About Buckeye Samoyed Rescue

Buckeye Samoyed Rescue has been reborn so to speak after the loss of the founder of the organization Marietta Riley. We are up and running as a fully functional rescue organization. Peggy Baluch has stepped up and is our current rescue contact and our fearless leader. We have a network of folks throughout Ohio that are willing to help with transport/foster care etc and Peggy co-ordinates that network.

Buckeye Samoyed Rescue is a member of the National Samoyed Rescue

Marietta Ruth Riley

December 13, 1938 --September 19, 2013, Our Founder

She was born in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, the daughter of Orville E. and Inez E. (Snook) Long. On June 28, 1959 she married Carl Riley, her high school sweetheart. She was a registered nurse and the owner/operator of PNF Pet Products in Paulding, Ohio. ZIVI Bear was her kennel name, and, in addition to breeding and showing, she ran Buckeye Samoyed Rescue for many years, saving more than 150 Samoyeds. She was a member of United Methodist Church, Northeast Indiana Kennel Club of Indiana, and Samoyed Club of America.

Marietta had a wry sense of humor. Often, when we met her while transporting a dog into rescue, it would be fairly obvious that the dog was a mix, and, if it was a good-looking mix, she’d always say “Well, I think we can pass you off as a Sammy!” Marietta could tell immediately what each dog needed, in terms of rest and rehabilitation. Some dogs stayed with her for months while others were turned around to new owners within days. While her health was still OK, she would not let any Samoyed fall through the cracks, although she became more selective as her illness progressed, knowing that she would not be around permanently to care for them.

Marietta especially loved the mischievous Sammies with a sense of humor.