Meet the Family: Abby

Dowdy Lake, August 2010

Abby is our soon-to-be seven year old husky.  She was ten weeks old when I drove up to Wyoming one sunny Saturday in October to a ranchette to pick her up from a couple who had two breeding pairs of huskies.  She and another female litter-mate where the only ones left.  She seemed the more lively of the two so I chose her.  (Which is a laugh because Abby is the most sedentary laid-back dog you could meet).  She is registered as an agouti/white husky, but I never filed the paperwork with AKC, because I had her spayed. 

Abby is my third husky.  After raising three different dogs, I know I prefer raising a dog from as early an age as possible.  Kai, my first, I got as an 8 week old puppy.  She was 1/2 husky, 1/4 malamute and 1/4 wolf.  She was the best dog ever.  She had the most mellow disposition but she was also very loving and playful in a bit of a wolfish way.  She exhibited the best qualities of her genetic soup.  Yuki, my second, was from the shelter.  She was a husky/malamute mix.  We guessed she was just under a year old  - she was a stray.  She had evidently been through some trauma in her young life because she didn't like vets, she would bare her teeth at times, and she didn't take well to sharing anything food-related.  Kai and Yuki lived out their remaining lives together, Kai was put down in June of 2004, when she was almost thirteen, and Yuki in July of 2006, when she was thirteen.  I got Abby in October of 2004 because Yuki was pretty lonely without Kai. 



October 2004, Abby's first week at home




November 2004, Aurthur's Rock, behind Horsetooth Reservoir



Sacked out while mom is painting, Christmas Eve, 2004

 Abby did just fine after Yuki passed, she had my mom's dog, Molly, as a frequent playmate.  To tell the truth, she was probably relieved - Yuki ran the house with an iron fist, and Abby had to keep a wide berth! 

Abby is a wonderful dog, with a quiet, mellow attitude.  She sailed through obedience training, and got along with other dogs just fine, but she prefers quiet.  She developed several medical issues after I got her - most of them are immune response related - most likely from an auto-immune disease due to her genetic makeup (because she is purebred).  She is almost blind due to severe cataracts, again due to genetics.  Because of the auto-immune issues, the only vaccine that she receives is rabies, and we don't go to the dog park.  It may sound like she is a sick dog - but that was only in the first few months.  Now that we know what the triggers are, she looks healthy and has pretty good energy.

She is awesome with the kids - Colin especially.  He loves to grab fistfuls of hair... he won't really pull, I think he just likes the feel of it.  She will perk her ears up, stare at him, and then eventually get up and move if he doesn't stop.  She never really took notice when we brought each of the kids home as newborns - she gave a sniff and that was it.  She does love the highchair and the foody goodness that is certain to come, and wants inside as soon as she hears a kitchen chair scrape on the floor.

She loves to go on walks, and went camping with us for the first time last summer.  She did great.  We kept her on a long rope and she just mostly curled up and surveyed the scene.  I really like having a dog with us - they are the best barometer when something's up.  She does not jump, and actually has to be helped into the van.  Lame.  But then again, that is a good thing.  Yuki was an escape artist, and she could jump fences in her younger days... brat.

Abby's favorite place now is the new sandbox.  I think she likes the coolness - she is a husky afterall!