ADOPTION COORDINATION TEAM NEEDS HELP!
DO YOU LOVE MALS? DO YOU LOVE RESCUE? Do you have a few extra hours a week to help our rescued Mals find their furever homes? Our Adoption Coordination Team needs another member!! Is that you?

You can have a direct impact on helping our pups find their furever homes! As a member of the Adoption Coordination Team (ACT) you actively match our rescued dogs to approved adopters!
The ACT is responsible for:
  • Providing input at the Adoption Team meetings for possible matches for approved adopters, then presenting and coordinating meet and greets. 
  • Assisting the adopter throughout the adoption transition period.
  • Maintaining good communication with the rest of the ACT, the Foster Coordinators, and Kennel Caretaker.

Skillset includes: 
  • Daily access to computer and ability to check incoming email stream at least twice daily (more when coordinating an intro).
  • Attention to detail and data management, good communication and organizational skills.
  • Average weekly time spent is 1-5 hours depending on incoming dogs and matches for the week. (This reflects total time for the team; individual time will be less.) This includes a weekly 1 hour conference call with the Adoption Team.
  • A sense of humor!

If you are interested in learning more about this position, please email Linda at Linda@wamal.com. Please put “Interested in ACT” in the subject line. Jump into rescue, get your paws wet, and help us get our pups adopted!! Thank you!
THE GORGEOUS WAMAL 2023 CALENDAR IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDERING!
This year's WAMAL Calendar features the top 13 Winners of the 2023 Pet Photo Calendar Contest, hosted by Marie Wulfram Photography. As a prize for each of the winners, Marie scheduled professional photo shoots in amazing outdoor settings and these are featured in the calendar. Also included are many photos that were submitted and appear in requested months that honor our beloved pets (birthdays, gotcha days, remembrance days).

All proceeds from calendar sales go directly to WAMAL to help our mission of rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming Alaskan Malamutes. These make wonderful gifts for the holidays so be sure to get a few extra to help the Mals and tick off some of that holiday shopping, too!
RESCUE IN PROGRESS!
WAMAL was recently involved with helping rescue over 30 malamutes in Oregon that needed to be surrendered. Several WAMAL volunteers were on hand to assist the Oregon Humane Society, which led the effort to transport all of the dogs to their facility in Portland. The dogs were then altered and vaccinated while there.

Meanwhile, WAMAL and the national affiliate, the Alaskan Malamute Assistance
League (AMAL), hustled to find adopters and fosters. Our efforts paid off! Thanks to so many tireless volunteers, we were able to directly assist 11 malamutes in just one week!

By the numbers:
  • 5 mals are entering adoption trials with WAMAL adopters
  • 4 mals have been adopted out by OHS
  • 4 mals are moving into the newly added kennels at our Malley Valley facility - watch for them to be made available on our website for adoption or foster soon!
  • 10 mals are being transferred to rescues across the country via AMAL.
  • 2 mals have entered foster care with WAMAL fosters
  • 7 mals remain at OHS where they are being prioritized for adoption, but may be matched with WAMAL fosters if not adopted first.

Thank you to the many people who are stepping up to foster or adopt these and other deserving Alaskan Malamutes!
HIKE WITH A MAL!
The lovely Fall weather is coming on quickly!! What a great time to go HIKING WITH A MAL! Here’s how YOU can become involved:

You are welcome to take our kenneled Mals for a day-long adventure! Go hiking or walking or any dog-centric adventure once you have completed our FREE volunteer dog walking and socialization program. Come to our kennel near Puyallup, WA or Burlington, WA and meet the Mals. Learn about their personalities and quirks and how to handle the pups in a variety of situations including meeting/avoiding other dogs (whichever is appropriate for the particular pooch you are walking), how to deal with the pulling propensity of this breed, how to reward desired behavior and re-direct undesirable behavior, and a ton more—all great info to know should you want to adopt or already have pups of your own!  
Once you have “graduated” from our program, you are welcome to “check a Mal out” for the day! Just let us know which dog you would like to take, where you are going and be able to provide safe and reliable transport. We will just need to check the schedule for any possible Meet and Greets with potential adopters for the pooch you requested.

So, what are you waiting for?!! Great weather is just ahead and it’s time to get outside! Send an email to wamal@wamal.com and put Hiking with a Mal in the subject line. We’ll send you a volunteer form to complete, put you in touch with the training coordinator and you’ll be off!! The pups will love you for it!!
SALMON DAYS EVENT:
OCT 1st & 2nd IN ISSAQUAH, WA!
IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN!! Our biggest festival event, SALMON DAYS, is October 1st and 2nd in downtown Issaquah, Washington from 10AM to 6PM both days!! 

Join 250,000 of your closest friends and come visit our booth (#647). Our booth is located on the “Field of Fun” near the Doc Dogs attraction! If you visited us last year, we are in the same place and if you visited us in the prior years, just know that we have moved to this new location! We will have dog toys, gift items, jewelry, and a ton more!! This year we are thrilled to introduce our exclusive line of artcraft by Janet Knight, the award-winning artist who has donated several of her amazing original paintings to our past auctions. Come see the fun and affordable items she has created and take home a trinket or two of joy!  

And of course, we will have Ambassadogs on duty too to spread the joy, so come and get some “fibers of love” while you’re at it! We are there to answer questions about adopting, fostering, sponsoring and volunteering with WAMAL and about the Malamute breed in general! 

Spread the word and bring all your chums! We'll see you there!! Visit the website http://www.salmondays.org for more info, schedules and maps!
LOOT 4 MOOTS 4th ANNUAL ONLINE AUCTION
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 6
Our biggest fundraiser of the year is coming up quickly and WOW do we have some AMAZING items for you to bid on!! Artwork, Clothing, Housewares, Treats & Food, Decorator items, many unique one-of-a-kind treasures! The photo included here is a custom-made metal piece donated by rheaclaimedtreasures@outlook.com.
We also have the spectacular original paintings by Janet Knight who has been so generous in continuing her support of WAMAL. More info coming in our October MUSE newsletter and, if you follow us on social media, we’ll be giving previews of many of the great items!! Like last year, we will be using the web-based platform, BetterWorld, which makes it super easy to look through the items and bid! You even get alerted if you’ve been outbid!
RAISE THE RWOOF! FUNDRAISER RESULTS
Our August fundraiser, Raise the Rwoof…Shed Happens, was a HUGE success! We needed to raise money to purchase 2 sheds to provide storage, a volunteer area and feeding prep station. We offered kennel naming rights for our 12 kennels (up from 8) for donations of $1,000+ and we are overjoyed to report that donations were received to cover ALL the kennels! In addition, many of you donated $50 or more and your names will be added to the donation plaque that will be displayed in the new volunteer shed!! 

The WAMAL Board of Directors would like to thank each and every one of you for your generosity! We now have enough money to continue to configure the sheds for their intended uses and to move forward with our next phase of building upgraded coverings for ALL the kennels! We hope to have some photos in next month’s MUSE to share with you!! Thank Wooooo All!!
ADOPTABLE DOG SHOWCASE
Hello, I'm Aurora and if you have been looking for the "Goodest Girl" then look no further - I'm pretty sure that's me!

I am a loving and affectionate girl who will lean into you for pets, but I'm not clingy if you have to leave. I'm pretty chill at home but enjoy my daily walks. I walk very well on a leash and have been learning to "auto-sit" when we stop walking! I might pull a little if I see a squirrel, but if you keep a treat handy I'll pay attention to you and ignore it! I really like my treats - including healthy ones like carrots and blueberries - so if you're into reward-based training you'll find me really easy to work with!

I'm fully house-trained, crate trained, and I ride really well in the car. I'm friendly to other dogs so I might like a buddy, but fair warning that I might be a bit pushy up front until we all get used to each other. But if you are good about setting direction, I am good about taking it! Once I got past that initial settling period with my current foster brother we became really good snuggle buddies! If you don't have another dog I'd be OK as your one and only too! I've been gentle and sweet with the children I've met too! Just no small critters or livestock please - they are such a temptation to chase!

If you agree that I truly am the Goodest Girl then please fill out an application to adopt me!
Calling all adventurers - my name is Sugarplum and I'm looking for my furever adventure buddy!

Now sure, I'm a gorgeous girl and with my one blue eye and one parti- eye I'm practically made for Instagram. But I'm so much more than just a pretty face! I'm a lean, athletic, and energetic young girl and I make an excellent running and hiking partner! I also make an adorable crag dog when my foster dad takes me climbing. Have you ever wanted to try skijoring or bikejoring? I'd be down! I'm always game for fun and adventure, just promise you'll let me sniff a little along the way!

I've come a really long way in my foster home - I've learned not to be so afraid of the car because it takes us to adventures! I've finally got this housetraining thing down and I've learned not to chew up things that aren't mine (but you may have to show me what's not mine!). I like to be near you and get lots of attention!

I enjoy playing with other dogs but can be a bit nervous about them while on leash, and I don't like them near my food or toys. I'd make a great only dog, or could live with an easygoing dog after careful, slow integration by a dog-savvy adopter.

So whaddya say? Wanna go adventure with me? Then please apply to adopt me today!
If neither of these pups seem like a good fit for you please make sure to check out all the other wonderful dogs WAMAL has up for adoption right now!