Meet Calcipher, the Samoyed pup! Calcifer joined Madeline Yin and Greg Bustamante’s family on September 26, 2021. Before he joined the family, they had been keeping an eye on samoyed rescues in hope they would find the perfect puppy. They knew they were getting a puppy from the litter Calcifer was in when the litter was 8 weeks old, but they didn’t know which one. Last year, Madeline traveled to the Samoyed Nationals in Colorado and learned that she would be getting Calcifer on her birthday. They didn’t decide on the name Calcifer for another week or so. 

Calcifer has a beautiful coat that needs much taking care of. He gets brushed every other day to keep his coat clean and mat-free. He gets a bath every one to two weeks in order for him to get used to it and see that it’s a part of normal life because he doesn’t like baths. As he gets older, the baths will be more infrequent. After bathing, he uses his own air dryer to ensure his thick double coat is dried to the skin.

Madeline and Greg make sure to keep Calcifer healthy by feeding him the right amount of WSAVA-approved dog food and not too many treats. For fun, he goes to two to three dog classes a week where he learns various dog sports. He’s currently in a pre-agility class and conformation class, but he’s done nosework and sport foundation classes before. Being in classes teaches him how to focus when other dogs are around and gives him a job to do, which he really enjoys. He can do a number of tricks, and he’s working towards a trick title in the future. His most showy trick at the moment are leg weaves.

Calcifer loves to play and work. His humans like to give him little jobs to keep him happy and to make him use his brain. One of his jobs is helping with the mail. He will carry a piece of mail from the mailbox to home. He also enjoys his naps: his favorite place being under the kitchen chairs, where he will slide into a “sploot” position. You can follow along with Calcifer on his own Instagram page @howdy.calboy.