sleddie surprises

Five more sleddies arrived into care this weekend so warm welcomes go out to Goose (the hugger), John Snow (the shy boy), Patsy (the hound), Raven (the ears) + Star (the smiler).

It was raining on arrival day - not hard, but enough that we weren't going to be outside much. Usually when I photograph sleddie intakes I just mill around trying to capture what I can amidst the goings-on. But because of the rain, I thought it was a good chance to try something different -- indoor portraits against a plain backdrop. That idea soon went out the window because even after doing intakes like this for years, no matter how low-stress aware, calm, organized and prepared we all are, once the dogs arrive they are so stimulated by the smells, the location, the new people - that expecting them to hold still (let alone look at my camera) is not in their wheelhouse. Especially after their big day of travel. But hey, I had to try.

So I went back to doing what I do while Jill and Deb worked with the foster families making last minute adjustments on collars and harnesses, confirming GPS trackers were working, getting a weight on each dog, and then off they went to their foster homes. 

Though they may all be former sled dogs and lived amongst each other and had the same (or very similar) routines, they come in as individuals and are treated as such. General advice to foster homes include:

• it's pretty normal for a new sleddie to not eat or drink or pee or poop for a few days after they arrive
• they won't take treats
• they won't bark
• they aren't housetrained
• they'll try to escape given the chance

But within the generalizations are situational nuances as well as full on surprises and this group has surprised the seasoned fosters as well as the new ones, because within hours of arriving at their foster homes, most had taken care of business, had drinks and food, met other pets in the homes and found comfy spots to crash. And no accidents... so far.
The foster homes will still keep life pretty quiet for the next few days so they can continue to decompress and then in the next week or so all will go to the vet for wellness checks and Goose and Star will get spayed. 
​Then they'll be ready for adoption!

Speaking of surprises, I even got one with a visit from old sleddie friends, Smokey + Apex!

Smokey and Apex were hanging out in their van so Smokey came out for a visit and photo op and I'm just so amazed by her. Not only is she tiny and beautiful, she's happy and has such a spring in her step for a gal of 13(ish)! After some years with her original adopted family, Smokey ended up in the care of the Victoria Humane Society so the local sleddie crew stepped up and she now lives quite a charmed life and gets to go on lots of adventures with other sleddie friends. Soon after intake she had to have a whole bunch of teeth removed and once she healed up, she apparently became an even happier dog. The shyness I've seen in her on past visits wasn't there at all this time and she easily took treats from me - both outside and in the van. I love these stories!
My buddy Apex stayed in the van -- he's got a sore toe so he was resting it. But to my surprise, when I popped into the van  to visit him, he took treats from me too! He often plays shy with me and avoids me when I've got my camera, so I kept it out of sight, took the greeting slow and gave him his favourite neck scritches and then he rested his head on my hand. This guy melts my heart every dang time I see him. 

Huge thanks again to to Jill for being the official transporter/foster finder/sleddie intake planner of team sleddie and to Deb for her organization, guidance and sleddie storytelling!, the foster families for opening up their homes (it couldn't be done without you!) and the Victoria Humane Society for taking yet another group of sleddies under their wing. 

Please click on images to see who's who!

Thanks for popping by!
​xo