Hazel is a Morgan cross mare, approximately 25 years old. We don't know all of the details of Hazel's prior life but we're sure it wasn't all peaches and cream. She was at a 1/9 on the body condition scale (BCS) when she was initially seized by law enforcement (1 being severely emaciated and 9 being severely obese). She had gained enough weight to reach a 2 on the BCS scale when we first met her. She has had very little handling in her life, spent her entire previous life on one property, had not been seen by a vet or a farrier in a very long time, and had never been hauled anywhere.
She has settled in quite well with us in foster care and is eating well -- which is a good thing because, as you can see from the picutres, we still have some work to do to help her reach a healthy weight AND to help increase her ease with people. It's imperative that she is able to be safely handled before we can consider her adoptable. It's going to be quite a journey for Hazel.
Lovely Shakira is an Arab mare, one of two Arabs who came together to SAIN on June 16, 2023. She and Khalil were both born on their prior owner's property and have lived their entire lives there. We are told she is about 19 and was a broodmare. Neither had seen a vet or farrier on a very long time. As far as we know, she was never started under saddle.
Shakira is putting on weight and looking good. Best of all, she's becoming more relaxed and friendly and enjoys attention. We've had a trainer working with both Khalil and Shakira, gettting them reacquainted with picking up their feet in preparation for their first farrier appointment in some time and -- success! -- the appointment went great.
Stay tuned for updates on lovely Shakira.
Handsome Khalil, a gelding, is one of two Arabs who came together to SAIN on June 16, 2023. He and Shakira were both born on their prior owner's property and have lived their entire lives there. Neither had seen a vet or farrier on a very long time. We are told that 17-year old Khalil had 30 days training to get started under saddle many years ago, but nothing further.
Khalil is the thinner of the two but is now putting on weight. We've had a trainer working with both Khalil and Shakira, gettting them reacquainted with picking up their feet in preparation for their first farrier appointment in some time and -- success! -- the appointment went great. Khalil is adjusting to the new environment and is becoming more interactive.
Stay tuned for updates on the handsome Khalil.
October 2023
Khalil is now at a healthy weight! He still needs a lot of training and we're working with him on that.
Thor is one of two Swiss Shepherds (along with Frigg -- who is now adopted!!) who came to our rescue from the recent puppy mill seizure of more than 100 dogs here in Skagit County. Thor is a male 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 has been receiving diligent care and rehabbing slowly, carefully re-entering a better world. But given his history, it's slow going. So SAIN stepped 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 for as long as it takes. We anticipate he will be in rehabilitation for quite some time.
UPDATE 6/12/2023: Thor's foster dad reports that he is sweet and friendly, though still not a huge fan of being touched. He has learned to sit, stay, catch treats, and will lick your hand. He loves to run around in the play yard and hang out with his foster dad's dog, but doesn't really play with the dog. He hasn't yet been able to get a leash on him and he's still working on potty training, among other things.
UPDATE OCTOBER 2023: Although Thor's foster home was providing him with everything they could, we came to believe that Thor might make more social/behavioral progress in a different environment. He is now in a new foster home and we're working on getting an assessment and new program going for him.
