A New Year's Wish: To Do Better Helping Homeless Huskies

A fond New Year's Memory: Gibson sure loved to party! 

A loving home, and understanding of the breed, is all they truly need.

(Attribution: FiveSibes.blogspot.com)

 

As we prepare to shut the door on 2024, and step into a fresh new year--a clean slate of 365 days to do better. Much better. I'm talking about helping to reduce (or a bigger wish for 2025, to eliminate) the number of Siberian Huskies that wind up abandoned, roaming the streets hurt, injured, sick; or in an already too-full shelter.

Today, sadly, yet another shelter reports that they over-capacity—meaning they CANNOT take in more dogs! 2024 has seen longtime Siberian Husky rescues shutter their businesses. Shelters are at over-capacity levels and stopped intakes. Rescuers are exhausted. They can only work with the limited funding and space they have for a certain number of dogs. Many rescues do not have a brick-and-mortar facility, they rely solely on foster families. The shelters that do have facilities rely on volunteers, donations, and funding. When all of that runs out, so does any chance of yet another Husky being saved. 

"I don't belong here. I need a loving home and a place to run safely."

(Attribution: Free-use image)

Everyone is maxed out and not just financially (the economy is so bad these days), but also emotionally. Whose heart doesn't break seeing these beautiful, free-spirited dogs behind bars feeling sad, confused, and scared. So what can we do?

For 2025: As a community...we MUST do better for our nation's dogs so less wind up on the streets, homeless, and in shelters. 

How to Help: (in no specific order, they all help).

🐾 Sharing IS Caring - share dogs on social media up for adoption through rescues and shelters, and use the hashtag #SharingIsCaring. This provides a much wider audience for these dogs. Most times, transport can be found/made available, so don't let location stop you.

🐾 Foster and/or Adopt - Step up, if you can, to adopt or foster a Husky. Fostering helps so much because it allows the rescue to save yet another dog.

🐾 Volunteer to walk, read to, spend time with a shelter/rescue dog. YES, this is a help! Have you ever watched any of Rocky Kanaka's videos where he just goes into a shelter to sit and be with a homeless, frightened dog? The transformation of what time and little love can do for these dogs is so apparent.

 

Rocky Kanaka Facebook Page

🐾 Donate items/food/money to your local or favorite rescue/shelter. Money is tight all over. We all are feeling the horrible financial pinch. But...you can simply check with the rescue or shelter to see their dogs' wish list of needed items from dog food and treats to blankets or toys. Maybe you have an extra toy or gently used bed lying around that can mended and cleaned and given to a shelter dog. Or, maybe while purchasing your dog's items, buy an extra bag or cans of dog food or treats to donate. There are so many options, and every one benefits the dogs. Nothing is too small.

🐾 Educate folks on the amazing, but specific needs of the magnificent Siberian Husky. This is so key. Many people see the stunning beauty of this dog whether from a TV show, a movie, a commercial, or passing by one...BUT...they are much more than beauty. They are howlers, diggers, self-thinkers, Houdinis, and can be destructive if cooped up and not out for exercise (and by exercise, we don't mean a little walk around the block. They need to run. They were bred and born to run). Then, maybe through education, folks will know what they are in for so that when they welcome a Husky into their home, it's for the life of the dog...think 12-15 year commitment. 

 

A decade later, the memories still fill my heart with joy and take me right back in time. 

 (Attribution: FiveSibes.blogspot.com)

 

 🐾 Never Fear Adopting a Dog with Special Needs, such as Epilepsy. For lots of vetted information and resources for caring for dogs with Canine Epilepsy, visit my #LiveGibStrong Online K9 Epilepsy Resource Library! *It's always FREE!*

Click on image to go to the Library.

 

Is this all impossible? No, not impossible at all. As you know, I had five gorgeous, amazing Siberian Huskies together for all of their lives; one was an epileptic, and he became the face and inspiration behind my #LiveGibStrong initiative and now award-winning online resource library; and three were littermates (yes, siblings CAN be homed together. Read my article below), and they embraced life and taught me so much along the way. Huskies love to be together. They love pack families, whether it's more Huskies or humans, they just love it. Having more than one Husky is just that much more joy. Just be sure you have the knowledge, space, place, time, and means for them all.

 Click on image to read article published in 4Knines

Planning is Key: Whenever we welcome in a new pet, an important thing to always think about is to have a plan should your Husky get injured or sick. Maybe some have the financial means should something pop up, but many do not. So whether you choose to get pet insurance, apply for Care Credit for Pets, or put aside money for a Husky/Dog Account (if you do a Holiday/Christmas Club or Vacation Account, you can do one for your dog(s), no matter which you do, just think about it before welcoming in a new pet. And, just think, if you are lucky enough to never need it, well you're just ahead of the game then!

A few year back, I wrote an article #BreedEducate2Relate: It Takes A Village to Help Huskies In Need, meaning - educate people about the breed's needs...and in it I address their specific needs, talk with rescuers and experts in the field, and how we could all help. Well, that village needs to be bigger and stronger now more than ever with the increasing influx of Huskies being surrendered by uniformed owners.

As a "Village" we together must do better in 2025—we *CAN* do better—for the dogs.

 

All Huskies want and deserve for the New Year is a loving, forever home. (Attribution: Free-use image)

 

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, joyful New Year; full of hope and homes for the homeless pets. 

 

 

Back to our Home Page and Don't Forget to Visit Our Other Pages, including Our #LiveGibStrong On-Line K-9 Epilepsy Resource Page,  About the Siberian Husky Breed, Rescues, Lost & Found, Other K9 Articles by FiveSibesMom, ArcticHouse Gifts & Books Shoppe, and more! Just click on "More" Pages at top of blog.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: 

FIVESIBES: SIBERIAN HUSKY K9 NEWS & REVIEWS

 

 FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

@FIVESIBESMOM