SHAYTAAN SIBERIAN HUSKIES       

Happy are those that dream dreams and are ready to 

pay the price to make them come true - Leon J. Suenes

 Fostering Huskies for Welfare

          I thought I’d write a little about our experience as a foster home for unwanted Sibes.  I do so in the hope that it will inspire those of you in the fortunate position of having the time, space, patience and experience necessary to foster, but who haven’t thought of doing so to give it a go.

                    It is first and foremost, immensely rewarding to rehome a dog and to know that it’s going to get all the love, care and attention it needs and deserves for the rest of its life. It is also nice to have a new face around sometimes, a new dog to get to know, bring it out of its shell in some cases, try and calm it down in others! It is of course also very upsetting when a dog you’ve had around for a month or two goes off to its new home, though we’ve found that the more foster dogs you have, the more you get hardened to this, and some of the dogs even have you giving a sigh of relief when they go!

Oscar and Charlie                    

 We started fostering two years ago, when we moved to our present house and had the space to do so. It’s very important to have a separate area for the foster dogs to go into, should they happen not to get along with your own dogs or vice versa. We had filled in a welfare questionnaire  indicating that we would be able to foster a dog and handed it in to Marinda at Aviemore, then waited with bated breath for our first ‘assignment’.

             We didn’t have to wait long! Soon after getting home we got a call from Paul Keen. Could we take a 2 year old boy called Charlie who had had several homes already? The people who had him, had had him for a month and decided they didn’t want him anymore. So a couple of days later Charlie arrived. Far from being the wild, uncontrollable young husky we imagined he must be after having so many homes, the first thing he did when he came in the house was lie down and go to sleep. He did little else for the next three months that we fostered him for and we constantly asked ourselves how could this boy, the easiest Sibe to look after we’d ever met, could have had so many homes. We tried to run him a couple of times, but he made his displeasure abundantly clear. He got on famously with our pack and they loved having him around.

               After three months we had got very attached to him, and were both very upset when he went off to his new home with a couple who had  had welfare Sibes before. However, a month later we got a call from them saying they couldn’t cope with him (!)  and would we come and get him. We were so pleased to have him back we decided to keep him and he’s here for life now. He’s still our easiest dog, likes going to rallies ‘just to watch’, but will raid the food cupboards if we don’t keep an eye on him. His two hobbies are sleeping and eating, in no particular order. A dog after my own heart!

                  After Charlie came an 8 month old bitch, now called Sonya, who was gorgeous, a real sweetie and very pretty. Her owner was very upset at having to give her up, but couldn’t cope with her ‘huskyness’, a situation we encounter again and again. We’re always sympathetic to people like this who’ve admitted they’ve made a mistake and have at least brought the dog into welfare, rather than selling it on and passing the problem onto someone else. We had Sonya for a couple of months before she found a lovely home with Malcolm and Rachael Bateman where she thoroughly enjoys herself on the trail and putting the boys in their place.

              Before we rehomed her to the Batemans, welfares sent a lady round to give her a home. This lady was quite elderly, had driven a couple of hours to our home and was quite shaky when she arrived. It was very apparent that she was unsuitable to take on a young, very full of herself Sibe. We got her to take Kally (as she was then called) for a walk down the road. She didn’t get 100 yards before asking to come back. When she’d sat down and got her breath back she said ‘OK then, can I take her now?’! We had to tactfully explain that maybe a Siberian wasn’t the right dog for her and she had to agree. In fact by then I think she was somewhat relived that we didn’t make her take her! That’s the only time that we’ve felt it necessary to turn someone down, they don’t usually get to that stage. But be aware that you may have to refuse someone who’s driven a long way to visit you. It’s hard to do, but it must be done for the sake of the dog.

Misty with our own girl Poppy

In the following year and a half we have had another 8 dogs, Stitch, the very, very, VERY big boy (very soft too), Dema (now called Deo), Storm,Misty, Oscar, Amber, Kotay 1 and Kotay 2.

                    Misty was obese when we got her and did excellently on her

 diet over the time she was here and was a lovely shape by the time she was rehomed. She got on very well with Oscar, a gorgeous young boy we had in at the same time, and we were so pleased when Helen and Mal Griffin took them as a pair and gave them a wonderful home. We got an update at Christmas about how they were getting on and a lovely photo of them both sprawled on the settee together.                      

             Deo was rehomed with friends of our who we train with, Richard and Lorraine Morgan, as despite coming from a pet home, it was blatantly obvious that he needed to work. From the moment he was put in harness he ran like the wind and has continued to do so. He is without doubt the happiest dog I’ve ever seen in harness and always comes back from a run with a grin on his face and a wag in his tail.

Deo and Kotay

However he now has a rival for happiest sled dog in his team - Kotay 2, who we also recently rehomed with Richard and Lorraine. Also from a (very unsuitable) pet home, Kotay is very big and strong (and manic!) and also obviously needed to run. He learnt very quickly what it was all about and shoots off like a bullet, while Rob stares wistfully after him wondering what might have been if we’d been able to keep him!

Last mention goes to Kotay 1 a little fluffy boy who had had many homes in his short life. We rehomed him a couple of months ago to Chrissy Statham, who I know now can’t imagine life without him. ‘Kotay’ sends me regular emails on his progress in his new home, a couple of which are reproduced here :-

Hello.... Kotay here.....

Well ! I have been at my new home for a week now and my new Mum said i have been a very good boy, I have made lots of new friends and we go on lots of exciting new walks and meet many strange animals particularly the things called horses ! I don't understand what they are ? I like going to the feed suppliers as they always give me a chew to carry home and today Mum bought me a big one that i am really enjoying in the picture, I have a play mate called Jody and we wrestle and play all the time and i really like him. I ask to go outside if i need the toilet which has made Mum really proud of me but she did tell me off for opening doors on my own, I figured why ask if i can do it myself, she won't let me drink out of the toilet either ?

I have settled down really well and even like this little person called Brandon who runs around as he usually has some form of food with him and when Mum isn't looking we sneak off into a corner and he shares it with me.... He gets told off not me and it's really funny, I like that game. We watched this game called football the other day and i still don't understand what balls are, Jody runs around like a lunatic with them and i just sit and watch as i'm not sure what to do. Anyway i have to go as we have to get the horses ready for bed so that means another walk, I am really happy and being very good, I hope you like the photo,

Kotay. xxxxxxxxxx

Merry Christmas...

I have settled in really well and i am being an extremely good boy, I am on my teather in this photo as i am in the garden and Mum is having some new fencing put up so she didn't want to risk me getting out.

Tonight i had some mince beef in with my dinner and i am so full i can't move... I sat and looked at it as i couldn't eat another mouthful, it was lovely. Mum agreed that i would have been a real problem to someone who didn't take me out all the time as i love to jump around and if given the chance would chew... but i am so tired when i am indoors i just want to sleep.

I do show off when people visit as i bounce off the walls and furniture.. I am only playing.... I soon settle and get my tummy rubbed and that makes me fall asleep. I am totally clean indoors and ask to go out if i have to.

I sit on Mums knee and watch tele as i think i am a poodle and have a big cuddle and i sing to Whitney Houston which for some reason makes everyone laugh.

I am a really happy boy and love my new home, Mum feels as if i have always lived here and can't believe how quickly i have settled....

I will write soon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR...

Kotay. xxxxx

               Getting feedback like this makes it all worthwhile, as does meeting so many nice people who are prepared to give a home to a welfare dog (which isn’t always easy) and to bring them the happiness they deserve. There are usually more welfare dogs than foster homes to take them, so if you’ve read this and feel you’d like to help out give Marinda a call, she’ll be glad to hear from you and I promise you won’t regret it!

Louise