Meet Duke: The Ultimate Adventure Partner & World-Class Cuddler

Are you looking for a running buddy to hit the pavement with or a hiking partner to explore the Pacific Northwest trails? Look no further! Meet Duke, a 4-year-old, 70lb bundle of pure joy with a mega-watt grin and an even bigger heart. This cheerful, easygoing Malamute mix lives for adventure, and he is ready to find his forever family (or a foster home) in Washington or Oregon.

🏃‍♂️ Built for the Trails (and Zoomies!)

Duke is in absolute peak physical condition—a perfect 10 for fitness—making him the ideal match for an active lifestyle. On hikes, just add a sturdy leash or harness for Duke and he will enthusiastically lead the way, happily taking in the sights and scents on the trail. Cooler weather brings out his extra-playful side; he even does the cutest little hops at the start of walks when there’s a chill in the air. When he’s not trotting along with you on the trails, Duke’s absolute favorite game is tag. He gets so excited when you chase him that he runs zoomies so fast it looks like his butt is going to overtake his head! He’s also a big fan of car rides and is always ready to tag along for any outing.

Note for the trails: Duke does have a strong, classic northern-breed prey drive when it comes to squirrels and little critters, so he’ll do best with a confident handler who can help him stay focused when the excitement kicks in. A good leash or harness is imperative.

🐕 Mr. Friendliness (With Zero Ego)

One of Duke’s superpower qualities is his social nature. With other dogs he’s polite, curious, and entirely non-reactive to barking.

As one volunteer put it: “He manages to make even the grumpier dogs happy around him because he has no ego. He just wants to play!”

While he definitely gravitates toward female playmates and ignores males, Duke truly just wants to get along with everyone.

❤️ A Deeply Devoted "People" Dog

Duke is intensely people-oriented. If you’re looking for a shadow, a confidant, and a world-class snuggler, he’s your guy. Once he gets his sillies out, he will lean right into you for tummy rubs and pets.

He has a hilarious habit of walking right between your legs to demand head and butt scratches (and yes, he will also use your legs to dry himself off if it's raining).

Because he loves his humans so much, Duke always wants to be where the action is. He’s a bit of an escape artist if left alone outside because he’ll try to find a way back to you—not to run away, but just to peer around the corner and make sure you’re coming to join the game! For this reason, he’ll thrive in a home where he can spend plenty of time indoors with his family and has a secure yard while outdoors.

🏡 The Perfect Gentleman

Inside the house, Duke is a dream:

Crate Trained: He sleeps quietly in his crate every single night without a fuss.

Gentle & Smart: He takes treats beautifully, has great eye contact, and is highly treat-motivated. He’s already doing great, learning to "sit" with distance and duration.

Toy Approved: Toys are his ultimate love language! He loves playing with them, never destroys them, and happily lets you take them away without an issue.

Unphased: Loud noises don't bother him, and he completely ignores cows and horses.

🐾 Ready to Meet Duke?

Duke arrived at Malley Valley at the end of January and has proven himself to be an absolutely stellar dog who just wants to share his massive heart with a family of his own.

Because of his fun, energetic nature, he’d do best in a home with adults or older kids.

If you’re ready to open your heart and home to this loyal, silly, and adventurous boy, visit wamal.org to fill out a foster or adoption application, or email us at wamal@wamal.com with any questions.

Wanted: Auction Items

The countdown is officially on for our annual Loot for Moots Online Auction! It is our absolute biggest fundraiser of the year, but to make it a roaring success for the pups, we need our incredible supporters and friends to work their magic. We are officially opening up our Call for Donations, and we’d love for you to be a part of it.  

We are on the lookout for:

• Fluff-Approved Gear: Premium dog gear, treats, toys, blankets, and dog treat puzzles
• Human Treasures: Northern breed and nature-themed décor, apparel, or art 
• The "Wow" Factors: Getaways, vacation stays, unique experiences, or gift certificates
• Themed Baskets: Pack a fun basket or box with toys, treats, stuffies, or wearables 
• Edibles for humans: Our new Edibles category was very popular last year and featured fudge, donuts, cheeses and a spaghetti dinner bonanza

How you can be a Loot for Moots pack member today:

🎁 Donate: One spectacular item or a whole bundle—every single bit helps

✍️ Lend a Hand: Help us behind the scenes with photography or writing up fun catalog descriptions

🤝 Play Matchmaker: Connect us with a local business or a friend who might want to donate. Just give us the lead, and we’ll happily handle the outreach

Ready to jump in or donate? Email lootformoots@wamal.com and we’ll work out the donation transfer details or connect you with the right team member to get more involved.

The Auction is a huge undertaking, but the payoff for the dogs is massive (and we have a ton of fun doing it). Thank you for always having our backs—and our paws! 🐾❤️

You're Invited: Join Us for the WAMAL Open House

The sun is shining, the pack is thriving, and we want to celebrate with the incredible community that makes our mission possible! You are cordially invited to join us for a special WAMAL Open House at our Malley Valley kennel in Puyallup, Washington.

Whether you’re a long-time supporter, a volunteer or interested in volunteering, an adopter, or simply a fellow dog lover, we would love to welcome you to the kennel. Come see firsthand the impact of your generosity, meet some of our amazing northern-breed pups, and connect with the rest of the WAMAL family. Leashed, well-behaved dogs welcome!

• When: Saturday, July 25
• Where: Malley Valley Kennel 
• What to Expect: Light refreshments, cake walk, ice cream eating contest, and water relay for people with their dogs
• Special Anniversary Acknowledgement: It will be the first anniversary for our amazing caretaker, Stacy at Malley Valley! They have done a most incredible job with our pups and are loved and appreciated by our volunteers

We can’t wait to catch up, share our latest updates, and thank you in person for always standing by our dogs. 

To help us stock up on enough treats for humans and hounds alike, RSVP by July 18. We’ll send the time, location, and all the exciting details directly to your inbox. See you there! 🐺❤️

Liberty Mutual Volunteers Pay a Visit to Malley Valley

Serve with Liberty (SwL) is a company-wide initiative that encourages Liberty Mutual employees and their subsidiaries to step out into their communities and volunteer. Through the program, organizations like WAMAL submit specific projects or events that employees can sign up for based on their personal interests. Unsurprisingly, most of the volunteers who chose to visit WAMAL were fellow animal lovers, pet parents, or folks who have previously worked with rescue organizations.

One of our very own Ambassadog team members, Alene—who is also a Liberty Mutual employee—helped bridge the gap and facilitate this wonderful connection. “I started at Liberty Mutual just in time to connect WAMAL with SwL back in 2024,” Alene shared. “So far, we've had work parties out at Malley Valley all three years! We’ve even had repeat Liberty employees return because they enjoy this WAMAL event so much.”

This year, about 20 Liberty Mutual volunteers came out over two days in early May to tackle yard work and general maintenance at our Malley Valley kennel. The hard-working crew accomplished an incredible amount: they filled countless holes, removed an old fence to make more room for our walking trail, prepped the grounds for summer, weeded, and even stuffed Kongs for the dogs. And, of course, they were able to participate in some puppy play time too!

We are so grateful for their hard work and incredibly thankful to be a beneficiary of the Serve with Liberty program!

Want to Get Your Crew Involved? 🐾

Does your company, organization, or civic group love giving back to the community? If you’d like to organize a volunteer day to help out at our Malley Valley kennel, we would love to host you! Just send an email to board@wamal.com to coordinate a date.

Your Ultimate 2026 PNW Dog Guide Just Got an Upgrade

For all of you who want to be part of WAMAL but just don’t have the time to help at the kennel or take on a larger volunteer role, here’s your perfect chance. You can help the pups by representing WAMAL at events, where you can get your pup fix with our Ambassadogs and meet more great Mal loving people.

We are back with a fresh round of updates to our event calendar. There are a ton of local festivals, community walks, and pet parades throughout the Puget Sound area. WAMAL will not be able to attend all of these events, but we’re hoping to get enough volunteers and Ambassadog teams to take part in many of them.



Got a couple of hours to help us? These are fun and important ways to help educate the public about WAMAL and the Malamute breed and get our adoptable pups more attention. Want to join in the fun? Please email MalHappyTails@gmail.com.

The Poorly Drawn Results Are In

We are absolutely thrilled with the success of this super FUNdraiser and so grateful for everyone who participated—artists, traffic controllers, PR sharers, submitters and donors. Thanks again from all of us at WAMAL—both human and K9—for your support.

57 volunteer artists created unforgettable masterpieces from over 200 pet photo submissions, helping us raise an incredible $4,000 for the dogs of WAMAL - that’s oodles of poorly drawn doodles! 

Want to admire all the artistic “masterpieces” from 2023 to 2026? Check out the gallery here, and we’ll see you all again, same time next year. 

If you’d like to be on our artist team or help with traffic control, just give us a shout at poorlydrawnpets@wamal.com any time.