Lakota

Lakota came to us May 19, 2007. She was very lethargic but perked up after a day and a half. She liked some mild romping with her son and her foster person but tired easily. Still she always enjoyed getting attention. Her son, Blizzard, always made a point of visiting her hen he went outside. She appreciated that he was thinking of her. (When she was brought into the house, she would always try to get back out. We felt this was due to her wish not to eliminate indoors).

Her hind legs got progressively weaker till she could only walk a few feet before settling down. She still seemed cheerful, though. As this weakness developed, She was only brought indoors during storms. The weakness also required that she be bathed every other day and spot washed every day. Even with this, flies were a problem. She still enjoyed attention though. Blizzard still checked on her also. In mid-June she stopped eating. After two days of this Lakota began eating again. She was excited to have canned Mackerel and some kibble soaked in the water from the can. After a few days of this, again she stopped eating. She missed two meals and decided she would have raw beef and some times even a bit of kibble. She also liked fried eggs a couple of times.

With the onset of July, Blizzard no longer checked on his mom. Her foster person still gave her attention and worked to clean her up. She was having more trouble ambulating. Her eyes said she was glad to have someone stroke her. Then, on the evening of July 14 Lakota seemed distant. That night she seemed almost comatose. She finished her run some time before morning. Her foster person buried her that Sunday morning, marking the end of another worthy Alaskan Malamute.

The tail of two dogs

Lakota and her son Blizzard never meant to be a burden. For years Lakota and her person had good times together. He enjoyed having her around so much that he wanted one of her sons too. For several more years they continued having furry fun together. Then something happened, their person couldn't do as much with them. This got worse till he couldn't even take care of himself, let alone his fury kids. A neighbor began feeding them and letting them out and back into their person's house. The neighbor's visits weren't as frequent as they needed and Lakota found that she had to leak in the house. Blizzard got a bit away from his house training also.

Their troubles got worse as the day that the neighbor was to move came closer. They would not be able to stay in their person's house with no one looking in on them. Their person had done all he could to find a home for them but no one wanted them. He knew that animal control or the humane society would have a hard time finding good homes for them as they are not puppies. He shared his story with us and we bent our rule a bit. Normally, we only take malamutes that are in their last days at a kill shelter. We felt that these two would soon be at that stage if they went to a shelter so we sparred them the stress of going to the shelter.

Both of these malamutes are very nice dogs. Lakota is a registered malamute 13 years old and her son is 6 years old. When the foster person saw Lakota he figured that she was not long for this world. She was very lethargic. Being without her person must have weighed heavy on her. She came to us very skinny. After 1 ½ days in our foster home, Lakota perked up nicely. She is still 13 years old but she wants to be involved in dog games and likes being around people. She is a gentle old girl and just doesn't want to be forgotten.

Blizzard is Lakota's 6 year old son. He is a red and white boy with yellow eyes. Both of these malamutes have been introduced to a couple of other dogs so far. They want only fun, not fights.

We will post updates about these two kids as time goes by. We welcome your requests for specific information about the dogs in our care.

Money is tight for all of us. Please consider defraying some of the costs involved in keeping homeless Malamutes healthy so they can be adopted. More information at our web site.