While out and about today, I had the chance to look through some dog books, and I have found another likely candidate for Sasha's parentage: Samoyed
What really sold me was this page with pictures of a litter of six weeks old Samoyed puppies (roughly Sasha's age now). Granted, all of them are white as are most Samoyeds, but the AKC and other places I've looked list cream as a possible color for the breed.
Look at Sasha's ears here:

And compare them to this picture from the week nine page of the diary linked to above:

I also saw a picture of a Chow puppy with the same coloring as Sasha, but as with many of the Chow pictures I find, the snout is all wrong. With the Samoyed pictures, the snout seems very similar, as do the postures and the tail. I did see one picture of an adult Samoyed with cream coloring that darkened around the ears like Sasha's, but again, the Chow coloring was almost identical.
Curiouser and curiouser.
I'll mention the breed name to Mom and probably try to speak with her friend who is a local dog groomer. She'll probably know if anyone nearby breeds Samoyeds, or if anyone has adopted any (and could still lead to Sasha's real owners, something I admit I'm not looking forward to, but if it happens, then she belongs with them). Truth be told I haven't noticed this particular breed as being very popular around here, but I do see plenty of Chows. Perhaps the vet will be willing to make guesses once Sasha's a bit bigger and growing out of her puppy features (assuming we never find her owners that is).
No, it's not really that important to me that she be exactly purebred (hell, I've only ever had one purebred dog in my life and Penny is a definite mutt), but I do like to try to get a rough guess as to what she might be so I can prepare for possible breed-related illnesses, temperment troubles, and other things that might crop up.
Oh, and I am pleased to report Sasha went for a walk outside around the house with Penny and me tonight. She followed closely and is now actively seeking me out for petting and play. She's becoming attached to us and is showing herself to be very sociable. Her tail has been up and curled over her bag or wagging rapidly instead of tucked between her legs most of the time. This makes me very happy.
What really sold me was this page with pictures of a litter of six weeks old Samoyed puppies (roughly Sasha's age now). Granted, all of them are white as are most Samoyeds, but the AKC and other places I've looked list cream as a possible color for the breed.
Look at Sasha's ears here:
And compare them to this picture from the week nine page of the diary linked to above:

I also saw a picture of a Chow puppy with the same coloring as Sasha, but as with many of the Chow pictures I find, the snout is all wrong. With the Samoyed pictures, the snout seems very similar, as do the postures and the tail. I did see one picture of an adult Samoyed with cream coloring that darkened around the ears like Sasha's, but again, the Chow coloring was almost identical.
Curiouser and curiouser.
I'll mention the breed name to Mom and probably try to speak with her friend who is a local dog groomer. She'll probably know if anyone nearby breeds Samoyeds, or if anyone has adopted any (and could still lead to Sasha's real owners, something I admit I'm not looking forward to, but if it happens, then she belongs with them). Truth be told I haven't noticed this particular breed as being very popular around here, but I do see plenty of Chows. Perhaps the vet will be willing to make guesses once Sasha's a bit bigger and growing out of her puppy features (assuming we never find her owners that is).
No, it's not really that important to me that she be exactly purebred (hell, I've only ever had one purebred dog in my life and Penny is a definite mutt), but I do like to try to get a rough guess as to what she might be so I can prepare for possible breed-related illnesses, temperment troubles, and other things that might crop up.
Oh, and I am pleased to report Sasha went for a walk outside around the house with Penny and me tonight. She followed closely and is now actively seeking me out for petting and play. She's becoming attached to us and is showing herself to be very sociable. Her tail has been up and curled over her bag or wagging rapidly instead of tucked between her legs most of the time. This makes me very happy.