June 2015
Both the dogs we had last month are in great new homes. Samson, the young male, is now in the Portland area and is the center of attention in the house. Sophie, the five year old alpha female, found her perfect home in Bremerton with a single guy and no other dogs. We were lucky in both cases to find homes perfectly suited for them.
Later in May we took in Princess, a dog from Woodinville. Her family bought her at eight weeks old, and when she reached eleven they took her to the shelter. Even worse, if that’s possible, is that she spent her entire life in the yard and wasn’t allowed in the house. She has been here for several weeks and is barely used to the idea of being inside. She still spends the majority of her time in our laundry room. We have to be careful not to make sudden moves because she is spooked easily. It is obvious she wasn’t treated well in her former life. If we go outside with her and sit on the edge of the deck she comes to us and likes the attention. Inside she allows us to get close, but it’s as though she has been punished for running. We are asking her to spend nights in a bedroom and she is getting used to it. Her tail wags, but isn’t up much, so we know she wants to make friends with her new humans. She has a limp, which our vet thinks is a muscle strain, so she is on an NSAID for a while. X-rays show her bones are in good condition.
Princess is making slow but steady progress, with some occasional bad days interspersed with the good. We know this is a dog we will probably have here for the rest of her life. We’re glad she gets along with the others, as she has since she first walked into the house. When we find a dog who has been mistreated our usual attitude is to look forward toward her future and forget about the past. In the case of this dog it’s more difficult than usual to overlook her former owners.
Another Samoyed (we think) was taken into a foster home in Central Washington with a woman who does northern breed rescue. The dog’s name is Iona and she was left behind in a bathroom when her family moved out. She was found several days later, weak and filthy but alive. They had to clip her coat short but she is doing much better now. Her age is probably about ten but could be years either side of that. She has a typical Sammy personality, and the only reason we aren’t positive about breed is that clipped coat. Her teeth are terrible; most will need to be pulled. Her eyes are a bit cloudy. Iona seems quite content to now be with someone who values dogs.
Nevada rescue wrote about a young female they had, and we heard back that Utah Samoyed Rescue has taken her in and already found her a home. The idea of a National Samoyed Rescue has not worked out well, but we are glad to report the western rescues all work together well, and we all try to help each other.
We would like to thank a number of volunteers who wrote back when we asked for home visits last month. Erin, Carole, Kim, and Kathy all spoke up and offered to help. We’re especially grateful to Lon and Mary, who are always there for us when we need a foster home.
Invitations to the annual Rescue picnic will go out soon, but this is the last report before it happens. Our adopters, friends, and club members are all invited to our home on Saturday, July 11 for a potluck picnic. Please RSVP so we know how many are coming.