Maia, taken March 8, 2009 1 year 9 months old
She's been with us for a little over 3 years now! Our neighbors (the in-laws) had a little Wire Haired Dachshund named Lucky. He and Maia were the best, most unlikely friends ever. The mornings usually had Maia over at Lucky's house, then mid-day they would each go back to their own house for a nap. Lucky would come visit our side of the pond in the evenings. Then suddenly the visiting stopped. Lucky was missing. To this day no one has any idea what happened or where he ventured off to. He was an old soul. Not too terribly old for a typical Dachshund (we guessed somewhere around 8), but for a little outdoors man who'd been bit by a snake twice in his life, it probably was about his time to go. Jami and I used to (and still do) joke about his voice if he could talk- Clint Eastwood from Grand Torino! If you've seen the movie you should totally understand him! In the weeks to follow Maia moped around not really wanting to play, just mourn the loss of her beloved best friend.
Jami and I had casually talked about getting another dog so that Maia wouldn't be alone all day, but hadn't agreed on it yet. I was checking out Craigs List one afternoon and came across an add for a seven month old pure bred husky. For free. The awesome part is that she had already been fixed! It only took four hours of me begging Jami to agree for me to call and check it out. I figured that she would be gone for sure. Nope! The owners still had her and were ecstatic to know we had another husky. It was a young couple with a 4 year old daughter. The mom is a paramedic and the dad a firefighter, each working 24 hour shifts making no true time for puppy love. Bless their hearts... they were heart broken to have to give her up, but knew it was for the best. We picked her up two days later.... and man is she a big dog!!
Luna, take September 17, two months after she came home
We changed her name from Shasta to Luna, never calling her by her "old home" name. We didn't particularly like 'Shasta' and since she was brand new to us and our world she transitioned to her new name wonderfully.
It took Maia a little while to get used to having another dog actually living at her home and getting lovin' from her humans. Now they play, fight and share like sisters!
Maia (3) and Luna (10 months). Taken the same day as the above photo. Luna is already taller than Maia! Hopefully I'll have a better comparison picture, but with my limited uploading ability, this is all I've got for now!
Huskies are wonderful creatures for those who have the time and space for them. They are incredibly intelligent and loving. They're not, however, good for a guard dog unless you count the fear people get just from their wolf-like looks! The biggest reaction you'll probably get out of them is a little head roll or a request for a petting. You'll hardly ever hear one of them barking either. They do howl on occasion, but for my pups, that's almost as rare as the barking. That's good for me! If you hear one of them, you know something is going on!
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteOur Husky's name is Turk, we did let him keep his old home name because he was three years old when we got him. He will celebrate 1 year living with us on Halloween. He was fixed and had registration papers but we got him for free from a rescue in Milwaukee. He's a big boy (80 lbs) but sweet as they come. We are so lucky to have him. He will be four years old in November!
Cheers to your new family member. Husky's are beautiful, hard working dogs. She is BIG! Wow.
ReplyDeleteWe have a little dachshund, that is just precious. I was sorry to hear about Lucky. :-(
Thank yall for taking the time to comment! It means the world to me :)
ReplyDeleteFallen Timbers... other than the awesomness of you home building, I was inclined to follow your blog just because of your profile picture!!
Velva... If we get another breed of dog, dachsunds are at the very top of the list!!