September 26, 2010 - Mika stayed with us for several days

At the end of September 2010, we agreed to take care of Mika in Boise for several days while her foster mom Niki went on vacation in Oregon.  Mika was described as pretty hard to control on a walk as she pulled really hard with a no pull harness and seemed to be interested in everything around her. Katy and Niki thought it was hard for Mika to focus and pay attention to people, but I thought she was focusing on something almost every second and wanted to investigate every smell, sound or object that came to her attention.

Since Mika was reactive to other dogs, we needed to keep her separate from our two dogs, Stony and Tasha.  She stayed in my office with me and seemed quite calm, happy to chew on all her stuffy toys.

I agreed to take Mika on walks while she was here and I soon found out how exuberant and excitable she could be.  She also barked and whined and pulled hard whenever she saw another dog walking or behind a fence.  In a few days, she seemed to calm down somewhat while I was walking her and we started to get along great together.  I really started to like this dog in those few days.

In the pictures below, notice how much thinner and less shaggy Mika is after being groomed and bathed compared to when she first was transported to Moonsong Malamute Rescue.

Getting ready for a walk with a no-pull harness.

Did I already mention that I was really starting to like this dog.

Mika taking a happy walk in the back yard

Mika standing tall looking at a stray dog Katy found on the street an hour before.

March 29, 2010 - when Mika came into rescue with Moonsong

Mika when she arrived in foster care with Moonsong Malamute Rescue before she had a bath and was groomed.

Sometime after this photo was taken Mika jumped off a deck in the "dog play area" and tore her ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) in her right back leg.  She had a surgery to repair this injury.  However, over a period of a few months, it was not appearing to heal properly.  

In August 2010, Niki, one of the Moonsong volunteers, decided to foster Mika at her home at Tetonia, Idaho and meanwhile get some more diagnoses made to determine what the problem was.  The general opinion finally was that Mika would need a new and different surgery to repair the ACL again.  This would be an expensive operation and it would take time for Moonsong to raise the necessary funding before it could happen.

March 29, 2010 - The first time I saw Mika

Later in March, 2010, Moonsong Malamute Rescue, with other rescue support, finally decided they could take Mika into rescue and arranged transport from California to Idaho. Katy picked her up in Prineville, Oregon and brought her to Boise on her way to foster care in Chubbuck, Idaho.

Mika takes a short walk in Boise on her way to Chubbuck, ID.

When Mika arrived we took her for a short walk and rest stop. She was really dirty and ragged looking. She has long guard hairs that had accumulated debris, especially on her legs and tail. However, I was really impressed by her friendliness and beautiful malamute eyes. She was also really exuberant and was a big active dog that was hard to control on a leash. She would come up to me for pets for a few seconds, then take off exploring and sniffing the ground, bushes and trees some more. In an hour or so Katy had loaded her up again for the ride to Chubbuck.

In the next posts I will try to provide a short history of her stay in Chubbuck for the next several months, waiting to be adopted, and her history of ACL (Knee) Surgeries including her current stay in Boise with us as she recovers.

March 6, 2010 - How Mika was saved (reply message from the shelter)

"I had actually given her a pre-anesthesia shot to sedate her for the ‘finale’ injection… but I had a customer come in to our facility and was not able to get back to Mika until she had come out of the pre-anesthesia shot and was standing there wagging her tail at me… I just couldn’t do it…"

Hello Katy and Kim,

You asked if this dog was in any “danger”……  Well… I would have to say this dog is one of the MOST LUCKY dogs around…  you see… Her ‘day’ was actually this last Friday. She was scheduled to be euthanized after her owner didn’t want her back and she had been here for OVER 30 THIRTY days!!!! (and yes she was listed on Petfinders after we knew her owners couldn’t have her back)

As you must know… 30 days in a County Shelter is almost unheard of - this due to the high number of dogs coming in our Shelter. As an open door admission facility, we must take in any and all animals brought to us.. be it strays, surrenders etc… We will not over crowd or “ware-house” animals here as it only leads to over crowded and stressed dogs which in turn leads to disease outbreaks etc.

This girl has lead a charmed life… First for coming to OUR Shelter and then for being able to house her for over 30 days… then as I said…she was up for euthanasia on Friday. I had actually given her a pre-anesthesia shot to sedate her for the ‘finale’ injection… but I had a customer come in to our facility and was not able to get back to Mika until she had come out of the pre-anesthesia shot and was standing there wagging her tail at me… I just couldn’t do it...   I have had such a horrible week dealing with “stuff”….so with tears in my eyes…. I decided to ‘wait’ until next Monday to euthanize her. I even put her back on Petfinders just to give her a few more days….

It is just about as close to a miracle as you can get that you Katy contacted us!!!!!!!!!!

The next time someone says that Animal Control Officers have no feelings… remember this.

So I would guess you could say… this dog NEEDS PLACEMENT RIGHT AWAY!!!!!!

Judy,
Animal Control Supervisor

March 6, 2010 - How Mika was saved (first message from rescue to the shelter)

In early March 2010, Katy, with Moonsong Malamute Rescue found out about Mika being in danger in a shelter in California.   She communicated with the shelter and started working with other closer rescues to devise a plan to get Mika into a foster home or boarding facility.

Mika in the California shelter, February, 2010.

Little did they know Mika was living on borrowed time. Below is the first message sent from Moonsong Malamute Rescue.  In the next post I will copy the return message from Judy at the shelter explaining how Mika is one of the "Most Lucky" dogs around.

Hi Carly and Judy,

I just got through talking with Carly at your shelter about Mika.  We are Mal rescue for Idaho and assist in NV., WY., and MT., where no Mal rescue affiliates exist.  We also work closely with our affiliates in UT., OR. and CA.  I have alerted the CA. and OR. rescues about Mika to see if someone has room to take her.  I will also list her on our web site as Urgent! Needing a Foster Home and see if we can't get someone close by to offer.  We screen our fosters just like our adopters, so it can take a little while.  However, if her time is running out, please contact us, so that we can see about boarding her.  We certainly don't want to see a wonderful girl like this euthanized because her irresponsible owner basically abandoned her!  Please hold on to her while we try to see what can best be done for her and contact me at any time if her status changes.

I listed her on our site and also listed her on our Petfinder.

Again, please contact me if you need to get her moved right away.  It can take some time just getting transport arranged, so we appreciate you letting us know in advance so we have time to do that!

Thank you!

kt

Moonsong Malamute Rescue