In our kennel once a dog arrives here, our commitment to them means that this is their home for life and they very much become an important member of our furry family.

 

So what happens when they can no longer ‘pull their weight’ in terms of earning their way as part of our sled dog team? Well… nothing much changes for them, they still get the same level of care and cuddles they always did, they just no longer work for us as they once did. We try to keep them entertained as much as we can with gentler excursions to stretch their legs and adventures to stretch their minds.

Some of our husky team were born with us as pups, some arrived as young dogs and others were rescued. However they came to belong to our team, their future, happiness and health became our responsibility and we love them and try to care for them the very best we can. They do seem to like it here -as once when the kennel gates blew open, they looked out, peed in the new snow then all went back to bed! Only on a rare occasion can these dogs be rehomed happily (we’ve only done it once and that was very much for the dog’s benefit). They come from a working background and although their temperaments in the main are as soft as they come, the amount of energy they contain means they don’t adapt well to full-time life in a house (although they will happily curl up in one for a while if cuddles and treats are on offer).

We are committed to not putting a healthy dog down -they have worked hard for us, so we will work hard for them. We keep all our dogs into their retirement, and care for them through any health problems (so long as they have quality of life). Some have developed old dog problems such as thyroid issues or arthritis, so have to take various medications. Other younger dogs that we cannot work have unfortunately developed conditions such as epilepsy or they just don’t like to run in the team.

With our kennels containing an amount of “retired” dogs at anyone time -this can get costly to fund. It’s the cost of their veterinary care and medication but also a large amount of kibble too! Some of our non-working dogs are not mentally ready for retirement, so we have to dream up things to keep their interest. We’ve tried indestructible toys which turn out to be destructible and get destroyed quite quickly but it keeps them busy for a few moments… We are committed to earning enough to take care of them properly so offer ‘work’ with them in a different way (see our WALK AND TALK WITH A HUSKY) which basically involves lots of extra attention, cuddles and treats! The other thing we do is offer a sponsorship scheme, so that you can help us to give these lovely furry souls the best possible life.

********
We very much appreciate any support you can offer by sponsoring a non-working husky or by supporting the kennel in general.

​

​