Family of Five (Again)
We are now a family of five again. If you follow Mini Van Dreams, you know it has been a rough winter. Don’s mom lost her fight with breast cancer and then New Year’s Eve we had to put our 15 year old dog to sleep. It has been a horrible winter for us. We decided we were going to hold off on getting a new dog for awhile, but the twins were devastated.
We kept explaining to them that Deuce was in heaven with Uncle Jeff and she would watch over us. Nothing seemed to console them. On a whim, I began looking for dog rescue agencies for huskies. While Deuce was part Husky, we always said our next dog would be full-blooded. We wanted a rescue and didn’t want a puppy. (We are too old to do the puppy thing again.)
Do you believe in love at first sight? When I saw this baby, I knew he was The One.
See what I mean? Meet Kashtin.
Kashtin means “tornado on the horizon” in the Inuit language. (He is going to fit right in at our crazy house!)
If you have never tried to adopt through a rescue group, there is usually an adoption process you go through. It begins with an application and then once that is approved, you move into a home visit, and then a home trial. While, at the time it seems very annoying – and almost offensive at times – it is for the health and happiness of the dog you are adopting. We joked it was harder to adopt a dog than a child – but, in both situations there are a lot of bad people in the world and these rescue agencies are just trying to do what is best for the animal involved.
We don’t know a lot of Kashtin’s background. We do know he was a stray that was taken in by a high-kill shelter, skin and bones, flea infested, and with several ticks. He was then rescued from the shelter by the Siberian Husky Emergency Life Line. He is such a good boy – ornery – but good. He is great with the kids – playing gently with them. He loves his frisbee and his stuffed fish. He’s a cuddle bug and loves to play. Sometimes he thinks he is a lap dog – all 62 pounds of him.
We are a family of five again.
If you are looking for a new dog or puppy, I highly encourage you to look for a rescue agency in your area. You could make a difference in a dog’s (or cat’s) life that might otherwise be bleak. If you are in search of a Husky and live in Ohio, I highly recommend the Siberian Husky Emergency Life Line. You can also find them on Facebook. And, even if you can’t adopt a dog right now, they will welcome any donations or other help you might be able to provide… even if it is a t-shirt or calendar purchase! So, please contact them!
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Definitely a great feeling going the rescue route, while the process seemed annoying at times I understand why they do that. Kashtin has been great and fitting right in to our family. I have a feeling he and the kids are going to have a lot of fun this summer. I myself am excited and looking forward to taking him on walks. I would highly recommend going to an animal rescue to anyone looking at getting a pet. Whatever your favorite breed is there is a rescue out there.
Oh those eyes! Hard to resist! This reminds me of when we went to the rescue shelter to get a kitten a few months after our first cat died. There were two kittens together in a compartment. My daughter picked the one that looked just like her beloved Oreo. We walked up to the front desk to sign all the papers, looked at each other and said, “We will take the other kitten, too.” Those cats lived to be 18 years old and spent the last few years of their lives with our daughter in her post-college apartment.
Welcome to the family, Kashtin!
I think he is going to wear the kids out.
I’d have gotten two if we could. I figured two kids and a huge dog was enough… lol.