The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
March, 2004

This president's message is covering the past two months, which can be summarized by the title above, with credit to Dickens.

Without a doubt, Westminster is a not-to-be-missed event for those involved with dog SHOWING – heavy emphasis on the SHOW. The green carpet of Madison Square Garden that you see on television is carved into five to six rings for the breed judging. The working dogs hardly had the chance to take more than three to four strides before they were cornering. I don't quite comprehend how the judges can make an accurate assessment in those conditions, but they seem to manage to make their choices. The press of people, particularly in the benching area is incredible. It took us over 20 minutes to make our way through the crowd for the distance of about a block.

However, for all those aspects, there's a certain “fever” that gets into your blood. You find yourself eyeing the crowd for celebrities. Catching the “buzz” on those favored to win their group. Making a fool of yourself in front of a roomful of strangers playing Eukanuba’s “Family FOOD” to win a coupon for a bag of dog food (hmmmm…. maybe that was the white wine buzz….). Then there's the magic of New York City itself. Another not-to-be-missed, but so glad I don't live there!

From that fun and excitement to a heartbreaking homecoming – the best of times, the worst of times. The constant is those friendships that support and sustain us all as we face the challenges both with our animals and our families. My thanks to all of you for your condolences for Cassie and prayers for my father.

Most recently, we have learned of the passing of Roger Blue and Lee Wasenske Our hearts go out to these gentlemen's families. Another reminder of the preciousness of this life we share with one another and our dogs. Another reminder to take those moments to say what needs to be said, do what needs to be done and love unabashedly. Join me in honoring those who are no longer with us by sharing this legacy.

Cheri

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Introducing MADISON

Kathy and Ron were notified that there was an old Sammy girl at the Tacoma Humane Society. Kathy visited her and saw a quiet, very sweet girl who shouldn't cause any trouble around the house. She was scheduled to be put to sleep the next day if they received no word. She is about 10 years old, possibly even older and therefore the SCWS guidelines say she is too old to take into rescue, but Ron and Kathy felt she still had a lot of love to give and deserved a home. The call went out to the NW Samoyed Rescue List and the question was asked if anybody would be willing to take the Tacoma girl into their home to spend her last years in a loving home with someone who cares about Sammies. She had been seen by the Humane Society vet, who reported that she does appear to have some medical issues. First, she is very much overweight, has stiffness in her hips, and has trouble standing up. She is missing some teeth, appears to have dry eye, and has a tumor on one eyelid that the vet says is probably benign. We don't want to minimize her condition, which will require some degree of expense.

There were four inquiries in response to the plea. Carey and Kaz met Kathy at the shelter and took “Tacoma Girl” home with them and here is their story.

Well, we got the ole girl home. "Stinky" is doing O.K. and getting along fine with the other two dogs, even "J" the Devil-Dog/Shiba is being civil, and that's a miracle in itself!

She's in pretty tough shape for the old gal that she is.A follow up with our vet next week will more then likely reveal unpleasant information in regards to her current health, but we'll see.I see mostly younger, healthy, show dog quality Samoyeds being exhibited in all their glory and beauty.The best of the best. Seeing the spirit of a Samoyed like this locked away in this aging tired body is a tough pill to swallow. Even for the most hardened soul I'm sure.But seeing the sparkle in her old eyes and the smile that only a Samoyed can radiate has further shown Kaz and I that we made the right decision in bringing her home with us. As hard as this might end up being in the end, don't hesitate to notify us in a similar situation. I'd do it again. This breed deserves at least that much from each and everyone of us. Rescue does what it can for placeable dog's and it's up to the rest of us to do our very best to pick up the pieces that fall through the cracks. It reconfirms in our hearts and soul as a loyal Samoyed owned person's that no Sammy (or animal for that matter) should ever have to live their final days on a cold concrete floor in a raw and alien environment. I hope every person involved with Samoyeds will love and cherish this breed as much as we do, and not just the "Best in Show" guys and gals but the ones on the other end of the road, the ones that are down and
out. They give us nothing but Love, Joy and their undying loyalty until the very bitter end and ask for little in return (well, unless you're Cheyenne.... what, just one cookie...?).

We will take her in the first of the week for a health check and maybe a lab work-up to get a better understanding of her condition. My general observation would make me believe that her prognosis, although not grave at the moment may not be favorable in the near future I'm afraid. We'll get her some medication to help make her more comfortable at the very least and follow the recommendations from the Vet as prescribed to the best of our ability. As stated by Ron and Kathy she is very overweight (85 lbs) and has much discomfort from hip/joint pain and has a very difficult time moving about. If possible on the recommendations from our Vet, we will modify our BARF diet that we already use with our other dogs. We hope she can drop some weight that will improve her over all health as best as we can. We currently have to assist her in getting outside due to the pain that she has in her hips.Just getting up of the floor is difficult or her. She also has a bad cough and thick yellow discharge that maybe is more then just Kennel Cough. We also found some rather large, deep baseball side growths hidden under her matted hair that looks to be more then just fatty tissue.

In any case if this ends up being more like a Hospice situation we will both make her as comfortable as possible until further.... Treatment needs to be administered (I hate to even say the word).

Thanks to Ron and Kathy for bringing her to our attention and everyone else that stepped up to the plate to make sure the right thing would take place for one of our own fallen comrades.

Until later... here are some pictures of the new improved “Tacoma Girl” that we affectionately call..... "Girl Friend"

We'll remind her everyday how special she is, how pretty she is and let her know she'll never spend another day of her life on a cold nasty concrete floor, alone.

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Halitosis, also called bad breath, foul breath, malodor, foetor ex ore, and fetor oris is defined as an offensive odor emanating from the oral cavity. Bad breath is a common pet odor complaint. Causes may be oral (most common) or extraoral (rare).

The sour milk odor accompanying periodontal disease may result from the bacterial population associated with plaque, calculus, unhealthy tissues, decomposing food particles retained within the oral cavity, or the rotten meat odor emanating from tissue necrosis. Contrary to common belief, neither normal lung air or stomach aroma contributes to halitosis.

The most common cause of halitosis is periodontal disease caused by plaque (bacteria). Bacteria is attracted to the pellicle (an acellular film formed from the precipitation of salivary glycoproteins). In the freshly cleaned and polished tooth a glycoprotein layer forms over the tooth as soon as the patient starts to salivate. Bacteria attaches to the pellicle within 6-8 hours. Within days, the plaque becomes mineralized producing calculus. As plaque ages and gingivitis develops into periodontitis (bone loss), the bacterial flora changes from a predominantly non-motile gram-positive aerobic coccoid flora to a more motile, gram-negative anaerobic population including: Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, and Actinomyces species.

Calculus’s rough surface attracts more bacteria while irritating the free gingiva. As the inflammation continues, the gingival sulcus is pathologically transformed into a periodontal pocket. The pocket accumulates putrefied food debris, bacterial breakdown products, and resorbing bone leading to halitosis. The primary cause of malodor is gram negative anaerobic bacterial putrefaction causing the generation of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC), such as hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl sulfide. The volatile sulfur compounds also may play a role in periodontal disease affecting the integrity of the tissue barrier allowing endotoxins to produce periodontal destruction.

Most patients suffering from halitosis have oral causes, the remaining are caused by, dermatologic, metabolic, respiratory, or gastrointesinal disease.