October 2016
Let’s start this with a reminder why rescue matters to our entire community. Last month two older Sammies were posted on the animal shelter website in Calgary, Alberta. One was eleven years old; the other was eight. Lisa, who does rescue for the Western Canada Samoyed Club, made a connection with the shelter and, after several tries, was brought in to help place the old boys. When she got there she recognized the older dog. He was a prior winner of the SAC National, and was later placed in a pet home. The family went through a divorce and dumped the dogs in the shelter without contacting the breeder. Lisa knew who to call, and the dogs were reunited with the breeder, who is retired now. The same thing happened to us once, and we were able to recover a girl and find her breeder. Our predecessor, Cheryl, told us a hundred times “It’s all about the dogs.” In the northwest, we appreciate the relationship we have with breeders. We all work together.
Kathy and Melissa just returned from what must be the best-run National in the history of the club. They enjoyed meeting a lot of the people we know, and our two dogs, Melissa’s Boomer and Kathy’s Lily, were part of the rescue parade. Along with them were Lynn and Grace, Anita and Freya, Fritse and Samson, Joan and Misty, and Amanda with Halo (from San Francisco Samoyed Rescue). The audience loves the rescue parade almost as much as the participants do. We hope to have pictures of the parade in next month’s rescue report.
A number of scams have been increasing in past months. We’ve been fighting Craigslist posts for a long time. Scammers post non-existent puppies for sale. The usual course is to ask for a deposit, then more money for shots, then a second payment for flying them. Eventually it escalates when there is a “problem.” These lowlifes seem to be based offshore, and email addresses are funneled through a series of websites that are difficult to trace. Fortunately, the people behind these don’t know anything about the breed, and often brag about puppies being from a “merle mother,” or some other ridiculous description. The newest predators are creating websites that look quite convincing. They steal pictures from existing websites and make it look real. Their prices are usually a little bit under market price, so they attract people looking for a better price. Please let your friends know if something looks too good to be true, it’s not true. Our breed is lucky to have an attorney member of SCA who is aggressively working with the FBI to try to stop them.
Princess arrived here in May last year. She came to us as a scared girl who had been bought as a puppy and put in the back yard; at eleven years old she was taken to the shelter because they didn’t want her. Since then she has become one of our favorite success stories. Although she is still wary of new people, and has some peculiar habits, she has become a dog who wants very much to be with us. Her coat is beautiful and she is healthy and at the correct weight now. Lately she has finally begun playing with other dogs. It really makes our job special to see a dog become so happy. Here are pictures of her on the way from the shelter, then this month at home.
Herbie has adapted well to life as a foster dog. We’re trying to decide whether, at thirteen years old, we should put him through anesthesia to have dental work, a growth on his eyelid removed, and a large tumor aspirated to see what it is. We’re taking a wait-and-see approach to him. He has chosen a few favorite spots, and sleeps most of the day. If you’ve never lived with a senior dog you’ve never experienced the unconditional love they bring.