The updates are few and far between these days, I know.

It doesn't mean our sleddie community is any less committed, it's just that we just don't get together quite as much. 
One group I do see more than others though is Deb's crew, currently made up of Apex (into care 2014), Mary Kate + Roo (into care in 2017) and Homer (into care 2024).

Back on Oct 26 I went to visit them. Apex wasn't feeling well so I showed up with some cheese slices for the dogs and a shoulder for Deb.

A few days later, Apex passed away. 
And though I shared a memorial post and my last photos of sweet Apex, it seems I had forgotten to share the photos of the rest of the crew from that visit.
So here are some silly dogs trying to catch cheese while Deb and I sat on her front steps and talked.

And the last photo I ever took of Apex. 

Thanks for visiting,
w

I met Homer on June 29. He had arrived late on June 24 and was whisked away into a foster home. Not much is known about Homer other than he was running loose for about three weeks before being trapped. He then ended up at the SPCA in the NWT who then kennelled him at a dog boarding/day care/sled dog kennel where he's spent the last few months. And though it hasn't been confirmed he was a sled dog and if so, which kennel he may have escaped or been released from, between the video of him in harness attached to both a sled and a bike, he seems to know what he's doing in both situations, and where he was found, well... we've been told it's not uncommon to find sled dogs out on their own 

So without any ID or a microchip, this fearful stray became Homer.

Five days after his arrival in Victoria I met Homer at his foster home. One look at him and he broke my heart. There was nothing physically wrong - no scars, cuts, broken limbs, he wasn't starving. But inside, that's where the broken bits are.
There he was. Sitting as far back as he could in the crate that's in his kennel. Front legs stuck together and head lowered looking at me.
We make eye contact. 
He wears a collar - the kind used at sled dog kennels with the big 'D' ring on it and a GPS tracker attached to that. 
His left foot looks to be wearing a spotted sock - is there heeler in there or pointer?
I have my camera ready and move it slowly up to my eye and he watches. Click. No response. That could mean he's in freeze or it doesn't bother him. I click some more, moving slowly, taking breaks and watching him. 
Deb, his foster, goes in to his kennel and attaches the long line to his collar to bring him out.
He's not ready. 
So we sit in her yard with her other dogs - Apex, Mary Kate and Roo - and talk for a while. Every once in a while we can see Homer's feet come out of his crate, walk to the gate of the kennel, perhaps to see where we're all at. Two hours of our visit goes by and Deb tries again.
Success!
Homer comes out and the dogs do their sniffing and Deb and I pretend we're not watching him. I continue to photograph him at a distance which he's not seeming to be bothered by. He also doesn't mind the kids riding their bikes on the street. And when Mary Kate gives him a lip when he gets too close, he backs off. He rubs back ends with Apex and follows Roo into the best dirt holes in which to lie down.
It's a delicate balance helping a fearful dog with no history -- sometimes they need the gentlest little nudge to help them along, but not enough that it sends them into a backward slide. Teeny tiny steps along with seemingly thousands of decisions every day for both the foster and the dog. 

Everyone's trying.
So hard. 

But Homer is going to need a champion, or 20. People who will show him kindness and patience and understand he's doing his best. 
He's eating and drinking and doing his business which are great to see. But like so many sled dogs, when he's outside in the yard on his long line, he starts the circling behaviour so ingrained in many dogs from sledding kennels. When dogs are kept tethered, circling is about all they can do... for entertainment, for stress release, out of frustration, for attention. It's their 'go-to'.

On Homer's side is an experienced sleddie foster home (thanks Deb!), a community that has helped hundreds and hundreds of former sled dogs make the transition into a retired life, and the Victoria Humane Society who will ensure whatever help Homer needs, Homer will get. However long it takes.

In my photo story, I captured Homer as he was and include my usual sets of series to help illustrate the nuances of his behaviours and movements.

Thanks for stopping by,
​wendy

For adoption info on Homer or to donate towards his care, please contact: https://victoriahumanesociety.com/save-animals-everyday/