TJ

I was sitting around on Saturday when my cell phone rang. Not a lot of people have or call my cell phone number and I don't usually answer it if I don't recognize the name or number that shows up. For some reason I did, however, and found myself speaking with a volunteer for The HOWS Project who was looking for at least a temporary foster home for a dog that had been surrendered to them that day while they were out doing field work in Louisa County.

TJ's original owner had a terminal illness and had given TJ to this woman and asked her to find him a home. TJ had reportedly lived indoors with the original owner but was now living on a chain outdoors. We talked, they sent pictures, and I agreed to take him in without committing to being his long term foster.

The only paperwork that came with him was one page of a vet's bill showing a rabies shot given within the past year. The bill also show's the dog's date of birth as 7/21/2005, making TJ almost 12 years old. He's still intact, of course.

Theo says hello.

He met the pack and had no problems with anyone. He came upstairs as if he's done that before and spent the first night in a crate in my office along with Sparky and Max without incident. I learned that he was not a shepherd mix, but actually appears to be a purebred red Siberian Husky.

He's thin but not terribly emaciated. I started him
on a three day treatment with Panacure for worms.

Once he was identified as a husky I was warned not to trust him in a fence. Apparently they have a reputation. I put him in my most secure kennel so he could eat and do his business and left him there while I went off Sunday afternoon on other dog business. Clay was home and was sitting in the front room when he saw TJ run past the front of the house. Sure enough, he had gotten out of the kennel by pulling the gate open. He was running around the yard marking everything in sight. Fortunately, Clay got him back on a leash and put him back into the upstairs crate.

Meeting Max and Trooper

When I got back home I took TJ and Maya out for a five mile hike at Pleasant Grove. I had two leashes on him, attached to an Easy Walk Harness and a prong collar as backup. He loved the hike and was really quite good on leash. He doesn't look or act like a 12 year old dog. He went back into the crate when we went to town Sunday evening and was content to rest up after the hike. When we got ready for bed later that evening, however, he had no interest in going back into the crate.

Meeting Samantha

He yelped off an on for over an hour until I gave up and put him downstairs in the kitchen, uncrated for the night. A rawhide chew distracted him for a while and he finally slept with some help from some acepromazine. So far, so good. I hope to get him seen by a vet this week and get a neuter scheduled as soon as possible.

Sharing a sniff with Maya on our hike.

He was better than most dogs at avoiding leash entanglements
on our walk, and if he did get the leash under or around his leg
he adroitly fixed it himself, a skill he may have learned from
living on a chain or on a tie out runner for some time.

TJ and Maya have similar colorings but TJ's fur is
longer and much more red than hers. 

He loved the walk and since he appears to be a containment problem, he will probably become
Maya's companion on most of our walks.