Polar | Northwest Samoyed Rescue

August 2023 Rescue Report

NW Sams on August 11, 2023

When we tell people we almost never have puppies, that’s true. But every once in a while, out of the blue, we get one dropped in our lap. That happened at the end of July when we were contacted about an 8-week old puppy who was advertised as a giveaway. The woman who told us went immediately to pick him up, not knowing what to expect, and found a family that got him from a friend and simply didn’t want a puppy. When she got home she contacted us again to let us know she was turning him over to rescue. We have been posting recently that we needed more applications, and one of those we received was a great match. Only three days later, Yeti went to his fur-ever home. We are grateful to Alysha, the friend of rescue who jumped in to get him for us.

Balto has been on our radar for four or five months. His family told us he can jump a six foot fence, so they had to keep him on a long rope all the time. They have a toddler and a baby on the way in the next couple weeks, and they were worried the rope would eventually snag and injure a child. Balto visited us a month ago so we could meet him, and early this month he came to be fostered. We spent some time refreshing the electric fence line around the top of our dog yard, so if he jumps up he will be discouraged from doing it again. What we found was that Balto isn’t all that interested in jumping when he has people who want him indoors. We have been either walking him on a leash or monitoring him closely when out in the yard. The day of this report, he went through a gate that wasn’t chained tightly, and ran for our chickens. Fortunately for them, we have enough experience with Samoyeds that the chicken yard has three fences. They kept him busy while Kathy got a leash. I followed with another, and the two of us got him into the house again. He is a very strong boy with no training. We will be looking for a home that has a VERY strong fence. Balto is mellow with people and other dogs, and as loving as can be. We are trying to get time to bathe him because he is still brown with dirt. Someone is going to be lucky to get him.

Polar was with Melissa until two weeks ago. He has a back story you can read about in last month’s report. Melissa visited a family in Clatskanie, Oregon, and they came to meet Polar. They decided on the spot they didn’t need to visit any other dogs, and after Polar healed from his neuter surgery he went to his new home. He now has his own family and even his own human boy to play with.

Mia came from the Skagit Humane Society. She was there with puppies, who were adopted out by the shelter. She didn’t have a name, and Kathleen decided Mia sounded right for her. She is still at Kathleen’s home being fostered, with a potential home on the horizon. She is a timid girl, but really sweet. Someone is going to get a wonderful dog.

A month ago we heard of a dog in the Index area. This month there are two dogs in Snohomish, and one looks the same. We think they are repeat escapees whose owner isn’t able to contain them. We’ll keep on top of the reports and may eventually need to take them into rescue.

This month Cheri is handling rescue inquiries and dogs who need help. She is being helped by Darlene, who recently visited a pair of Sammies in Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho. It looks at this writing like they have made arrangements for the female, but we will probably get the male. Time will tell. If we get him, he will be sent to Melissa to be fostered. Her husband recently said he misses having seven dogs. We think he had his tongue planted in his cheek when he said that.

More than a year ago the Secretary of State made a mistake and our rescue was officially dissolved. We have been fighting for reinstatement since then, and both Erin and I did battle with them unsuccessfully. Recently Hans took the baton in hand and we are now reinstated. Our team is growing and we are heading in the right direction to help as many Samoyeds as we can find. Last month, new board member Kathleen successfully handled the single busiest month we had in the last 23 years. In addition to our board members, our volunteer community is also robust and helps us find dogs who need us. Most shelters around the northwest know who we are, and that makes it easier to do our job. These are not the parts of rescue we usually write about, but they are real tasks that keep things going. Thanks to everyone!

Balto, after his first session with the blower.

July 2023 Rescue Report

NW Sams on July 11, 2023

Polar was on Craigslist early in June. The owner said he got him from a friend, and was rehoming him because he had too many dogs. Melissa called and wrote, and after a few emails back and forth, he brought Polar to Melissa’s home, where he has been fostered since. Polar was still intact, and will be neutered soon. He was born in 2019, so he is a wonderful age. We had a good app from someone in Clatskanie, Oregon, so Melissa took care of the home visit and reported they were a good home. After meeting him they decided not to visit Balto, the other dog we are trying to place, and as soon as Polar is neutered he will move in with them. He is a very mellow boy who loves people, and this looks like an excellent match.

We have been working with Balto off and on since January. His family seems to want him, but Balto is a jumper who can get over their five and a half foot fence. Because of that they have to keep him on a long line, and they recognize he needs a place to run. They recently brough him to us to meet, and he did well with our whole pack, as well as our fairly low fence. We believe a little judicious use of electric fencing would keep him contained, but so far we haven’t found anyone with an adequate fence. Fortunately, the owners are patient. Balto is a big guy whose ears didn’t come all the way up. He walked in the door and immediately joined our pack without problem, so we know he will make a great addition to the right home. Balto will be three years old in October.

In the past few days we heard of a Samoyed with four pups in Burlington. This month, Kathleen is on call so she is handling the contacts with the shelter. It’s her first month as “first responder,” and there is nothing like learning while under fire. When she reached the shelter, they indicated they would work with us. Melissa offered to foster them, which would be a heroic feat. We will see what happens. There was also a young Samoyed (we think) found in the Index area. We don’t know what his status is yet.

Dogs we heard about or saw online this month.

Sophie and Tessa go through spells where they won’t come inside, and when that happens we limit them to a small cross-fenced area of the back yard, where we can herd them toward the door. After many months of that, they seem to be coming in reliably now, and recently we gave them the whole yard. It helps that we are giving them high-value treats after they are in and the door is shut.

June 2023 Rescue Report

NW Sams on June 10, 2023

Meet Polar! He is 6 years old, new in rescue and is being fostered by Melissa. He has quite a back story. Polar was originally from Serbia and bought by a woman in northern California in 2017. She also bought Pearl, a female from Kabeara. We know she had at least one litter. Eventually, Polar and Pearl were sold to a woman in Lebanon, Oregon. She planned to use them to produce puppies, but she said Polar was sterile. He also killed several chickens and one goat, and the neighbors were threatening to shoot him. In July last year the woman’s daughter contacted us to take the two dogs. After going back and forth over two days, we arranged for her to drop off the dogs as she was heading toward Seattle for an event. That morning, a couple hours before meeting us, she called it off, saying her mother had a “nervous breakdown” and refused to let the dogs leave. That was the last time we heard from her.

This month we heard from a man in Salem who had a dog named Polar who used to live with a Sammy named Pearl. It took most of a day to put the pieces together, during which we learned that the woman in Lebanon had elected to give Polar away. Since then, he has been living in an apartment with a bunch of other dogs. Melissa talked to him and he said he needed to find Polar a new home; he had too many dogs dogs, most of whom he was also rehoming. On the 8th, he delivered Polar to Melissa’s door.

Polar seems to be enjoying life now. He had been forced to be an outside dog before he moved to the apartment, and then while in the apartment he didn’t have a yard. Now he has a good-sized yard and people who want him around. We think he has a bit of separation anxiety and won’t tolerate a crate (we learned he had destroyed crates in his former home). It only took a few hours to settle in and begin showing his affectionate side. Melissa says he gets up on the bed a couple times a night for a few minutes and wants a snuggle.

Polar, showing he is comfortable at Melissa’s house.

Polar needs to be groomed correctly and have a bath. He was trimmed because he was dirty, but after he gets cleaned up he will be handsome again. He already has an appointment to be neutered, and after that he will be available for adoption. He is almost a perfect age, well past the puppy stage with many years of love left.

Polar, showing how much he needs a bath and grooming.

On the same day we heard about Polar, we heard about two other dogs on Craigslist. One was a puppy and the other was an adult. Melissa wrote and called both, with no answer.