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Scoobie was our first 'rescue Sam'. Before the term "Samoyed Rescue" became fashionable, there were Samoyeds which benefitted from the interest of enthusiasts of the breed. This is the story of one such Sammy. Those who have read the rest of this site will know that there have been Samoyeds around our household since 1956 when I was given a pup of dubious lineage. When Duchess died suddenly in 1986, it was time for serious thought. I was scheduled to retire from the Air Force in five years, the kids would (we hoped!) be off at college or wherever and we shouldn't be saddled with a dog - but we couldn't do without one in the intervening years. That was the plan anyway. We decided to look for a female at a kennel, one who had finished with having litters and was looking forward to an easy retirement. That would ensure a mature (if that word ever applies to Sams) dog and a degree of freedom after retirement. Not knowing any breeders in the Toronto area at the time, we first contacted the Save-a-Pet people through an advertisement in the newspaper. After the usual questions as to whether a "similar breed" (there aren't any!) would do, we were assured that our request could take a long time and we settled down to wait. Within two weeks, we were called and advised that there was a Samoyed at the Etobicoke Dog Pound. A phone call established that they had a "male, two years old, all shots, name Scoobie". That was it. Into the car and $20.00 plus tax (no GST then!) we had a Sammy who was really 14 months old (my estimate and the vet's). Scoobie subsequently had an interesting life.

From 1986 to 1989, he lived in Thornhill, Ontario. He then moved via car to Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley for three more years. The planned retirement never happened, so more moves were in the offing. Scoobie hopped an Air Canada flight across the country and established his new home in Holberg, close to the Northern tip of Vancouver Island. The bears, deer and eagles kept his interest throughout a year in the bush and he made numerous treks to the isolated beaches on the West Coast of the island. A move to a more civilized setting near Comox, still on Vancouver Island, was followed within three weeks by an unexpected move overseas. Scoobie took his chances with Air Canada once again and headed for Germany. He was never walked, watered or fed by the kindly folks of the airline and was not a happy puppy on arrival in Frankfurt. Nevertheless, after reunion with his family, getting over jetlag and returning to normal, pampered treatment, he settled happily in the Rhine Valley close to the Black Forest. He attracted a lot of attention from the locals as an "eisbaer" or an "eiswulf".

Stability was not a part of Scoobie's lot, however, and within a year he was off to Southern Belgium. A portrait taken in front of a Battle of Mons commemorative sign was going to be sent to Etobicoke as a "success story", but service life intervened again! Scoobie held the fort in Belgium while his owners went to Rome for six months; all told, he managed to keep an address for 29 months! But it couldn't last.

Scoobie hit the road again and moved back to Germany, this time to Geilenkirchen, near where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet. He is one of the few dogs who has gone for a walk and covered three countries! After three and a half years in a pleasant rural location, and a landlord who looked after him (and spoiled him) whenever his owners were away, Scoobie decided it was time to retire and convinced his owners to do likewise. But he wasn't going on Air Canada again...

The station wagon was loaded up and, horror of horrors, Scoobie got to ride in the back, like mere baggage. The drive from Germany led through the Netherlands and Belgium and into France. After spending a night in a 16th century inn, it was on to the ferry at Calais and a crossing to England. What about the dreaded quarantine? Scoobie and another Canadian dog were met on the ferry at the terminal in Dover and were transferred directly into cages in a quarantine van. He had a stack of (very expensive) paperwork and was allowed 48 hours to get through England. Any longer and it would have been a six-month stay! Needless to say, he made it and was delivered to the "Queen Elizabeth II" at Southampton.

The leisurely cruise across the Atlantic was far more to Scoobie's tastes than being shoved in the baggage hold of some Boeing product. He was on the top deck, by the life boats, and close to the funnel where there was minimal movement. The travelling cats all got seasick (no doubt to Scoobie's great amusement - he had "Alf's" taste in cats) but he was fine. The Philippino steward arranged two cages together to give Scoobie a suite and he was well plied with treats, various playthings and a sheepskin rug to lie on. He didn't like the exercise deck (with a strategically placed lamppost); it was fine for running around and a great wind to blast through the fur, but too much like a floor for "bodily functions" and he was terribly embarrassed when he finally had to go.

All good things must come to an end, and this six days ended in New York. Scoobie cleared customs with a minimum of fuss (shots, health certificate, etc. all in order) and was the star turn when he strode down the gangway in front of one thousand disembarking passengers. Back on the road, and it was across Canada in 11 days - all in the back of that #%#$@ station wagon. Shortly after settling in Courtenay, Scoobie opened his home to Kara, an 11-month old female (Samoyed of course!), and settled down to comfortable retirement; his 13th birthday was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1997, in the absence of any known date. He had some arthritis and his tail was balding, but he still had all his faculties and his teeth, so all told he was not in bad shape for a dog with so many miles on him. If only dogs could collect frequent flier miles... Unfortunately, Scoobie never got to produce his memoirs and give us his thoughts on "Samoyed Rescue"; he passed away in March 1998 - 12 years after he would have been "put to sleep" at the dog pound. Scoobie, however, will always remain with us as a Samoyed Rescue Success Story.

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