There's always that excitement at the beginning of a sleddie walk. Anticipation. The hurry-up-and-wait. 
It's pretty much hard wired into them from their days of pulling sleds. 
Some of today's crew know the drill well having been on many walks over the years. Gather, wait, sniff, wait, photo ops, wait... and then let's go!
For others, this was pretty new and maybe a bit scary.
With 14 sleddies in today's group, it was an almost 50/50 split of experienced retirees to newbies.

The weather held, though fall is starting to arrive with leaves falling and a crispness to the air.
I had no idea who was all coming so when I realized that a young pup who'd stolen my heart back in February was prancing my way, my heart skipped a beat. This fella is now known as Yukon. He's 10 months old and has the legs of a giraffe, the silliness of a puppy and the speed of a sleddie. Back in February, he arrived as a wee little one who wasn't doing very well. He arrived late at night and I remember holding him and trying to feed him bits of food. It was a win when he finally took some. When the time came for me to put him back down with his siblings, he just looked at me with big puppy eyes and tried to hold on with his paws. 
I'd heard a few reports that he started thriving (yay!), and I was delighted to finally see it for myself!
I've said it before, but seeing sleddies who have settled into their new homes is just the best. And since it's hard to stop at one sleddie, his family is fostering Yang, who arrived in that same group and the two of them are fantastic playmates. (BTW, Yang is adoptable!)

Black and Robbie arrived together back in June. Robbie (who is now Raspberry) led the way so I didn't get any action photos, but she did give me some good faces once we were done! Black (who's rumour has it is all but adopted), got her  first taste of being off leash and, well, let's just say that she's going to be an on-leash sleddie for a while longer. Though she and her foster brother Twister (of the floppy ears) are close, Black's still learning about this whole retired life thing.
 
Sweet Ying just couldn't mentally get herself out of the truck to join on the walk - even with some friends and her foster sister Benga on hand. It just wasn't to be, today. I'm told she does really well generally, but maybe the pre-walk energy was just been too much for her. Her foster family are patient and let her find her own pace, so they'll try again another time.

Along the paths the younger dogs ran and ran and ran, and the older ones kept a more moderate pace with brief moments of zoomies. Yes, Jasper I'm look at you! 
Portia is back to her pre-lost dog adventure self from earlier this year and is doing so well! She took treats from me which she never did before, and just seemed more relaxed in general. She's still pretty silly though!

Argus is another one whose true self is emerging. He's super chill at home and on today's walk he was much more relaxed than I've seen at previous ones. With age catching up a bit he's losing a bit of vision, but his mom was gushing about him and what a bright spot he is in their family. Also, he LOVES being brushed so he got lots of finger brushing before the walk and even along the way!

Biggie is still the happy-go-lucky guy he's been since I first met him back in April 2021. He motors along, stops for treats and has some of thee best head tilts around!

My old friend Apex donned his best bell. It's now a fixture on him on walks and comes in handy when he trundles behind a bit or heads off the path... or decides to head off on his own like he did today. Mary Kate + Roo got their zoomie time too, but with a big group like today, they stuck close Deb.

Some of the dogs on today's walk were so fearful when they arrived into care it was best not to look in their direction, or they'd want to escape. To see them loose and happy and adventuring, something they may never have had the chance to experience, is something that isn't taken for granted by their families. To have the support of a patient human who will go at their pace to help them build confidence, experience the world safely and spend time with other dogs who are just cool cucumbers. Who will also be there to support them as they age and slow down, is how it should be. 

These walks are important for the dogs as well as the people. While the dogs do their thing, the humans talk about all things sleddie... and no topic is taboo! 

Along the walk, we met an adoptee named Duncan. His mom was expecting to meet another dog group for a walk but couldn't find them, so they ended up joining ours. Yay Duncan!

At the end of the walk a few of us stayed to chat. This is usually the best time for photo ops -- the dogs are tired, the excitement has worn off and everyone just chills out. Shi (formerly Shining) took the opportunity of the smaller group to get treats, LOTS of loves, drink water from my hand (!), pose for me, then nap. She and Idefix arrived into care not even a month ago, but she's settling really well, spending days napping in the front yard of her foster family's home and getting all the love she wants. 

Thank you to today's crew for allowing me the photo ops! You are all ambassadors for change!

​Sleddie roll call:
We had 14 sleddies on today's walk!
Apex, Mary Kate + Roo, Argus, Biggie, Jasper + Portia, Raspberry (formerly Robbie), Shi (adoptable), Twister + Black, (adoptable) Yang + Yukon (foster brother), (adoptable) Ying + Benga (foster brother).

Please click through photos in gallery to view photos full size.
To see all blog posts about a particular sleddie, please click on their name on the right side of the page.

As the last sleddie hopped into her foster's car to head on to a new life, I had to reflect on what this project is all about and why I'm doing this. 
There are many reasons why I continue to document former sled dogs coming into care (more which will be chronicled very soon), but one of them is to give a face and name to those who have been a part of the industry while educating people on what it's like for dogs who come out of it. 
So here's the intake of six former sled dogs who came into the care of the Victoria Humane Society yesterday evening. They made the journey from Whistler to BC to West Vancouver where they were took a ferry ride to Nanaimo, then transferred into VHS care. The transport volunteers drove them to Duncan where they had a pit stop for water and a potty break, got their harnesses fitted, GPS tracker attached and then back into the van for the short drive to Victoria and VHS HQ.
Then they got their hardware checked, got double leashed for safety and their foster homes met them one by one to take them home. 
Vet visits for check ups and procedures, including some spays/neuters will be next, once they've had a breather.
Ace, Bear, Biggie, Catty, Loki and Porsche (along with Maddy a 7th dog who went to her foster home before I got to meet her) woke up as sled dogs and will go to bed as dogs covered under our domestic animal protection laws (which need updating, but it's a start).
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In this small intake, two dogs were super fearful (Ace + Catty), Bear (who has an injured leg which will be getting looked at) was tentative but moved in close for pets, Porsche loved the ear scritches (similar to scratches, but scritches are on THE spot) and was seemingly content as long as a buddy was in view. Biggie was a treat hound and totally chill and even had a nap while waiting to head home... and Loki wanted to lean in close and get so much love... from whoever was closest.  
 Thank you to everyone who made this happen for these special pups! (and to Charla for mopping out the van to get ready for the next intake for VHS)

Welcome to retirement and island life sweet sleddies!

To learn more about former sled dogs, please wander around this site.
To see the diversity of 198 former sled dogs on one page, go HERE
To learn more about VHS or contribute to the care of the sleddies, please visit: www.victoriahumanesociety.com or visit their very active facebook page.

What's makes meeting and photographing the handsome Loki this evening kinda special? He's the 198th former sled dog I've documented coming into retirement over the last decade!
I know I've met more, but for whatever reason, there is no photo - no name to attach to a face - but for Loki and 197 others, there is. And that's important. Because for the industry that paints all sled dogs as sled dogs who like to 'work' and 'pull', they are individual beings with needs and likes and dislikes. And yes, they are totally adoptable. Like any dog, some will be happy to spend most days curled up in a sleddie donut napping and getting in a walk or two a day. Some will want all the walks and adventures. Some will be nervous of new homes, smells, sounds, sights. And some will walk right into a house as if they've always lived there. 
And what's more... these new retirees are now covered under Canada's animal protection laws (however substandard they are- that's another post)... but instead of being grouped under the agricultural animal laws, they are now considered domestic pets.
No, their DNA didn't change in the course of the trip from Whistler to Victoria, BC, it's just the fact that they were used for industry and now they aren't.
Sounds crazy because it is.
For now, Ace, Bear, Biggie, Catty, Loki and Porsche are going to have time to adjust to their new world, get some vet checks (and spays/neuters) and live as special beings they are.
Thanks to the volunteers who helped make this happen. All these guys will be available for adoption through The Victoria Humane Society, so watch their facebook page for updates. (if their fosters don't fail and adopt them, themselves!)