I Was a Sled Dog
  • Home
  • Galleries + Projects
    • The Sled Dogs of Whistler
    • I Was A Sled Dog, Part One
    • I Was A Sled Dog, Part Two
    • Archives
    • Books
  • About
    • Rescued + Retired Sled Dogs
    • My Remarkable Journey
  • Content Sharing + Image Use
  • Support
    • Resources + How You Can Help
    • Press
    • Fundraising + Donations
  • Contact
  • Blog

I WAS A SLED DOG BLOG

nine more... part 2

2/4/2021

 
Picture
It was evening when they arrived and the welcoming crew was waiting... the beds, meds, food and foster homes. 

The day of travel for the volunteers had been long - up early to catch the ferry, drive to the meeting spot just outside of Whistler, BC, load up the dogs, back on the road, back on the ferry, transporting nine dogs onto a whole new life.

The object on arrival was to ensure the dogs were safe. That meant they were fitted with harnesses and collars, leashed and were assigned a GPS tracker which was clipped to their collar. 
First out was Pumpkin. This fellow had recently undergone surgery on his eyes and it wasn't healing. He came in to the shelter to await his foster humans, and in the meantime he sniffed around, made friends with the volunteers, had some treats and a nap on the bed under the desk. 

We had thought each dog would come in to the shelter so I could get their photos as it was dark out when they arrived. I really didn't want to use my flash on them outside for a number of reasons, but as with all intakes of new dogs, you do what's best for them. Pumpkin, Teddy, and Cap were more relaxed and crossed the threshold into the Victoria Humane Society with ease and a touch of curiosity. Batman, Tig, Stevie and Sparkles were more nervous so I did my best to get photos of them before they left with their fosters, but none were very interested in looking at me. Kerri was rearing to go and didn't want to come inside so I captured her from a distance (with flash). Herman arrived and left before I even saw him.

Living in a home will be new for these guys. Even though a few of them have couch napping experience, the sights, sounds, smells of being in a home 24/7 will bring along some challenges. The loving foster homes have all been briefed on what may happen with a sleddie in the home - they may find them atop tables and counters, they may eschew comfy beds and sofas for hard floors, ignore toys, they may not eat or drink for days (or only when the humans sleep or are in other rooms), or be afraid of food dishes. They may try to escape you or your home (hence the GPS), they may not engage with you at all and their tails may stay tucked for days or weeks.
It's all to be expected. It's all normal.

One just needs to look at how sled dogs live in a commercial kennel to see that they are usually fed atop their dog houses, their water may be in a bucket attached to their dog house so it doesn't move around and sits at a particular height, they don't know toys. If they've only ever been a working sled dog and this is all they've know... all this new can be very scary.

They just need time to decompress. To figure it out. 

The support group here is on hand and ready to help and I'm eager to see how this group settles in. There are plans for a group walk soon, so stay tuned for updates!

Thank yous go out to all the volunteers who helped bring these dogs into care and to the fosters who've opened their homes to these remarkable dogs.
And to the Victoria Humane Society , extra big thanks for being there to help sleddies in need... always. 
Most of all, to the dogs. They try so hard to fit into our world and are just doing their best.

Welcome to retirement Batman, Cap, Herman, Kerri, Pumpkin, Sparkles, Stevie, Teddy and Tig xo

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    November 2017
    March 2017
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories
    (of dogs named in blog only)

    All
    Ace
    Angel
    Apex
    Argus
    Arwen
    Ash
    Baloo
    Bamboo
    Batman
    Bear
    Bella
    Berta
    Betty
    Biggie
    Birch
    Blizzard
    Blue
    Blue's Pups
    Bran
    Bruno
    Calli
    Cally
    Camino
    Cane
    Cap
    Casey
    Catty
    Centurion
    Chase
    Cherry
    ChiChi
    Clyde
    Cola
    Cola2
    Colby
    Comet
    Copper
    Cruz
    Cuddles
    Cutie
    Daffy
    Daisy
    Dandelion
    Dave
    Farmer
    Felix
    Fiddle
    Flash
    Frankie
    Galute
    Ginny
    Goldie
    Grey
    Herman
    Holstein
    Hurricane
    Ice
    Jack
    Jasper
    Jo
    Kayou
    Kc
    Keni
    Kepler
    Kerri
    Kerry
    Kirika
    Kit
    Knik
    Lefty
    Lion
    Loki
    Louie1
    Louie2
    Louise
    Lucy
    Luna1
    Luna2
    Lunar
    Maddy
    Magic
    Mars
    MaryKate
    Meso
    Millie
    Moon
    Morley
    Mossy
    Nike
    Nina
    Niv
    Nordique
    Oman
    Otter
    Pancake
    Peaches
    Penny
    Pharaoh
    Picasso
    Piper
    Pique
    Pluto
    Porsche
    Portia
    Pumpkin
    Punk
    Question
    Red
    Rio
    River
    Roo
    Samwell
    Sassy
    Saturn
    Serabe
    Shivers
    Shrek
    Siku
    Silly
    Sinatra
    Sky
    Smokey
    Snickers
    Sonny
    Sparkle
    Sparky
    Sparky2
    Spinner
    Splash
    Stevie
    Storm
    Stuart
    Stuart Little
    Sun
    Teddy
    Tig
    Tiger
    TJ
    Toledo
    Trixie
    Troy
    Twister
    Vinnie
    Watsit
    Whistle
    Whistler
    Willy
    Willy's Pups
    Yale
    Yamaha
    Yang
    Ying

    RSS Feed

About

  • Rescued + Retired Sled Dogs
  • My Remarkable Journey

Galleries + Projects

Support

  • The Sled Dogs of Whistler
  • I Was A Sled Dog, Part One
  • I Was A Sled Dog Too, Part Two 
  • Archives
  • ​Books
  • Blog
  • Content Sharing + Image Usage
  • Resources + How You Can Help
  • Press
  • ​Fundraising
  • FAQ

Contact

  • Contact
All content on this is site is copyright protected.
© Wendy Nesbitt  // All rights reserved.
  • Home
  • Galleries + Projects
    • The Sled Dogs of Whistler
    • I Was A Sled Dog, Part One
    • I Was A Sled Dog, Part Two
    • Archives
    • Books
  • About
    • Rescued + Retired Sled Dogs
    • My Remarkable Journey
  • Content Sharing + Image Use
  • Support
    • Resources + How You Can Help
    • Press
    • Fundraising + Donations
  • Contact
  • Blog