Thumper is a spunky senior Arab who came to us as one of a bonded pair. His pal is Blackjack. Thumper and Blackjack found themselves in a situation where circumstances conspired to make it increasingly difficult for their caretaker to provide what they needed.

Thumper is a little on the thin side (3/9 on the body condition scale). He also needs a dental and we are working on getting that scheduled. He was little more difficult for the farrier, but he's getting better with it. He has some rain rot, a pretty good bone spavin on his right hind inside hock and only one baby melanoma under his tail. Like Blackjack, he has been vaccinated and dewormed. Bloodwork and
fecal both came back good.

Do you feel a draft? 😉 Blackjack is a handsome, lovely senior Shire who came to us as one of a bonded pair. His pal is Thumper the Arab. Blackjack and Thumper found themselves in a situation where circumstances conspired to make it increasingly difficult for their caretaker to provide what they needed.

Blackjack's weight is good and he's generally in good condition, likely about 20 years old. He was in need of some good farrier care and he's been really good for his pedicure appointments. He has some sharp points on his teeth and we're working on getting a dental scheduled for him. Like Blackjack, he has been vaccinated and dewormed. Bloodwork and fecal both came back good.

Thelma and Louise are a sweet bonded pair of Oberhasli goats that were living in a filthy garage, full of broken glass until a kind and caring citizen rescued them. It turned out these goats needed more care than the kind person who took them in could provide -- they clearly hadn't been properly cared for. Louise has a very infected udder which may need to be removed or will cause chronic pain and infection. The infection has also caused her to lose some hair in patches, but it's already begun to heal since we've started treatment. They are receiving excellent foster care from our friends at New Moon Farm for now, but once they are healthy we will need a permanent home for them!

UPDATE: 5/09/2023 Louise wound up having her mastectomy yesterday and she seems to be doing well. It was a pretty extensive surgery, taking 2 hours, and she needed a pint of blood from a donor goat. She was up and walking around today. Once these two lovelies are all well, we'll be looking for a home for them.

Tall, dark, and handsome Hopper and his pal Sparrow recently made the trek to us from Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE). Both geldings were part of the Graham 27 horse Pierce County Animal Control seizure in November of last year. We have great admiration for SAFE and have been partnering with with in horse rescue when we have capacity.

Hopper is a Quarter Horse type gelding, approximately 20 years old. And like Sparrow, he doesn't seem to have let his run of bad-owner-luck get him down. He's quite adorable, sweet, and friendly. He is in foster care with one of our long-term fosters, Spud. As sometimes happens in middle age, he has Cushings. This lovely gentleman will be evaluated in foster care and we'll keep you posted on his status and availability.

Tall, dark, and handsome Sparrow and his pal Hopper recently made the trek to us from Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE). Both geldings were part of the Graham 27 horse Pierce County Animal Control seizure in November of last year. We have great admiration for SAFE and have been partnering with with in horse rescue when we have capacity.

This sweet, well-mannered, and friendly Thoroughbred gelding is 22 years old. He sure doesn't seem to have let his less than ideal prior life cloud his sunny outlook. This lovely gentleman will be evaluated in foster care and we'll keep you posted on his status and availability.

Thor is one of two Swiss Shepherds (along with Frigg) who come to our rescue from the recent puppy mill seizure of more than 100 dogs here in Skagit County. Thor and Frigg are males. They are thought to be between 1 and 2 years old. These beautiful dogs were in the worst of that terrible situation of cruelty and neglect, kept essentially in solitary confinement: an outbuilding with no windows, air conditioning or ventilation without proper food and certainly without even meager socialization or love. The woman responsible has been charged with felony animal cruelty in the first degree.

Thor and Frigg have been receiving diligent care and rehabbing slowly, carefully re-entering a better world. But they are scared and it's slow going. So SAIN is stepping in on the heels of the work done by the Humane Society of Skagit Valley. We are providing safe, patient, loving foster homes and all the food and veterinary care these dogs need while they learn to trust humans first, and then move on to the other things dogs need to be good companions, like training. Since they have been getting proper nutrition, they have started to put on weight and were both recently neutered.

Watch the video below...You can see that Thor is really making progress in the trust department with his foster dad. Just look at his eyes. Dogs are made to connect with humans, but it can be difficult for those that have experienced such terrible cruelty and neglect. Thor and Frigg were essentially feral when they came to rescue. Great progress, pup! We have a lot of hope for Thor.

We will support Thor and Frigg for as long as it takes. We anticipate that these dogs will be in rehabilitation for quite some time.

Frigg is one of two Swiss Shepherds (along with Thor) who come to our rescue from the recent puppy mill seizure of more than 100 dogs here in Skagit County. Thor and Frigg are males. They are thought to be between 1 and 2 years old. These beautiful dogs were in the worst of that terrible situation of cruelty and neglect, kept essentially in solitary confinement: an outbuilding with no windows, air conditioning or ventilation without proper food and certainly without even meager socialization or love. The woman responsible has been charged with felony animal cruelty in the first degree.

Frigg and Thor have been receiving diligent care and rehabbing slowly, carefully re-entering a better world. But they are scared and it's slow going. So SAIN is stepping in on the heels of the work done by the Humane Society of Skagit Valley. We are providing safe, patient, loving foster homes and all the food and veterinary care these dogs need while they learn to trust humans first, and then move on to the other things dogs need to be good companions, like training. Since they have been getting proper nutrition, they have started to put on weight and were both recently neutered.

Watch the video below...It makes us tear up every dang time. When he first came to rescue, he was essentially feral and wouldn't come near humans at all. To see this much progress, where he will take a treat from the hand of his foster mom while she is in his space...wow. That's remarkable progress. We have a lot of hope for Frigg!

We will support Frigg and Thor for as long as it takes. We anticipate that these dogs will be in rehabilitation for quite some time.

UPDATE: 3/11/2023 -- Frigg is making great strides and his true, happy self is emerging!

Read this update from his foster home.

Learning to Play

Over the last few weeks, Frigg has both taught us a lot about himself and has made great strides of his own in learning how to be a social participant. He has shown us how incredibly social of a dog he is, as well as how graceful and intuitive he is with both our big and little dogs. We started letting our big dog Terra into the kennel with him a few weeks ago because they were about to go crazy if they couldn’t play already! This has gone wonderfully. He wants very badly to know how to interact, not just with her but with us as well.  He is still putting the pieces together of how to do that but he observes each moment thoughtfully and is constantly evolving.

Accepting More Human Interaction

Through play time with Terra we realized that he will happily interact with us in a way he hadn’t before. Though he has been eating most of his meals from our hands for several months now, it has seemed functional and robotic like he is just willing to do what he has to do to get fed. He lets us tickle his chin and rub his nose a bit when he eats but only to the end goal of eating his food. We now have realized, though, that the way to his heart is through play. What a happy boy!! When we play with him and Terra he lets us touch him more, he catches snowballs out of the air when we throw them, and he has even started tugging at the rope toy when we offer it to him. His whole demeanor changes. It has been a joy to watch him come out of his shell this way.

Coming Inside

Recently we were able to put up a covered chute from his kennel to the house, which doubles as a play area. It is covered with a net because we were told he has a history of climbing fences, though we haven’t seen him try to do that here. This covered area greatly expands the outdoor space he has access to and allows him to go in and out of the downstairs of our house via a window and custom ramp. The day we first got this up, he got to run for more than four strides in a straight line for the first time in his life. The look on his face made us all cry. He was so happy and eventually, when offered, he came inside after a few nervous tries, had his dinner, and spent the night intermittently crashed out after the biggest play day of his life and peeking in on us cuddled up with his best friend Terra in the downstairs bedroom (we left the door open so he could check things out). He has slept inside the last 6 nights, has already potty pad trained himself, and we believe he is well on his way towards being fully house trained (2 nights accident free now!).

He has also been hanging out with our two little dogs (one of whom is from the same place that he came from). He absolutely loves them and is so gentle and respectful with them. We have been so happy to see that who he expressed himself to be over the last few months is, in fact, his true nature…the gentlest, sweetest, playful big boy, just trying to find his place in this world.

You can check out Frigg's Instagram account here: https://instagram.com/lil_frigg?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=    

UPDATE 4/21/2023: You probably saw this coming! Frigg's foster parents have made him their permanent pup! We couldn't be happier. 🙂

11/17/2022: Lilly is a chestnut Quarter horse type mare with a body condition score of 3 of 9, which means she is thin but not emaciated. She is one of our Golden Girls -- likely 28-32 years old, based on her dentition, though our vet did say she could have prematurely worn teeth. So far, she seems to be a calm, friendly, sweet mare with a very boop-able nose!

We have been collaborating lately with Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE) and she came to us through SAFE, where she wound up with her gelding friend Declan when their family's circumstances made it difficult for them to care for the horses. She has been a broodmare in the past, and has not been ridden since she reportedly bucked someone off 13 years ago. SAFE had her evaluated by their vet. Bloodwork was fairly normal, she was dewormed and dusted for lice (precautionary). She will be seen by a farrier shortly. She will have her vaccines and dental float at the end of the month, giving her the opportunity to put on some weight.

We are just getting to know more about Miss Lilly while she's in foster care. We will post more details soon.

January 6, 2023: Lilly is now at a healthy weight and is up-to-date on her vaccinations and dental...and that means she's ready to find her new home. Given her age, Lilly's not going to be a rider, but she's such a sweet girl, she'll make a fantabulous companion horse. And that nose!! You'll be wanting to give that sweet schnozz a pet every time you walk past her. It makes us smile every single time.