July 2014
We had a month of hearing about dogs, but not getting them. First was a male at the Auburn Valley Humane Society named Harry (someone has a great sense of humor). We sent an email request to the rescue list asking if anyone could go look at him, and Cyndy volunteered; she was headed that way for something else already. Harry wasn’t there when she arrived, but she tracked him to an adoption event at the Auburn farmer’s market. He was definitely a purebred Samoyed but they wanted to place him themselves, and that’s what happened. As usual, we asked them to pass along our offer to help the new owner with any questions they had.
Next came a dog in Buhl, Idaho, in the Twin Falls area. He was so much closer to Samoyed Rescue of Utah that we called her and asked if she could get him. His name is now Chance and he is with Dorinda, waiting for the right home.
Just a few days ago a dog appeared in West Vancouver, listed on Petfinder. Pat is going to take the lead since she is so close, and she will keep us in the loop. We always appreciate how well the different Samoyed Rescue groups and rescuers work so well together.
Around the beginning of May we heard of a dog in Forest Grove, and Melissa went to look at her. Frosty came from a long time backyard breeder who died a couple years ago, and was in a shed in the yard of the breeder’s granddaughter. Melissa picked her up immediately and we took her to the vet the next morning, and to surgery for entropion two days after that. She is healing very well and her eyes are normal now. The hair is growing back on her face, which had to be shaved.
Last month Frosty met her new family. They were about to leave on a business trip, and we agreed Frosty should wait to move until their return. They are back in the country now, recovering from jet lag, and by the time you read this Frosty will have joined her forever family and her name will be Freya.
Frosty/Freya has been a challenge. Her arrival raised our pack to seven dogs, and she has a dominant personality. She immediately decided she should be the alpha bitch, and both Katie and Sasha disagreed. Katie worked it out by ignoring Frosty, but Sasha and Frosty don’t like each other, period. We eventually had to keep them separate, and a citronella collar on Frosty has helped on occasions they need to be in the same area (always chaperoned). Since it sprays forward from the collar, it affects both dogs and makes them much less interested in being close to each other. Even so, we are looking forward to Frosty moving to her new home. Not only has this been an unusual occurrence, it’s the longest we have been forced by circumstance to keep a foster here.
We are actively looking for the right home for Stormy now. Her urinary infection is finally cleared up and it’s time to place her. She is with Melissa, as she has been since February. This is another dog who has been in foster for quite a while. She is also another alpha bitch, but does get along with others.
Lily is awaiting surgery. When she was young she had a break in the growth plate of her right femur; the head of it healed at a slight angle and the kneecap ended up off to one side. She seems to get around fine, but she stands with her right rear leg off the ground so we know there must be some pain. The correction is to cut and rotate the end of the bone and use screws and plates to keep it in place. Our regular vet does orthopedic work, but wants to refer Lily to a specialist. We haven’t scheduled anything yet. Lily is still a young dog and she deserves a pain free life. We had questions about whether Lily is a purebred Samoyed, so we paid personally for a DNA test. It showed Lily is 100% Sammy.
OUR RESCUE PICNIC IS JULY 19. If you haven’t received an invitation, please contact Ron right away at ron@nwsams.com. If you plan to come and haven’t RSVP’d, please let us know asap.