Thursday, October 31, 2013

Have a Howlin' Howl-o-Ween!

It's that spooktacular time of year - Howl-o-Ween! A time for festive orange lights, glowing ghosts, carved pumpkins, yummy treats, and costumes galore! Pictured here, our girl Bandit patiently waits in the "pumpkin patch" to sample some of that fresh pumpkin! 

We here at the FiveSibes kicked off Howloween with a little taste testing of the pumpkins as they were magically turned into some spooky goblins and glowing Siberian Husky (and if you were looking for some great Siberian Husky pumpkin stencil templates, check out the Tails of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue's library of them HERE, where they have a great variety, including the one we made, only ours is missing an eye after a slip of the carving knife. But, we think it's still pretty cool!) 

Even Chloe got up close and personal with one of the spooky jack-o-lanterns!

 We then had a little fun getting into the spirit of things with some Howloween accessories (the closest our Sibes will ever get to a costume!)
First up, our resident little devil herself, the 
beautiful queen, Harley. Don't let those gentle 
eyes fool you...she is the devil in disguise when she wants to be!


 Then, aye, there's Pirate Captain, Gibson, who asks, "Arrrgh...where's the treats, matey?" Sibe Pirates love their booty after all!


Count Wolfula is waiting for unsuspecting visitors to stop by for a tasty Howloween snack. 




El Bandido is in true form donning a (very pretty) Bandit mask (compliments of Holly and the Huskies) and standing by to steal everyone's treats!


  

And our darling Miss Chloe, all dressed up in her bow, is all ready for some treats (no tricks, please!)



 Party Time!

Chloe and Harley gave the kitty cat mask a few sniffs before deciding it could stay since it wasn't a real cat. (Sorry, Binx!)

Our Sibe kids were also treated to a special fun box of Howloween treats from furpals Ariel, Nala, Boo, Timber, and Oreo of Holly and the Huskies blog. They had a great time sniffing out the goody bags, toys (Harley snatched the orange "pumpkin" ball right away!), and trying on the really spooktacular handmade party hats and masks! Woooo! Thanks guys!






On a side note, our Wolf's Halloween will be spent in the hospital as he will be under going imbrication surgery for a full CCL tear, deranged stifle/dislocated kneecap/shredded meniscus, and possible lateral damage. So no treats for my baby boy...but we'd love some good wishes for him to have a safe surgery, speedy recovery, and it will sure be a treat to have him back home Friday night.

We hope all our furpals and families will have a safe and fun Howloween! We'd like to share just a few reminders to help keep our furkids safe:
*Keep all candy, chocolate, and alcohol away from pets.

 *Keep pets safely in another room behind a gate or in a crate to avoid escape while door is opened for trick-or-treaters.

*Keep leashes handy and collars on, just in case they do escape. Be sure microchip info is up-to-date.

 *Keep pets who stress from bell ringing and visitors calm and in a safe environment. 

 *Keep burning candles and lighted matches for lighting the jack-o-lanterns away from pets sniffing noses and wagging tails.
And a word from our resident black (tuxedo) cat, Binx (named after the cat in the Halloween movie, "Hocus Pocus):


To wrap things up (like a mummy!), here's our Howl-o-Ween "Let's Scream for Howloween" video from last year of furpals from across the globe who sure know how to have a howling good time!



We are joining 2 Brown Dogs in their Halloween Hop!

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Monday, October 21, 2013

A Torn Cruciate - Oh No! Not Again!

Wolf and Bandit having fun running in the leaves.

It started off as any ordinary day...a fun Autumn afternoon of Wolf and Bandit enjoying some fun playing together in the backyard. We still can not believe it has happened again. While running around playing in the leaves with his sister Bandit, Wolf suddenly went down, screaming. I was out there with them, photographing their fun, and I still can't believe it happened. One second they are playing and running together, and then I am at his side trying to figure out what happened. Did Bandit crash into him? Did he step on something? Did he twist and sprain something? And then that little nagging voice whispers "CCL." Now I hear a lot of talk about odds...but seriously, what are the odds that four out of my five Huskies would have some degree of tears to their cruciate ligaments? Three of them from the same bloodline.

 First off, we had Chloe, who if you recall blew out both of her knees over a year ago and underwent double imbrication surgery. (Chloe's story HERE). She is Wolf's full sister. Then Gibson, who is Wolf & Chloe's older brother, partially tore his last winter, and since he is a canine epileptic (Epi-dog), I opted for Conservative Care Management/Treatment with the use of a WoundWear A-Trac Stability Brace. (His story is HERE). He successfully came out of the brace this past spring, however, he is always under watch because nothing is a guarantee.

Our Harley, who is the only one to have come from a reputable, official breeder, tore hers from a slippery, crazy, swirl in the snow. (Harley's story HERE). Hers was a partial tear in the rotating section (from chasing her tail like a lunatic in several inches of snow after diving off the deck ramp...at eight years old!) She just came out of the braces (so far successfully) this summer. She is not from the same bloodline, and we can accept statistics that she is an older dog who could get this type of injury.

 But three others from the same family? We have to look at genetics here. An irresponsible backyard breeder. One has Canine Epilepsy and tears a CCL. Another blows out (shreds) both knees and requires emergency surgery. Another one is deaf. And then Wolf. Two years ago he had a nasty (thankfully benign) growth removed from his elbow that was originally thought to be just a simple bunch of papillomas. Once in surgery, he had such an ugly, oddity growth, my vet in all his years had never ever seen such a thing. And now he has a full tear of his right cranial cruciate ligament. 

So, Wolf went in to our vet this morning and was sedated as he was in great pain today for a full exam and x-rays. He is now back home, still groggy (see above), and resting next to me as I type this. He will be outfitted with a WoundWear brace, and in two weeks will be re-evaluated by our vet to determine if he, too, will need surgery. I do not know what the future holds, whether the brace will be enough, or if he will require the surgery. All I know is I want to help him and keep him as pain-free and comfortable as possible.

 Here's where I go off on irresponsible backyard breeders. They need to be shut down. Period. No exceptions. Thankfully, the people responsible for Gibson, Chloe, Wolf, and Bandit's line are now shut down. These irresponsible backyard breeders do not see the results of their poor handiwork...we do...all of us who have opened our hearts and homes to puppies and dogs who may have questionable or unknown lineage. If you don't know the story of four of our FiveSibes, in a nutshell: a client owed my husband money so we asked for a puppy, knowing we would give it a wonderful forever home. When we went to pick her up and saw the horrible conditions, we left with three. I just couldn't leave them there...and sadly, they all have health issues. But...they are forever mine, they are forever loved, and they are forever safe. 

Happily playing right before "it" happened.
I look back on the photos of him happily playing with Bandit and think, "I wish I didn't let him run." But then again, do I? Isn't that what makes them happy? How they live? And how are we to know what is next? I think the big thing is what to do with the "what ifs." I've been down the CCL road enough times to know it is typically an "in-the-works" type of injury. A tear can happen over a period of time until it just snaps. Or, defective since birth, until it just snaps. While I do know, logically, it would have happened whether he was running in the yard, jumping on the bed, or wrestling with one of our other Sibes. Emotionally, the protective mother in me wishes I could have prevented it, even if it was inevitable. The amazing thing is when Wolf went down, Bandit stopped running and immediately went to his side and nuzzled him until I reached him. They are truly amazing.

 As I am typing this post, Harley, Gibson, Chloe, and Bandit are howling out on the back deck for Wolf...and this is Wolf, still partly groggy answering the call of his family:

I pray Wolf will soon be on the road to recovery, whichever way the path takes us. Your prayers, thoughts, and pawcircles are so welcoming and so very appreciated. I will keep you up-to-date on how he is doing, and will try to catch up with as many of you as I can in between his napping and rehabbing.

Stay well and stay happy, our dear furfriends.



* * * * * *

We have not had much time to visit a lot of our furpals blogs the past couple months due to hu-mom with Rheumatoid Arthritis issues, and rehabbing Huskies, but while visiting a few over the past couple days, we were so saddened to learn two beloved Blogger furpals have now journeyed to the Rainbow Bridge. Run free, beautiful Sam and Pip, we will miss you and your stories. 
We  send loving hugs to your family, whose hearts 
you will forever live.


Run free and enjoy those forever flowers, beautiful Sam.
Photo from & © How Sam Sees It blog.




Run free, adorable Pip, and enjoy all the cheeseburgers you want.
Photo from & © Pip In the Game blog.


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Friday, October 18, 2013

Howling at the Hunter's Moon


Tonight, the Hunter's Moon, a beautiful full moon, is lighting up our yard with such a bright moon glow's light you would think it was a floodlight beaming down from the Heavens! As you can see in the photos in the above collage, the moon glowed brightly behind Harley, Gibson, and Chloe, who are relaxing in the night air out on our deck, while Bandit and Wolf grew sleepy while gazing at it. We also had a lunar eclipse as well! And to close out the evening, our Sibe kids did indeed howl at the moon in their rendition of a beautiful Husky wolf song.

Autumn Sky
Downward waft the autumn leaves;
The hunters' moon's on high
Cetus swims the starry deep
Cepheus rules the sky.
Rulest I said, well maybe so,
But what of Aries, Perseus, Fomalhaut?
Andromeda and others too,
Lend their light to grace the blue.
I love them all, I wish they'd stay
But like the leaves they'll drift away.
~G. O. Pitcovich
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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Of Possums and Poo (A Scared Hu-Mom, Too)

Wolf & Harley: "Woo! We Feel Better Now!"
Yes, you read that title right! We can certainly learn a lot about what is going on with our dogs from their poo. Flashback to earlier this week: we had quite a scare. There's been a baby opossum hanging around our backyard, traveling the top of the fence line, and with their high prey drive, as you can imagine, driving our Huskies mad! As fate would have it, "Gizmo" (as my daughter nicknamed the opossum) was snagged off the six-foot tall fence by Bandit as she dove off the deck, full run, and in mid-air caught Gizmo. The unfortunate opossum did what they do best, "played opossum" to our FiveSibes poking and licking it. Bandit pawed at it and talked to it in an attempt to get the opossum to quit, well, playing opossum. During all this, one of them bit the opossum in the cheek, and there was now blood on it's face, plus, (and not to gross anyone out), when the critters go into their protection mode, they automatically bare their teeth, saliva is all around, and they emit a foul anal fluid to fool their attackers, in this case, my Huskies, of which a few came in contact with all the fluids. (Eww).
How it all began...with a Husky-Opossum Stare-Off

Twelve hours (and a very sleepless night for Hu-Mom) later, I had a very sick boy...Wolf was not feeling good, not eating or drinking, vomiting saliva tinged with blood and then bloody diarrhea...I mean 1/4 cup worth at one bowel movement, and it was very scary! We were very close in touch with our family friend (who is a vet tech and her hubby is one at a vet clinic) through the night until our own vet was opened in the morning. 

Wolf recuperating...

Overnight I was able to stop Wolf's "runs" and get him to rest. (Pictured here, his sissy Chloe came to check on him and a musical stuffie (Dominic the Donkey) a special furpal sent him seemed to soothe him. Then, our second furbaby, Harley, came down sick...not quite as severe as Wolf, but she, too, had the big "D." Stools samples were taken and the kids were put on a 12-hour tummy rest followed by bland food (we did boiled rice, yogurt, chicken, and pumpkin - small amounts of each at varying times throughout the day). The sample came back parasite free, I was armed with anti-diarrhea meds, and the supposed diagnosis is bacteria from the opossum cause their illness.
Wolf resting with Dominc
We had a big chat with the Sibe kids and made them swear off chasing wildlife...but we all know how easily that promise can be broken. Still...today is the first day they are both truly feeling and looking themselves again...so this Hu-Mom is now on opossum patrol too!

PS - for those of you wondering about Gizmo, my husband thought he was a goner...but he got up and my hubby walked him out to the front yard and into the opossum safety zone. Hopefully, he will not ever return to our backyard. While I don't want to see any harm come to Gizmo, or any other wildlife, my Sibe kids are my first concern and I don't ever want to see them sick like that again. And they have caught opossums, squirrels, and birds before...but you just never know what they could be carrying or can transmit to our dogs.

Just Say No to Opossums!
Gizmo chillin' in one of our trees.

 So if you see a opossum in the yard, bring in your furkids...while they are said to carry the least amount of transmittable diseases, they do carry a lot of bacteria from all the "junk" they eat and from their bodily fluids that could come in contact with our dogs. If it should happen, please contact your vet right away!
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Friday, October 11, 2013

Flashback Friday #36: And They Called It ❤ Puppy Love ❤ Gibson & Harley, the Originals


From the moment Gibson joined our family at four months of age, he was smitten with Harley (who was the older woman at almost one-and-a-half years of age)...and as you can see from this photo (when Gibson was actually smaller than Harley!) it was instant puppy love that has lasted until this very day!

“Dogs are miracles with paws.” ~Susan Kennedy





*Join us with a Friday stroll down  Memory Lane!*
 
Grab our badge and join in! Share your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram #FlashbackFriday photo and mention the FiveSibes™ with a link back to here and leave us comment so we can come visit your Flashback, too! To catch up on past Flashback Fridays, visit us here: 

Flashback Friday #22: A Tale of a Prince and His Perch 
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Monday, October 7, 2013

Summer Fun Canine Photo Contest Winners!

Our Bandit is excited to share the news!

The final round of judging for our FiveSibes Summer Fun Canine Photo Contest has been completed! Woo! From playing to swimming to hitting the beach and ball park, and from hiking to camping and lounging, your beautiful pups sure know how to have fun in the sun!

Every single dog is gorgeous! And yes, while we did receive a majority of photos from Husky parents, the contest was open to all breeds, and only two of the judges were Husky parents. The others had furkids of their own in a variety of breeds. And we want to say right up front, that if your precious pup did not place in this contest...please know it is definitely not a reflection of your dog...the judges were in love with all the dogs, and as you know from my updates, they had a very difficult time judging the photos because the quality of Summer Fun themed photos were just amazing! The judges' panel had placed so many in the top, that there had to be a second, and then a third round (each with a different panel of judges) to finally be able to narrow down the photos to the following prize winners from a total of 162 entries! (And yes, the prizes do seem to follow a "treat" theme!) 
  
To check out the prizes, please visit our 
original post HERE.
 

While the top 10 will receive prizes, both the prize winners, as well as the 10 honorable mentions, will receive a certificate suitable for framing (or posting on your blog/website) and a ribbon! And even if your furry companion did not get selected for a prize category, in our book every one is a winner! So if your photo didn't place, but you would still like to have a nice certificate of participation with your dog's name on it suitable for framing or putting up on your blog or website, please just drop me an Email at FiveSibesPhotoContest(at)gmail(dot)com 
and I will be happy to send or Email you one!


Now...without further delay...



The 10 Prize Winners
Prizes, Award Certificates & Ribbons

GRAND PRIZE
"Bailey" of the USA

* * * * *

FIRST PLACE
"Kaia" of Massachusetts, USA

* * * * *

SECOND PLACE
 
"Koa" of California, USA   

* * * * *

THIRD PLACE
  
 "Ariel" & "Chip" of New York, USA

* * * * *

FOURTH PLACE
 
"Hachi" of Hawaii, USA

* * * * *

FIFTH PLACE
 "Wolfie" alum of Siberian Husky Rescue of 
Florida, USA

* * * * *

SIXTH PLACE
 "Blue" of  Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue, Nebraska, USA

* * * * *

SEVENTH PLACE
 "Jaxson" of  Illinois, USA

* * * * *

EIGHTH PLACE
"Marley" of Minnesota, USA

* * * * *

NINTH PRIZE
"Bandit" of Georgia, USA

* * * * *

TENTH PRIZE
"Diesel" of Pennsylvania, USA

* * * * *

10
Award Certificates & Ribbons

"Diesel" of California, USA


"Tsar," "Cain," and "Frankie" of 
New York, USA


  "Artie" of Missouri, USA

 "Ranger" of North Carolina, USA


"Tico" of Tails of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue, Pennsylvania, USA


  "Zoey" of Wisconsin, USA


 "Pongo" of Ohio, USA


 "Jesse" & "Suri" of Iowa, USA


 "Mikko" of Oklahoma, USA


 "Miracle Loki" of Colorado, USA & CANADA


Please be sure to Email me your doghouse addy so we can mail prizes, ribbons, and certificates. All info will be kept private, and never shared. Email us at: FiveSibesPhotoContest(at)gmail(dot)com.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank our wonderful volunteer judges who had a monumental job judging these amazing photos! A HUGE "Thank You" to:
Dr. Arnold R. - Veterinarian & Pet Parent
Kathleen B. - Vet Receptionist & Pet Parent
Pat J. - Digital Photography Instructor & Pet Parent
Barb S. - Artist, Graphic Design Expert & Pet Parent
Valerie L. - Graphics Design Expert & Pet Parent
Jenn R. - Artist, Editor, Photographer & Pet Parent
Tom R. - Business Owner & Pet Parent
Kyle H. - Security & Volunteer Fireman & Pet Parent
Melinda G. - Artist, Graphic Design Expert & Pet Parent
Hendrik M. - Professional Photographer




And another HUGE "Thank You" to our two prize donors:
House Wolf K-9 Dog Biscuits 
for putting together the awesome Grand Prize, as well as sponsoring two other prizes, and to and pet artist Kat N Kanine for donating her skills and time to create a custom portrait for our First Place prize! Please be sure to visit their pages and tell them FiveSibes sent you! (To check out all the prizes, please visit our original post HERE).


There were also a number of beautiful late entries that did not make it into the contest, however, we wanted to be sure we included them in our "FiveSibes & Friends Summer Fun" video we posted a while back and hope you had a chance to enjoy. If not, check it out below for a wonderful look back at all the beautiful canines having lots of summertime fun! (We have watched it dozens of times ourselves...we just love looking at all of the beautiful dogs!)





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