July 2019
We have been working with a woman in the Seattle area for over a month; she has a dog named Jaiozi she got from someone and he doesn’t get along with her male. He sounds like a good fit for Karen, a past adopter of several dogs dating back almost 20 years, so we got them together. In the meantime Jaiozi had surgery for a blockage, so the adoption has been delayed. You never know what’s coming until it surprises you, and we know we’ll never see everything. They are still communicating and we hope for a placement very soon.
A woman last month found a Samoyed in Marymoor Park. She kept him a few days while searching for his owner, and then took him to the Kent Animal Shelter. They held him for the mandatory three days, then neutered him. On the day he would be available the woman who found him was standing at the door when they opened. She did things exactly right; by taking him to the shelter and letting them try to find his home, she established a legal chain of ownership so she could adopt him with a clear title (and conscience). As we always do, we contacted the shelter to let them know we are happy to help new owners with any breed questions they might have. Many thanks to Erin, who went to the shelter twice to keep an eye on him.
In recent years there has been an influx of dogs from Korea and China. They all have the same story, that they were destined for the meat market and were saved by people who sent them to America. We have been asked to help many times, and we have made the decision that the scope of our rescue work is the Pacific Northwest. We can’t save the world, and international rescue is beyond our abilities. There is another factor involved, which is a question we have whether these really are meat market dogs. Knowing how backyard breeders work here, it seems likely that American rescuers are being fed stories about these dogs. Is that the case? We don’t know, and unfortunately there is no way to investigate the possibility. Until we can be positive, we will have to pass on Asian Samoyeds.
A Seattle all-breed group last month listed a shaved Sammy girl named Pearly. We offered to help and they returned our emails, but they had an adoption contract written before two days went by. We didn’t learn the adopter’s name, so we don’t know if it was someone already on our list.
This month we have had some significant progress with Sophie and Tessa, our Iowa girls. They have now been given the entire dog yard, and our cross-fences are all removed. Now they can run big circles and exercise while they play. The girls usually come in nicely through our patio door. They sleep at night in crates in the bedroom. After a year and a half here the progress is very slow but steady. A few days ago we had some young children in the house and Tessa spooked and dug under a deck. She was there until about 2 am, and Kathy had a short night’s sleep. For a few days Sophie and Tessa elected to stay in the bedroom, mostly in their crates, and we’re happy they see the crates as their safe place. On a negative note, last month we had a tragedy when the girls caught one of our cats and killed her. These dogs will never be safe around small animals.
Annie, who got here last November, is quite social now except in new circumstances. She also became fearful around the children, but she didn’t freak out and she behaved herself. It was good for her in the long run. We’re still considering the right home for her.
Because of some health challenges I wasn’t able to get things ready for a Rescue Picnic this year. We are sorry that after more than 20 years, the picnic won’t happen in 2019. We hope 2020 will be better.