Recovering Nicely

Natasha had her specialist appointment shortly before I had to go in for my procedure. It was nothing but great news. She is actually healing nicely on her own. Youth and the love and care she received when pulled from the pound has went a long way. It looks like she won't end up needing the surgery. For now, we are increasing her activity a little at a time and watching. Things will be treated as needed, but hopefully, we are out of the woods with the scariest parts of her injuries.

I'm napping, what do you want?

As she starts feeling better, more of her husky traits are coming out. She's talking a lot. She's obsessed with food, though well behaved at the dinner table. She is super sweet. And she knows that she's cute. If she does something wrong, she throws out those cute little eyes. A lot of what we are going through is just basic training. When she first came to us, I was absolutely sure she was under a year old. Her actions and teeth reminded me of what we just moved through with Sid. Guesses have been anywhere from 10 to 18 months. I'm going closer to the 10, but I'm not an expert. So she still has some puppy traits we are working with. There have been one or two accidents in the house, nothing major. We are training her to use the bells to notify us when she needs to go out. She really is well behaved over all though. She's not destructive. She doesn't get into too many things. Though she's still hoarding all of the toys. 

Help yourself

The one thing that surprised me is just how well she is with cats. Simon did his normal nice to meet you left hook upside the head he does to all new dogs and she didn't mind. She tries to chase them sometimes to play, but is not trying to hurt them. In fact, one night after I had given her dinner, the cat decided to finish off what she left behind. She laid next to Lolita and watched. Never made a move or a sound. She was so quiet, that Lolita didn't even realize she was there. When the cat noticed, the cat bolted down the hall. Natasha just curled back up. The cats are slowly getting use to her not being aggressive.

Even with the toy hoarding, there is no real resource aggression coming from her. If Sid goes into her crate to reclaim a toy, she lets him. They are doing very well together. As part of getting her more activity, we have been letting them spend time together supervised. They play. They cuddle. It's almost as if Sid found himself a girlfriend. Every now and again they want to wrestle the way huskies do and we have to step in and stop it until she's healed more, but for the most part, leaving them together seems to be doing wonders for both. They are both happiest when they can spend time together.

Sid captivated by Natasha's eyes

After we got the clearance, my husband and our friend took her to the dog wash and got all of the dead fleas and pound crud off of her. Now she is showing just how beautiful she really is. She has been extremely gentle during my recovery as well. She senses something is wrong and tries to rub up against where the incision was made, which causes accidental head butts, but I can't get mad. She's only trying to help. I love that both of them are doing their best to help me recover. It seems me and Natasha may have needed each other right now. 

Thank you to everyone who has helped in donating towards Natasha's visits and treatments. I will keep updates coming on her recovery. 

Natasha Thanks You And Has A Lot To Say

Natasha would like me to start this post by thanking everyone who participated in or got the word out about the fundraiser. It was a success! Over $1000 was raised to go towards her treatment. While her treatment will cost more then what was raised, in her opinion, it's a great start. And knowing that there are people who care gives her a little extra wag in that tail. If you missed the fundraiser and would still like to help Natasha, or any of the dogs that are in need of treatment, you can donate right off of Husky Haven's website.

Working on getting better

Natasha has a vet appointment early next week with a specialist so she can begin her treatment. This is great news. Each day she is getting stronger and more energetic. The sooner she can get back to being a pup, the better. Her and Sid are really getting anxious to play together. They spend time through the bars of a child gate or crate, but until she is better, she doesn't need a 55 pound crazy fur mass jumping on her.

My toys. MINE!

She is a very sweet and fun loving girl. She gets excited anytime someone looks in her direction. She eagerly runs to the side of anyone who she thinks she can get attention from. And with those eyes, it's pretty much anyone who sees her. She has also discovered she loves toys. She keeps them close to her in her crate.

Natasha is also very, very vocal. She will speak up if she's bored, tired, wants to play, uncomfortable, not happy, happy, you name it. It can take some getting use to, knowing if she's talking because she needs something or not. Dief could be vocal at times, but not like this. It's just another way her vibrant personality shows.

Sid is adjusting to the separation for the most part. But he still likes to make sure that I know he is very

That's not where the tissues go?

demanding of attention. The other night, when left alone for a few minutes while we were in the den with Natasha, he decided to decorate my living room for me. I think I'm becoming numb to husky antics. I laughed when I saw it. I laughed as I cleaned it up.

I hope that they get along well when they can finally play together. They get excited when they see each other at the gate. Sid has been lonely since Andrea got her forever home and he seems to like having Natasha in the home. There have been a few rough patches, such as Sid howling all night in his crate, that we haven't went through before with a foster. But he's never been kept from one before. Things are slowly falling into a routine. Hopefully, next week will bring good news. This girl could sure use a break.

I will get an update about her visit up asap. I too, have my long awaited appointment next week. Hopefully, I'll be up to making an update shortly after.

Welcome Home, Natasha

This morning, we got up, set up some crates and headed to Sarasota to meet Natasha's first guardian angel. Outside of a baseball complex set up for the Orioles, we met Natasha. I wasn't sure what to

Natasha enjoying a little attention

expect, since I knew she had a spine injury that requires surgery. She is happy, friendly, lovable and surprisingly active. However, she has not been hard to keep calm. We have a rather large crate from when Kony was with us, before we realized he didn't need one. About 5 of her can fit in it. We also set up a quiet area in the den with pillow and stuff for her.

She seems a little sore tonight, probably because of the car ride. As someone with a pain disorder, I'm pretty sore myself, so I can only imagine how she feels. She does have painkillers to help her stay comfortable. She does shift around a bit and every now and again, a shift comes with a whimper. But for the most part, it seems more discomfort then pain. It was obvious the care she received with her first angel has done wonders for her.

Sid and Natasha sniffing each other out

We have let her and Sid meet, with her in the crate. They seem ok. There is barking and growling, but tail wagging is accompanying it. It seems to be more a play thing. Sid is a bit jealous of the attention she is getting, but this is normal for the first day or two of a new foster. And the fact that he can't play with her, is probably only making it worse. Though he does seem to enjoy another dog being in the house. He actually ate tonight, which hasn't happened on a regular basis since Andrea was adopted.

Fundraiser for Natasha

She has also had the first encounter with the cats. She either ignores them or wants to sniff them. She does not appear to be aggressive towards them though, which will be helpful in keeping her calm.

I am sure as she gets settled we will learn more about her. She has vet appointments and a surgery to be scheduled. The treatment will not be cheap. Husky Haven is doing their best to raise money for her treatment as well as the treatment of a few other dogs who are having health issues, from heart worms to seizures. They don't turn away the hard cases. If you would like to help with Natasha's surgery, there is a fundraiser set up. There are other ways to donate too. Natasha is a very sweet dog. She deserves a shot at a life of being a normal dog. To be able to run and play. I am already seeing a lot of Diefenbaker personality traits in her. This dog is so full of life, love and intelligence. She's happiest when near a person. I'm sure her road to recovery isn't going to be super short, but it will be worth it. And she has a lot of people pulling for her, ready to step up and help in whatever way they can.