Dear Scampers People –

We hope you have been enjoying this week – exciting and interesting times, fun things to do – preparing for summer. It really is, despite all evidence to the contrary, just around the corner.

This week, we’re introducing a new feature to our weekly recap – at Scampers, we have so many truly wonderful pooches who have found loving families (you!) through rescue organizations, and these stories are so touching, we’d love to share them with you from time to time. This week, we’re featuring the story of Rosie, Stina’s pooch.

If your pooch is sick…

Believe it or not, there are some days when a trip to daycare would just be wrong.
If your pooch is sick or injured, a trip to daycare is not a good idea. If the issue is an injury, it could become worse with activity; if the issue is illness, it may be contagious and threaten an entire pack.

Illness can be anything from listlessness, runny nose, coughing, to vomitting or diarrhea. On occasion, a dog already in our care will begin to display signs of illness or injury. On those occasions, we take precautions to separate the injured or sick pooch from the pack, and call the owner to request the dog be picked up and brought to the vet for care.

If we suspect a contagious situation – which, again, would be hazardous to the entire Scampers population! – we will need to receive notification via fax from your veterinarian to clear your pooch for return to our daycare environment.

Pooch need a spruce-up?

We offer grooming services – from a simple mani-pedi to a full groom – every second Tuesday through Cut-N-Run Mobile Grooming.
Chris Sugarbaker, Cut-N-Run’s groomer-in-chief, has over 20 years’ experience and will work with you to ensure your satisfaction.

Chris’ next visit is Tuesday, June 13th. Be sure to claim your dog’s spot with Chris right away – his schedule has filled up completely on more than one occasion.

The Story of Rosie

Rosie was a runaway, then a throwaway, then an afterthought. She became a lucky happenstance, and is now a family treasure.

As a family with an only child, it made sense to add a dog to our household. After researching breeds, we decided a beagle would suit our lifestyle and commitment level, so our next step was to decide whether to adopt a pet or seek out a puppy so we would not miss out on the “cute” stuff?

Of course, the cute phase is also a messy phase, with a huge commitment of time and effort for housebreaking and training. With an adopted dog, we could skip that phase, and there was the added benefit that we would be providing a home for a pet who, for whatever reason, was homeless and in need.

Searching online for beagles, we found Sheena, who looked like she would fit our family. We contacted Save-A-Dog, a fostering organization who had rescued a number of dogs from a kill shelter in West Virginia, and learned of an upcoming “meet & greet” at the local pet store.

We arrived on the appointed day and as the van drove up, pandemonium ensued. As we looked for Sheena, Rosie found her way to us as she sought a quiet safe place. She was timid and scared, and I couldn’t resist comforting her. She peed on the floor out of abject fear and it was LOVE at first sight! As my husband and daughter cleaned up the pee spot, we continued to bond with her well away from the bru-ha-ha.

We knew Rosie was meant to be our dog but there was another lady who wanted her. She explained that she was looking for a second dog as company for a dog she had at home. She earnestly tried to counsel my young daughter explaining that she should not get her hopes up.

Nonetheless, we filled out paperwork and waited to hear from the adoption organization. After a few days, the call came to arrange an in-home interview. Clearly, they were careful to adopt their rescued dogs into secure homes. They required verification of home ownership or proof of landlords’ acceptance of pets. They inspected our yard to ensure it would be safe. Then we waited a few more days while the fostering group determined which home Rosie would go to. She came to us.

Rosie is such a sweetie, but part of her sweetness is her need for acceptance as she is. She is insecure and we make every effort to give her lots of love and sufficient routine so she can feel more secure within her world. We believe the fostering organization made the right choice for Rosie — they certainly made the right choice for us!

Rosie’s adoption led to many new and great things. Most recently, she became the inspiration for Scampers Daycamp for Dogs in Totem Lake, where she spends her days with family and friends.

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For information on local pet adoption, visit Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville, The Seattle Humane Society in Bellevue, or Petfinder.

If you have an adoption story you’d like to tell, please let us know. We’d love to share it with your pooches’ friends’ people.

Weekends and Boarding!

We’ve had some fun with our boarders and our weekend campers.

For our boarders, we’ve named our suites after famous pooches – the Snoopy Suite, the Lady & the Tramp Suite, the Marmaduke Suite, etc., and we’ve set them up with lovely petcots with sheepskin covers, but there’s still plenty of room for pooches to add their own favorite furnishings (beds, blankies, toys, etc.)

The weekend daycampers enjoy playing with the boarders, as they’re all good friends already! We set up our weekend daycamp in our back room as we can have our garage door open, and pooches enjoy the free flow indoors and outdoors.

Pawlogic News
Cathy has started running Pawlogic classes again.

Watch for exciting information on new classes in our upcoming newsletters.

Visit the Pawlogic website to book classes for your pooch with Cathy.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, sunny skies, and plenty of fun times – all those things weekends were designed for!

Very best regards,

Linda Olsen and Stina Hughes
Scampers Daycamp for Dogs