"Husky" as we first called him, was exhausted. He drank plenty of water and ate some cat food (all we had) and slept, slept and slept. He slept through all of the BIG "BOOMS" in Piru that night. Folks here have plenty of fireworks (yes the illegal kind) and they were setting them off well into the night, but he just slept right through them.
The next day I took a picture, posted on facebook, called the Humane Society and filed a report with Ventura County Animal Control. We planned to keep him until 1. his owner was found or 2. a new home was located for him. I found that he had recently been neutered (still had his stitches) and walked beautifully on a leash, someone had loved him at some point. I got him scanned at a local vet office to find that he HAS A CHIP. But that vet's scanner could not read the chip. The next day we went to Ventura to a vet that had a scanner to read the chip. I called the chip company (AVID) and spoke with the nice man who previous owned him. He said the dog had ran off twice, both times crossed the 126 highway. He got him from the pound in LA and he was up on all his shots. He said that he needed a dog that would stay at his ranch and if I wanted him I could keep him.
I had spoken to several folks, including two dog trainers. Both had experience with Huskies, one as an owner. I expressed my reservation about the unique needs of huskies, but after hearing the story of how he came to us, this one trainer said "tell me why you're not definitely keeping this dog... the came to you for a reason." I wondered if we were supposed to keep this dog. It would mean BIG changes for our family.
At this point a fabulous lady on facebook had said her family could give him a home. But by this time I had gotten a bit attached, and it didn't help that ever since I was little I'd wanted a "wolf dog" (Have you seen The Journey of Natty Gann?") Anyway, my husband wasn't sold and needed a few days to decide. So we were in a "holding" pattern until my husband gave it the ok. I too was working to not have my heart set on keeping him, and to be realistic about his needs for a happy healthy life with us.
IN the meantime the story in town continued to unfold. Our neighbors across the street told us that two huskies had been "dumped" on the 4th at the ARCO station on the 126 at the entrance to Piru. And that they had been "shacking up" with a few folks around, but taking in two huskies that were used to roaming around can be tough so folks kept letting them go. A few days later on a walk we saw a young man who had a husky tied to a tree in his yard. The husky had blue eyes and a white "mask". We chatted and found that Yes, these two huskies had been cruising together. Blue Eyes was not neutered and must have gotten into some oil or tar and he had a bunch of ticks. It didn't seem that they came from the same owner as the man I spoke with, as the husky we had was in much better condition. This young man also turned out to be the brother of the girls who baby sat our son for the past few years. Small world. I let him know that if he decided he was not able to keep the dog, that I knew a woman (the lady from facebook) that might want to take him.
So after a couple beach trips, dog park experiences and van rides, and ultimately the husbands final OK. Niko (Neeko) joined our family.
The story for "Blue Eyes" is still unfolding. Niko has been to the vet and overall looks pretty good, he's getting some medicine for Giardia and that should help with him being a bit underweight.
And I feel our adventures have only just begun.
