Hmmm, let's see. I used to live in the city of Calgary. We only owned one car, so we took turns driving and biking/busing to work. I worked as a manager of a fine bone china store. I lived in nylons and dresses. We had one dog and 2 cats. We ordered lots of take out food, went to concerts and plays.... Now I own 50 or so dogs. My work clothes are long underwear, Carhartts, and flannel. I live 2 miles from my nearest neighbor. We own 3 vehicles (the dog truck, the Suburban to haul dogs to shows, and Mark 'commuter' car). The dresses are all gone or the ones that are okay for showing dogs are just shoved to the back of the closet. And for fun, I go and race my dogs hundreds to thousands of miles across through the wilderness. I'm versed in wilderness first aid, I've spend nights camped out with my team at temps as low as -53F, I put around 1500 miles on the back of a 4 wheeler a year, I've had face to face encounters with cougars, wolves, and more moose then I can count, I am capable of handling a 12 gauge shotgun and a 357 magnum handgun.... I'm not even the same person I was before the first husky came along! --------- |
| A bunch of us were talking about this very topic the other nite as we were stomping in the cold looking for a newly adopted lost dog (who was recovered last nite, safe and sound after four days of intense searching!) and I had to point out that before I met Lois Leonard and Adopt a Husky I had a nice peaceful life with two wonderful Siberians. I took trips to Europe (had a trusted critter sitter) drove a nice car with leather seats and actually went out at nite and during the weekends. Now, a year later, I have 6 dogs (some fosters, some foster failures <g>), I drive an SUV that is coated with dog hair, have a crate permanently in my truck, my weekends are spent with dog activities, and a vacation in a vague concept that I somewhat remember but would never dream of doing and leaving the dogs to strangers! Not that anyone would be crazy enough to dog sit for me anyway! But I wouldnt trade it for the world. It is amazing how quickly your priorities can change. And equally amazing how most non dog people don't get it and think you are nuts. --------- |
Pre-husky: I wouldn't be seen in blue jeans or sweatshirts unless I was (a) gardening or (b) out on a hiking trail. I had time to read, do needlework, practice my flute and play in semi-professional groups even though I'm really an amateur, teach math at the local Penn State campus part-time. I fussed if the car was dirty and dashed for the vacuum. I considered people involved in dog showing a bit tetched. Post husky: I haven't worn a dress in months and my idea of nice clothes is a non-denim pair of slacks and a clean t-shirt. I have walked probably thousands of miles with one arm extended, then two, toward the dog(s) on the other end of the leash. (Let's see: 20 years X 365 days per year X > 2 miles is greater than 1480 miles.) I spend hours a day on the computer bantering about the beasts and I have been sucked into two rescue groups. I don't own an article of clothing that doesn't have dog hair on it, and I don't care. My car looks like a truck. I'm attending obedience classes and have a dog with an AKC title. (CD) I guess I'm more than a bit tetched. I love it. --------- |
| I had no choice in the first husky--he came with the husband! Then we decided that Muskwa needed a friend. We agonized for weeks over wether or not we had enough time for Earle. At the time we lived in Calgary. When Earle was six months old, we decided to move up the Yukon. Not that it was the only factor, but we did consider the dogs would love it. Just before we left, we rescued Earle's littermate, Hoodoo. Two years later, we have six dogs, two huskies. We never travel together as no one would be nutty enough to care for our dogs--and the six cats. Plus they might forget to give Muskwa his zinc pill! Our porch is full of harnesses, ganglines, booties, ect. A sprint style sled sits in the yard beside a freezer full of fish for the dogs. Our weekends are spent running the dogs, skijoring, sledding. Now we think we might need another sled---that way we could each take a team of four! Hubby is making strange comments about "someday we should get serious about this mushing stuff". Our families and most of our friends think we are completely insane! It amazes me that the decision to add husky #2 was such a big deal for us. Now new dogs just seem to appear, we had more discussions over taking the new foster dogs than we did over dog 3 through 6! --------- |
Pre- Husky Days:
Post Husky Days:
We are nicer, better, poorer, people who have much more joy in our lives than most people we know! |
| Let's see, pre-Husky -- boy that was so long ago I can hardly remember <G>. No frantic chases through bramble filled woods trying to find and capture an escaped husky. Weekend projects used to be home improvement type things rather than how to build a better fenced pen where the huskies could run without escaping. Carefree white-water canoing trips down the upper Chattahoochee with out worrying whether one of the huskies was loose. House was spotless. Fur-free clothes. No chewed furniture, shoes, etc. No frantic trips to the vet because Sashka had snagged a whole meatloaf cooling on the kitchen counter and her whole digestive system was in shock. No breaking up dog fights and the ensuing trip to the vet for the loser. Carefree vacations without constant worry about whether a motel accepted Siberians and whether said Siberians would manage to escape in the north woods. Peaceful evenings of conversation drinking a glass of wine or reading a book without someone in the Pack having to go potty. No standing around in the pouring rain and cold waiting for a husky to find that perfect spot to pee or poop.
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I had asked on the Sibernet-L list, how living with a husky has transformed people's lives. Here are some of the replies I received and which I thought were of interest to anyone who is either owned by a Siberian or considers starting a new life with them.
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