We are so lucky that we had the opportunity to adopt this beautiful Samoyed. My husband knew there was something special about this dog when we met her at her foster’s house for the first time. She had only been in the USA for a couple of days. Although quite skittish upon meeting us, within a half hour she was playing with her toys and running around the backyard with such unbridled joy and showing some curiosity about us. We were touched to see her enjoying life like this after learning that she had been in a puppy mill in Korea for two years and then dumped in a shelter and if not rescued would have been sent to the meat market. After meeting her briefly, she was sent to a trainer in San Francisco to help her integrate into life with people and learn basic dog training. She also had some noise phobias to work on. We were interested to meet her again in a month to see how she progressed.
After a month had passed, we offered to foster Keiko (formerly Elsa) hoping that we could adopt her. When my husband drove up to see her again and spend some time with her before taking her home, he said she has been transformed and so much more confident, friendly, playful, and sweet. They went on a great hike together and she let him put her on his lap and pet her on her belly. She was even calm at the dog park and came to him when he called her. He was excited to bring her home! The big question was how she would get along with our 12 pound little dog Milo! We not only wanted a Samoyed for us but we really wanted him to have a buddy!
Upon meeting Keiko, Milo was instantly in love wanting to play right away. She was easy going around him at first and was a bit nervous in general being in her new surroundings but within just a few days, Milo and Keiko were chasing each other around trees and playing every chance they got. We are so pleased with how docile and gentle she is with him too. Their personalities are so compatible together because he’s a little alpha dog and she’s more submissive. They have become the best of friends! It just warms our hearts. She has also become much more comfortable and confident in general and has gotten over many noises that used to make her terrified. It’s amazing what love, patience, and a calm environment did for her and continues to do for her. We just love her. She’s such a sweetie and we look forward to watching her come into her own more and more as she has progressed so well in such a short period of time already. – Julia & Cody
