough times and they thought it would be better if their dog had a better home. We thought for a while we would have a dog to fill the need of one of our applicants, but they ultimately decided to find a long-term foster home. They know who we are now, and if they change their minds we’ll be here.
Rescue also had word of a found dog in north Seattle, but we weren’t able to connect. That happens more often than not, because people don’t know who we are. There is currently a lost dog in the Covington area and we offered help and advice. Beyond that, all we can do is hope for the best. The dog was returned to a breeder, who we consider a puppy mill, and she placed her with a woman without warning her to put tags on the dog. She wasn’t microchipped. Three days later someone left a door open. There was one sighting the same day but nothing since. We’ll hope for a good outcome.
These situations happen frequently, and are part of the reason we don’t place as many dogs as we used to. The ability of people to find another family to take their dog is much easier these days, and rescue isn’t part of the equation. At this writing we have almost 40 applications from families who want a Samoyed, and many are previous adopters we know are wonderful homes.
We have two dogs who are technically foster dogs but will never leave. Herbie arrived on July 4 last year on his 13th birthday. We were called by someone who heard a car in the driveway; after it left they found him in the yard. He arrived in terrible condition but has recovered nicely. He loves attention and is as friendly as any old Sam we’ve ever had. He doesn’t demand much (though he barks at dinnertime). His ears have been deep cleaned twice and are in pretty good shape now. His teeth were rotten, but after we determined he could probably make it through anesthesia he had a full dental and his teeth are great now. Of course his breath is much better, too. He has a large tumor on his chest the vet thinks is nothing to worry about.
The other is Princess, who was dropped off at the shelter in May, 2015, on her 11th birthday. We know from the shelter that she was bought as a puppy, left in the back yard, and ultimately taken to the shelter with another dog. She was so timid and scared when she got here we had trouble getting close. With lots of patience she found that humans are nice. Now she follows us around everywhere. She’s still timid, but we let her make her own decisions where she wants to be. The first few months we treated her for bad hips; now she’s running around the yard. The most rewarding thing we see in rescue is our Senior Sammies.
Last month we received a request from an author from Dogster, formerly Dog Fancy Magazine, who wanted pictures for an article on breeds that are frequently mispronounced. We connected her with Paul Martin, who generously shared his photos for a number of Sammy websites. The result is a short but fun article at http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/these-5-breeds-want-you-to-stop-mispronouncing-their-names.