It has been awhile since I posted anything! Time just goes too quickly by.
It is spring here in Fairbanks. A beautiful day today. Should be around 60 above. It is still freezing overnight so not yet time to put out the summer flowers or garden although with as many moose around here I haven't done vegetables in several years.
The dogs are on their summer routine. We still broth all through the summertime in the morning. The dogs just seem more content and quiet. Don and I usually take 3 -5 dogs on a loose walk every day then the others all get let loose for an hour or so to just run and run. They like to eat dirt and grass and chase each other around the shed. After an hour they are ready to go back to their houses and have their dinner. Last summer we could let 29 of the dogs loose together. But we aren't quite there this year. They kind of have to work out the hierarchy again so I've been letting 20-22 loose at once and then the other group after that. 30 dogs is a LOT to have loose at one time and although we have about 3/4 of an acre fenced in.....it still really isn't enough space for all out running when that many dogs are loose.
One of our big plans this summer is to fence in more areas and have areas where the dogs are loose all the time. I really hate chaining up my dogs but right now it is the best way for socialization and to keep them safe. As long as they get to run loose every day I deal with the chaining thing.....but in the long run it would be nice to have enough secure pens where groups can be free all of the time.
All of our dogs are doing great. So many of them now are 10-12 years old! Yikes!! My life down the road will be filled with sorrow as they age and die but I have been so blessed to have each and every dog in my life.
Yanert, our foster "puppy" (who has chondrodysplasia, a fairly rare genetic disorder which has resulted in him having bowed wrists and other medical problems) is thriving. For awhile he was growing so fast but couldn't keep on weight as his digestive system is a bit compromised from his medical problems. But we got his diet figured out and although he is still thin he is doing great. He is TALL and lanky. He is up to 46 pounds although he doesn't look like he weighs that much. He just turned one year old.
We won't try to find a home for him as we don't know what kind of expenses down the road he will have with all his problems. So although we still consider him a "foster" dog....he is really ours for life.
All our other SCL and shelter adoptees are doing great. They are all a pleasure to have.
We did get word that Snickers needs a new home. She is a puppy that we rescued along with her sister (Skittle) and their mother (Chiclet) from a terrible abuse situation. Snickers has done great but the couple who adopted her have divorced and the woman who has Snickers is now being sent to Korea with the military! She is heartbroken for Snickers is her family and it is crushing her to have to find her a new home. But we will work on this and will always take her back here if things don't work out somewhere else. That is our commitment to our foster dogs that we take in.
I have always hated how much sled dogs are passed around sometimes having a half dozen homes before they end up somewhere that a person will keep them forever. Luckily Snickers has always been a pet and has only known us as a puppy and her new home as an adult. So hopefully we will be able to find her that forever home that she deserves.
All the indoor dogs (10 of them!) are laying in the morning sun in the living room so I think I may join them.