Library - Central Coast Northern Dog Rescue (CCNDR)

SAMSONS STORY

In Rescue, we see the entire spectrum of human behaviors. We are often delighted by the generosity, love, and extraordinary kindness afforded our dogs when placed, and thoroughly enjoy hearing the wonderful stories that come from so many good homes. Then again, there are those times, as one experienced husky rescuer, Jacques Porter, used to say, when you wonder if you don't simply hate people for the way they abuse the trust placed in them by their dog and by those of us who place the dogs into their care.

We recently had such an incident. Milissa Godzik, who became a new foster home for us, placed her second foster with a family who at that time, lived in Monterey County. I reviewed the criteria of the applicant family with her, and found no fault with them. They, as many families do, presented themselves well, and appeared to relate well to the dog, Samson. Samson liked them, and was more than willing to go with them to his new home. There were simply no warning signs of what was to happen later.

Samson is a beautiful 1 year old Siberian Husky, who is so mellow he gets along with anyone and anything as far as any of us can tell. He has some good training, like so many of the dogs we have rescued this past 6 months and when combined with his extraordinary personality and good looks this makes him a highly desirable companion. This is a dog to lighten the heart, and put a smile on any gloomy face.

That was 3 months ago, and Milissa who is ideal to a fault as a foster family, followed up far longer than the 2 weeks strictly required, simply because she cares so much for every foster, and Samson is exceptional. All seemed to be going well from her follow up conversations. The family was having a little trouble with housing, but it seemed to be no problem as they stayed with the parents of the adopting woman, whom we will call Mx. I will refer to her boyfriend as Jx.

Just over 3 months after the adoption, I got a call from a guard at Harvey's Resort in Tahoe. He asked what place he was calling, and I explained about Central Coast Northern Dog Rescue (CCNDR). He seemed familiar with us, and said he had a dog with a tag on of ours. He gave me the tag number, 1102.

I looked up the tag number and found the dog belonged to Mx, and gave him her pager number. I asked him to call me back should he be unable to reach her.

I called the pager number, and then called Milissa to update her since she placed the dog. In half an hour or so, I got another call from the security guard telling me that he had not gotten a call back, and that the dog would have to leave before 3:00 or be taken to a local shelter. He stated he did not want the dog to go to a shelter, as it was in bad shape. He asked if we worked with abused dogs or something. I explained how we did work, and asked further about the dog. He said that the dog looked like it had been in a severe fight, or been hit by a car as it had two legs bandaged, and was in "rough shape".

I stated I knew of one person nearby who might help, and he advised that the town I mentioned was only 20 minutes away. I told him I would try to have the people pick up the dog. He asked how he would know who they were, and I told him a man named Don would come, and to ask Don the name of his dog, which would be Buck. Buck was to be the password.

I called Don, and was fortunate in getting him. Don agreed to contact the Resort, and see if the dog could be brought to him, and failing that, see if he could get over the mountain, as it was snowing, and that was not certain.

I got a call from Karen (Don's wife), stating that Don had gone to get the dog, and asking what should be done then. I told her that I wanted her to decide if the dog needed to see her vet, whom I know is reliable, as I know the history of Buck. Buck had parvo as a pup, and the vet pulled him through--a significant miracle!

I stated we would pay the necessary vet costs, but to please request a Rescue rate for him. Karen and Don both expressed concern about having Samson around, as Buck was notorious for not getting along with other dogs. I stated that I felt this would not be an issue, as Samson is very easy to handle, and gets along with anyone.

I got a call within 2 hours from Mx. She wanted to know where her dog was, and I felt she was defensive. I stated that I had had the dog picked up, which she already knew. She wanted to know where to get her dog, and I stated that I wanted more information first. How was the dog injured?

Mx answered that Samson had fallen from the back of a pickup truck while transporting him. I asked for further description, and she stated he was tied in the back of the pickup for a short time on an emergency basis, and fell out getting hurt. She said they had gotten him good vet care, and he was fine.

I asked how the dog got loose and arrived at the guard station. She said that they were staying at a Motel, and that Samson had gotten loose while they were "out on a cruise", but they had only been gone one hour.

I stated that I was not prepared to release him to them as yet, since I wanted to get a medical description of Samson from a good vet, and determine if this was in the best interest of Samson.

Don called me immediately after Mx. He stated that the dog was indeed in rough shape, and did need to see a vet. Don had already arranged an appointment for Samson with his local vet at 4:30. Don reported that Samson could not use one leg at all, and that the other one had had the toenails badly scraped from it, and the fur was completely ripped off. He reported that the dog's coat was in terrible shape--standing up like a wire brush, and very stiff like one. I had seen Samson when he was fostered by Milissa, and he had a very healthy coat at that time--only 3 months ago!

Don reported that Buck and Samson were just fine together, which was a great relief to him. I told him that I doubted that Samson would be any problem to Buck.

Mx called back and tried to explain further that Samson had just had an accident, and that he had been taken to a vet, but because they (she and her boyfriend) had no money, the vet told them what they could do at home. They were doing all of those things, she said. I again stated to her that I would not return the dog without a full medical report, and that I would await that report before making any decision about Samson, or what would be done with him.

Mx argued that the dog was best returned to them, that they had been doing everything possible to help him, and that things had been difficult for them as they were moving up to Tahoe, and had little money. Mx felt we were judging them harshly and unfairly.

Don called me in the evening with the report. He was crying, and that is simply not something Don does easily. He said it was going to be hard to "go through this". I encouraged him, by saying I doubted the news was going to be very good from the report the security guard had given me.

Don stated that the vet swore when he pulled off the bandages. The wound on the elbow of the one bandaged leg was gangrenous, and it was a severe wound. The bandage over the paw of the other foot covered a paw that was nearly destroyed completely by having contacted the road at a high rate of speed. The wounds were a week old, and had definitely not been treated by a qualified vet.

The vet assured Don that he could pull Samson through, but it required keeping Samson overnight, and treating aggressively. Samson will have a long recovery time, but has a good chance of recovering with all limbs if he responds well to treatment. Samson is a year old, and is a strong young dog. His condition has deteriorated since his placement--the coat is in poor shape, and the vet states he has suffered from neglect and poor care in addition to his injuries.

I called Mx and informed her calmly enough, that she wasn't going to get the dog back. I gave her a summary of the vet's assessment, and she agreed that the injury had happened a week ago. She claimed she tried to get vet help, but couldn't as they all wanted $700 up front to do anything for him. She claims she did everything possible to help him. In her care, the dog has experienced poor health, an injury that is life threatening with its complications, the risk of losing a limb, extreme pain, continued poor care and any notion of proper treatment of a dog. I ended the conversation.

One cannot overestimate the extent to which these people have permitted their selfishness and premeditated stupidity to frustrate them in caring for Samson. I have little doubt that the behaviors will prove to be persistent and pervasive, and continue to frustrate them in all aspects of life.

I followed up with the vet in Nevada, and obtained a better picture of Samson and how he was doing. The vet was able to cut away all necrotic tissue, and sew up the one deep wound which was gangrenous. He removed necrotic tissue from other wounds, and they were patched up as best as they could be until they heal. The vet took X-rays, and determined that while there are chipped bones, none are actually broken. Some of the wounds are down to the bone, and there is some damage to the tendon at the one knee. He feels that Samson will make a good long term recovery with a lot of TLC and antibiotics.

Samson came home, with much help from caring people. A special thanks to all the people who have done so much to help him: Don and Karen for acting as Angels of Mercy and temporary foster home, Dr. Steven MacAbe for his timely intervention, Judy Tamagni for transport and additional vet care at Calistoga clinic, Tony Kettner for transport from the Nappa Valley to Salinas, and many more who played a role in coordinating this effort.

Our local veterinarian, Dr. Terry Spenser, has continued Samson's care. The current concern is that the one knee was so traumatized on impact when Samson fell from the truck, that it will require specialized surgery. He appears to have a knee injury similar to that often experienced by race horses or human athletes. Dr. Spenser believes that Samson should have orthopedic surgery on the knee, or he may be lame for life as a consequence.

While we do hope that a wonderful family will adopt and help with the medical expenses, we will continue to care for him as our funds permit while he is in foster care. Samson's trust in people has never wavered, and he remains a patient and loving husky who never complains about life.

Thank you all. Since we are up to 9 dogs in (CCNDR), any referrals for adoptions are appreciated, as well. Samson will need time to recover, and some individual attention. We are beyond our capacity and will not be able to take further dogs until we place at least 4 dogs.

We established a Samson Fund to help with his medical and rehabilitation expenses.
If you wish to contribute, please contact us.

Gary W. Kelly
Central Coast Northern Dog Rescue