My little nugget, my wolf-child, my foxy lady....
10 years ago I moved to the Northwest. I had always wanted a dog growing up but my parents would never let me get one, despite many pleading, crying conversations.
I had always ended those sobfests with a pouty: "as soon as I move out, I'm getting a dog!" I always knew I had to have them in my life. I wasn't sure which breed, but had been very interested in siberian huskies - their wild look and instinctual behaviors appealed to me, and I knew they were comfortable in the outdoors. They are very intelligent, however notoriously stubborn and with a tendency to wander or run. I wanted a fairly trainable dog, and was wondering how or if I could possibly find a husky mixed with something to help even those less-desirable traits out. Hopefully still with the husky look.
I was looking for a job in my field, unemployed for a month, when my then-boyfriend came home and announced that his current boss' husky Willow had just had an unplanned litter. The neighbors' 14 year-old white German Shepherd had jumped their fence to get to their 1 1/2 year old Siberian. There was no harm in looking, right? LOL
Well you all know that when you go look at 4 week-old fluffball puppies tumbling out of a doghouse to come lick you.... there is no hope for you. You must choose one. And we chose Frankie - the only blue-eyed pup in the litter (like her mom) but we didn't choose her just for that reason. She sat back a bit from the other pups and looked you in the face. She was still obviously very puppy-ish but also made a connection from afar.
This is the day I brought her home.
I love love love this dog. She is a fantastic mix of characteristics from the two breeds. Trainable, very intelligent and a problem-solver. She has the impish nature of the husky, yet is also be very grounded, calm, and zen-like. She is curious - the dog who walks into culvert tubes to see what's on the other side. She has the instincts of the husky - looks for water, finds shelter, is a huntress. She is tough. I think the shepherd side keeps her closer as she isn't a wanderer. It also adds some biddability to her nature. She is a very strong personality- will subtly, sneakily take advantage of softie friends who watch her. She is the good girl who will still wait at a doorway until she's invited out. (Unless there's a squirrel LOL) She is very sweet, though she can be somewhat aloof until she gets to know you. If you get a kiss from her she means it. Many people who are not "dog-people" are won over by my smiley, gentle fluffbutt.
Frankie girl, I love you with all my heart and I hope you have many more birthdays to come.
Here are a couple of photos from Thursday's walk in Forest Park. It was warm so she had to seek out water to cool off... it happened to be a touch muddy. She looks like a little fox when her feet get all muddy.
Thanks for reading my probably overly-long birthday post.
:c ake:
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