Well, He's Back... - Page 1

Remember Yukon, the elderly husky I found a new home for earlier this year?

Well, James, the guy who took him, has split with his wife, and the wife rehomed the dog, despite me making it clear that the dog was to be returned to me if they couldn't keep him for any reason.

James' mom managed to contact the new 'owner' and had them phone me. I arranged to go and see them to see if their situation was suitable for the dog.

Meanwhile, I called Mike, the man who had originally brought the dog in to board at my kennel. He is the nephew of the original owner, who is now in a nursing home. He was upset, and asked if I would bring the dog home, as he thought they had someone who would give him a good home. The man used to look after the dog for the original owner when she went away.

When I found the townhome the dog was now living in, it didn't take me very long to make my mind up. They had 4 other huskies in addition to Yukon, and were letting them poop and pee on the balcony. The couple also bred and sold snakes, and acted as a snake rescue. They had turtles, lizards, cats and rabbits. The house was run down and dirty. I could just imagine them getting evicted because of the multiple animals, especially the snakes.

The wife had taken Yukon to the local vet clinic for a bath the previous day, and the groomer had found an abscess on his tail. She also found his teeth were in terrible shape, and a canine tooth needs to be pulled. He also has cancerous tumors around his anus. When I told Mike about this, he said the dog had previously had surgery for this same problem.

Anyway, he's back here, and despite his medical problems, is in good shape for a 12 year old dog. He is bright eyed, very enthusiastic about going for walks, and jumped from the front seat of my SUV to the ground without a second's hesitation. (He refused to wait for me to help him down.)

I really don't know where to go from here. Mike says they are willing to cover 100% of his veterinary and food bills for the rest of his life. I've become quite fond of him myself, as he has a very nice temperament, and am thinking of fostering him. However, when I tried introducing him to my female GSD today, he growled a her every time she got close. Star gets along with just about every breed and size of dog, so she didn't show any aggression in response, but it would be a totally different story if he challenged my male GSD on his own turf.

Maybe he'll settle down after he gets over the trauma of having been thrown into a new situation with 4 other dogs, three of them young and very energetic.

Mike contacted the man who had previously said he would take the dog. He now says he'd only take it 'under duress' and if the only other alternative was taking Yukon to the pound!  So, that door is closed too!

[sigh] I'd much prefer to rehome the dog locally, if he just won't fit in with my dogs. But if anyone here thinks they could give him a good home, I'll consider it. Given his age, he would be much better off in a home where he was the only dog.