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This is Maki, our second dog. He is a purebred Siberian Husky. We got him in March 1999 from a Siberian Husky rescue in Seattle, Washington.
We really loved huskies and decided we were up to the challenge of owning one, but we wanted to adopt one instead of buying a puppy from a
breeder, since we both believe in doing everything we can do reduce pet overpopulation. While searching for a Siberian Husky in BC I noticed that
there wasn't much information available on the internet about pet rescue in BC. I found all sorts of rescue websites with lists of resources for
the states and even Ontario, but nothing for BC. This is what led to my starting the BC Pet Rescue Resource, so we have Maki
to thank for that!
We found a husky that sounded like he would match our home via e-mailing with the rescue organization in Seattle, and went down to visit there.
Of course we fell in love with Maki at first sight. We brought our first dog, Tigger, to Seattle to meet Maki too, and the two
of them played wonderfully together. So, we brought Maki home. His full name is Makivik, which is an Inuit name, but we call him Maki (pronounced
"mackie") for short. He was 1.5 years old when we adopted him, so his birthday is approximately September 1997. His history before us is mostly
unknown. He was with the husky rescue for 2 months. Prior to that, he was with a family who gave him up when the parents divorced. I think I
remember the rescue organization saying that family had adopted him from a shelter before that, so who knows where he originally came from or
how many times this poor dog lost his home.
Maki is a wonderful, goofy, funny, sweet dog. Huskies are known for being clowns and this is certainly true of ours! He is always doing things to
make us laugh, like lying down in some funny position, playing with his toys in a funny cute way, or something like that. He is totally friendly and
gets along with everyone. Every stranger is his new best friend, he loves kids, and he loves to meet and play with other dogs.
Huskies are also known
for being escape artists. I don't think Maki is too bad in this regard, but he has dug out under our fence a
few times, and has also been known to jump out of open windows and stuff like that. You have to be careful about that if you own a husky! This
breed is also known for being unable to live peacefully with other small pets, and for being untrustworthy off the leash. We specifically searched
for a husky who had lived with cats before, and Maki turned out to be a wonderful choice. I kept him and the cats separated for weeks with
supervised meetings, kept them separated when we weren't home for years even after that, but by now (3 years later) he is completely
trustworthy with the cats. In fact he is even fine with our friends' cats that he has met. As for being off-leash, he is certainly not like Tigger who could
be trusted to lounge out in the front yard with us without ever straying far. However, we will let him off leash when we are at the dogpark or out in the
woods far from any busy roads. He strays much farther than Tigger but will return when called, and seems to be staying closer and closer as he
gets older. I have met some huskies who are just like "normal dogs" off the leash, and some who can't be let off at all, so Maki seems to be
somewhere between these extremes.
To anyone else who wants to own a Siberian Husky, I would say to really think this decision through. As much as we love Maki, he is a lot of work.
He just has so much more energy than our other dog, and if not exercised will really start acting up and being a pain in the butt. Sometimes I think
how much simpler life would be if I had two mellow dogs like Tigger instead of a "wacky Maki". But, if you do decide you are up to the challenge and
want to live with a sweet but crazy dog, try rescuing one! Because they are so difficult to live with there are usually lots available in rescue.
Click here for Maki's Picture Album.
Click here for Other Pet Pictures.
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