November 2015
Every so often something happens in rescue that we haven’t seen before. For example, this month we took in the sister of a dog we had in rescue a year and a half ago. Her name is Missy and she came from the area around Pendleton. Her first owner gave her away to her sister in Idaho, and her sister is moving. Fortunately for Missy and rescue, Hollie Eller heard about her and stepped in to help.
Hollie picked her up and fostered her through her spay surgery, and as a bonus she did a beautiful job of grooming Missy (it’s rare we get a dog that has been professionally groomed and is ready for adoption). We put out the word that Missy needed transportation to the west side, and within a day it was all arranged. A thousand thanks to Tom and Barb, who made a 220 mile round trip to Lewiston to meet Hollie and Missy. Most of the drive was made after dark, and it was in the face of a WSU game night and thousands of oncoming headlights. The next morning a new friend named Deb met them, Missy was handed off, and Kathy met her in Federal Way late that afternoon. Transports are usually difficult to arrange, but this went as smoothly as could be.
Once we got Missy here we could compare her to Lily, the girl we found in the Walla Walla shelter in April last year, only 40 miles from the first home Missy had. Lily is the one who was covered with ticks, living with puppies along the river, and when we first saw a picture of Missy we thought they might be related. Once they were together it was obvious they are litter sisters, dead ringers for each other. They are both unusually small, badly bred (sorry, girls) but as sweet as dogs can be. Hollie told us Missy was wonderful with her grandkids, and Lily is good with our grandkids.
Many of you already know Russ and Joan in Portland, who lost their Sammy earlier this year. That’s hard on people who have had Samoyeds for over 35 years, and they were on our waiting list hoping for a female the age of Missy, which made this adoption a no-brainer. We only fostered Missy for two nights before they came to meet her, and she happily left with them for her new home.
We’re sorry to say that Iona, the senior Sammy girl taken in by a rescuer in eastern Washington, has a spindle cell tumor in her mouth and the prognosis isn’t good. She is 16 years old and her foster mom is taking her to WSU for a second opinion. They aren’t going to do anything aggressive, and will look for whatever will make her most comfortable. We are glad Iona has had the opportunity to spend time with Sandy, her foster mom, to learn what a loving dog home is all about. If there is something that can be done we will help Sandy publicize her fundraising.
Many thanks go to those great friends who helped us this month getting Missy here from Idaho. A special mention goes to Hollie, who picked her up and fostered her through surgery. It’s humbling to have friends like Hollie, Tom, and Barb.