Four years ago today, I walked into the shelter to meet a stressed out sled dog; so stressed out the staff thought he was having seizures(those turned out to be just a side effect of his anxiety, not actual seizures). Said sled dog promptly launched himself out of his kennel, wrapped his paws around my neck and rested his little blond head on my shoulder. I have no idea what Anvik saw in me, but from that moment I was his human and he was coming home with me.
We had our first and so far only noise complaint that night. Anvik did not like being outside and he let the whole Yukon know about his unhappiness. We hear the Anvik Death Howl less often these days, but it still echos through the forest occasionally!
I am quite certain that it was his seperation issues and the Death Howl that lead to his being dumped at the shelter. It certainly wasn't his ability in harness. Anvik is a fine sled dog; always willing, a decent command leader and able to run all day. A tired Anvik is a good Anvik!
I'm not sure that he likes Tehya as much as she likes him...
but he is a tolerant big brother!
He is still happiest glued to my side, but he has figured out that I come back so he doesn't leap the fence in a single bound anymore or do the Death Howl all day! I regularly get squashed or sent flying when he decided he wants to be a lap dog or that he needs a hug. We make sure he can always see in the house; the doghouses against the side windows are very attractive! He doesn't scream as long as he can see me. Anvik's world begins and ends with me--a bit much sometimes, but sometimes also a nice change from the usual aloof husky personality! Plus it makes him reliable off-lead, a rare trait for a husky. I have never had to call Anvik twice; he always responds the first time he hears my voice!
Happy Gotcha day, my big anxious lovemuffin!
We almost lost Sophia over the summer. At first I thought it was just her stomatitis acting up, but her mouth looks fine and she was able to keep her last two teeth! However, she was clearly hurting, not eating, not purring and she walked like she was loaded. X-rays eventually showed that Sophia has some serious back problems, including three ruptured discs which were inflammed and pressing on her spinal cord. That was leading to all her problems. Her vet wasn't hopeful that there was anything that would help, but prednisone worked it's magic again. It has saved Sophia's life at least once before! She will never be a light on her paws, graceful feline again, but she can get where she wants to go without falling over; she's not in pain; she's eating and demanding her extra canned food every night; and best of all, she has returned to sleeping on my head purring her heart out. I will never understand how people sleep without purring in their ears! :)
We will be loosing Goldie in the not so distant future. She has waged a brave battle against bone cancer for 9 months, but it is winning. The cold, wet weather has not been her friend and the tumor is getting huge. We are lucky, if it's possible to be lucky with cancer, that the cancer is in her ribs, not a limb. She would have been gone a long time ago if it was in her long bones. Good pain meds are keeping Goldie comfortable still. She's still bossing her BFF, Chase, around all day. She will not be able to handle the cold of winter weather; sometime soon even the best meds won't keep her comfortable anymore. She hasn't told me that she's at that point yet, but it is coming for sure.