skysky69

She is a lovely little thing (well she's not very little lol!). I am sure that our house is a million times better than where she was, but I think it is a little too busy for her. She can stay forever if it takes that long, but she would prefer a quieter environment. She often takes herself off to the hallway to lie down, I think a 5 year old child, 2 dogs, telly, lights blazing is a bit of a sensory overload for her after her sheltered life lol! She takes no notice of my collie whatsoever who is an oldie and pootles round, but my lab is a bit like a bull in a china shop and in playing sometimes knocks into her (to which she has grumbled slightly - but so would I if at her age a lab with an asbo knocked into me). Somewhere on her own or with an older placid dog for company would be fab. I am sure someone will see her and fall in love with her - its just finding that someone and matching them together. Another factor which doesn't really bother me unless I think about it, is that 3 is really my maximum (as they are all medium/large sized dogs), and if she stays permanently, that means I would not be able to foster. She is neutered and vaccinated - we met a cat on our walk today and she was a bit interested so I think cats are a no no!

We have recently taken on the lovely Arctic out of a “not very nice situation†where she was being advertised on a local free ads site as a “much loved family petâ€. After speaking to the man on the telephone, it became apparent that he wanted rid of his much loved family pet as soon as possible so we went along to see how she was. The conditions that she was being kept in were awful. She was shut in a 2 metre squared hallway on a solid floor with nothing to sleep on in an empty house. Somebody went to top her food up every so often and she slept by the front door waiting for someone to come. Her coat was greasy, gritty, matted, dirty etc. It was a sorry state to see, and she seemed very shut down and not used to human touch. We were told that she had been spayed as last year, she had an ectopic pregnancy. I had to conceal my horrified tone of voice when I asked if it was planned mating for an 8 year old dog. After only 10 minutes her owner indicated that if we did not take her, he would have to “sort something outâ€. I don't think anyone who is an animal lover would have left her there. Therefore, we as a family decided that our home may not be ideal for her, but that we would take her to ensure her safety, get her well and look to find her a forever home that actually cared, by ourselves. Arctic has now been with us for a few weeks and has firmly got her paws under the table. She is a different dog from the shut down zombie that we collected from that house (where the man didn’t even ask my contact details to enquire how his beloved family pet was settling in.....). Our vet has said that she would place her age around 9 or 10 which fits with the 9 years old that we were told. She has a clear heart and lungs and has been vaccinated. Her ears are extremely clean which unfortunately means that she is a little hard of hearing due to probably her age. She definitely hears loud noises, bangs etc. If I need to get her attention, I clap and she hears this. She was an angel on the vets table after being prodded and poked she never made a sound and behaved impeccably. She travels really well in the car, she likes to look out of the back window and eventually lies down when this becomes boring. Arctic’s ideal home would be one where there was somebody around for most of the day. After having little or no company for a very long time, it would be nice for Arctic to have a lot of interaction. I work at present and she is currently being left for 4.5 hours, this is probably a little bit too long for her. She settles down eventually but she does cry a little now that she has realised what wonderful company us humans can be – she doesn’t want us to leave her that much. She has a little walk in the morning for 20 minutes and a slightly longer walk of 40 minutes in the afternoon. The vet has indicated that this will need to be built up gradually as she has a little bit of muscle wastage in her back end due to not being exercised for a very long time. This has improved three hundred percent since we have brought her home. She could only manage 15 minutes before becoming very tired. Arctic would need to be walked on an extendable lead – normally this would be because of her breed, but she does not have the energy or the inclination to chase prey, but due to her being a tad hard of hearing, it is safer to walk her on the lead. Arctic loves routine. I get up at 7.15am every morning to give the dogs a walk. After only 3 days, if I was not downstairs by 7.20am she would give a gentle reminder that it is time to get up. She has quite a small appetite and currently has two small meals of dry kibble per day – very cheap to feed (my lab eats twice this amount!). I think she has been fed kitchen scraps as she does try and lick the bits in the dishwasher, or if you eat sat on the sofa, she sits in front of you and watches – she is learning manners though! She has been absolutely fine with all people that she has met, including children around the age of 5, although we think that a calmer child free household would be better for her (or with older teenage children). This lovely dog has been so let down by us humans yet has never shown ANY nastiness or aggression. She does not flinch as much now when you go to stroke her. She was a little head shy at first when we brought her home and would flinch and shut her eyes if you put your hand by her head as if she is expecting a beating. She still has not wagged her tail, but she does get excited and pads from side to side when it is time to go out for a walk. She is my shadow and follows me everywhere, she lifts her paw up for you to fuss her tummy when she is lying down. She lives alongside my loopy Labrador and my collie (both bitches) with no problems whatsoever, but not sure whether she cares if they are there or not really. She is more people orientated than bothered with other dogs, although she has got along fine with all the dogs we have met so far. She walks impeccably well for a husky – she does not drag you down the street but walks beautifully to heal and never strays far from you. This beautiful girl deserves the chance of a loving forever home and so please do not be put off if we ask you lots of questions, or ask to vet your home to ensure your garden is secure etc. She will be staying put here until we can find her a suitable home for however long it takes. Thanks for listening to me waffle! The beautiful Arctic:-

Just a note to say that we attended this show as it is only down the road from where we live. We had a fabulous day! We managed to win 2 rosettes, we won 1st for waggiest tail and 5th for snoggiest dog! A great day was had by all - thanks!

I have a very nice vet that knows Dixie is best off being kept comfortable and she writes me a prescription when I need one. I buy the big 180ml bottles and they tend to last nearly 3 months. I use petdrugsonline and they are the cheapest I found. You have to fax over the prescription, but after you have the metacam is received super quickly afterwards. Hope this helps.