November 2012
You have seen the word ‘serendipity’ in these reports before, and it’s a part of life we rely on. Every so often a dog comes along and a perfect home comes from nowhere. It happened in October.
Two years ago we placed a Sammy (or Sam/Mal) named Kenai, who had Cushings Disease, to Michael. When he came so they could meet, Kenai walked over and put his head on Michael’s lap. That sort of bond is more common than you might think, but this was as strong as we ever saw. That day Kenai went home with Michael and had an ideal life. He was still sick, and Michael nursed him through it as his coat improved and his energy increased. Sadly it was only to be two years before Kenai failed and Michael let him go.
About that time we heard of a dog in SE Portland who was the casualty of a divorce. His owner needed to find him a home so she put him on Craigslist, and when we wrote she responded to us (which is uncommon). It took a couple weeks but a friend of theirs was heading north and was able to drop him off here.
Back to Michael, who soon realized he needed a Samoyed in his life and called to talk. We made the decision to tell him about the dog coming the next day, and it sealed the outcome when I told him the new dog was also named Kenai. We had new Kenai here just under 22 hours, and now he lives happily with Michael. He went from an outside dog without human company to a dog who can be anywhere he wants, and both of them are thrilled.
Last August there was a seizure of dogs in Delaware and Pennsylvania. The authorities raided two properties owned by sisters and took over 40 Samoyeds to shelters; one in Delaware and one in Pennsylvania. The court case was settled a few weeks ago with a plea of guilty to one count of animal abuse and a fine of $5,000, and a call went to MidAtlantic Samoyed Rescue. MASR has three people, one of whom is responsible for the care of the dogs in rescue. That’s Danielle, who picked up the first 15 in Delaware and put them in a kennel. Those dogs had received “less than minimum care” while with the SPCA, probably worse care than they received in the raided home. Almost every dog had ear and skin infections; some were worse than others.
Most rescues around the country are not rich, so a burden of that many dogs is frightening. A plea went out right away and people around the country have responded like never before. Our rescue group has a fundraiser going now selling sweatshirts and t-shirts in three new designs by Holley. Info is on the front page of our website at www.nwsams.com.
Then on November 10, MASR received the Pennsylvania dogs. Apparently some of them had been euthanized, some of the youngest and healthiest were kept by the shelter, and Danielle ended up with 18 more dogs. That means right now MASR is responsible for 35 Samoyeds, with a boarding bill of more than $7,000 dollars a month. Instead of saying she “ended up” with those dogs, what really happened was a trip with a rental truck and borrowed crates and a drive from 9:30 am to just past midnight. It’s the kind of workload Danielle has right now and she needs our help.
A small number of the dogs have already been placed. Denver Samoyed Rescue is going to take four of the dogs, and we arranged to take a few here. Erin has been working hard to negotiate a shipping discount with airlines, and at this writing it is getting close to happening.
We believe as part of the Samoyed breed we are all responsible for our dogs, whether they come from good or poor breeders, top kennels or back yards. Think what would happen if we suddenly got a call for that many dogs here. Please look at the MASR website at www.samrescue.com and the pictures of the individual dogs, and if there is any way you could add one to your family and your heart, please let us know and we will try to make it happen.