THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF ADOPT-A-HUSKY INC.

July2012

Being homeless is no way to live...

It is very rare we have litters of puppies, but due toan impound situation and an intake of a Mom andDad from another shelter, we find ourselves with

three litters totaling 16 purebred Siberian puppies.

They were born 5/24 (Sahara); 5/31 (Tamarack),and 6/12 (Mandalay). They will be available for

adoption once they turn 8-9 weeks old.

Previous adopters can contact us at adoptahusky@adoptahusky.com. Details and weekly updates on the pups can be found on

our FaceBook page.

WE GOT PUPPIES!!!

Calendar ofUpcoming Eventssee our website for more

details on our upcoming events

www.adoptahusky.com

August 2012Dog Days at Cantigny Park, Wheaton, IL

August 4, 2012Free with $5 per car parking

Cantigny Park will once again host the 4th annual “Dog Days” on Saturday, August 4, from 10am – 4pm. The free event is the one day each year when guests

and their favorite furry friends get to enjoy the park together. 4500 guests and theirdogs last year and we expect to have many returning guests and many new ones

this year. The vendor fair is a big part of the Dog Days event and Adopt-A-Husky willbe in attendence. Dog Days will once again feature a special off-leash dog play

area plus entertaining shows and demonstrations. The military dogs will be returning and we will also have the Dog Olympics which is being organized by the

Dog Scouts of America organization. Dogs and their handlers will have the opportunity to participate in fun events for free and win special prizes and awards.

Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189www.Cantigny.org

•Fond du Lac Fundraiser, Melrose Park, IL

August 26th - 12:00 noon - 4:00pmOn Sunday, August 26th we are having a Fond du Lac Fundraiser to help cover theadditional medical expenses of the 25 dogs we rescued. For Your K9 in Melrose

Park was generous enough to donate their facility to us for this event. This day willbe packed full of activities for the dogs to try out with things like agility, rally obedience, nose work, swimming (yes they have an indoor swimming pool),

playgroups (for everyone to run their extra energy off) and doggie massages.

Pre-Registration by 8/22: $20 (1st dog), $15 (2nd dog), $10 (3rd dog)Pay by check (send to our PO Box) or PayPal (via link on our website)

At door pricing: $25 (1st dog), $20 (2nd dog), $15 (3rd dog)Where: For Your K9, 1975 Cornell Ave., Melrose Park, IL 60160Questions/Information: Please email: noel@adoptahusky.com

*** Register in advance to save $$$ ***

On Sunday, May 13th our foster coordinator, medical coordinator and one of our foster homes went toFond du Lac, Wisconsin to take in some of the 72 Siberians that were seized in a large impound of acommercial breeder. The conditions the dogs were found in were atrocious. They came in with mattedcoats, severely underweight and with various medical conditions. By the time AAHI got to the shelter, thedogs had been there three days and every dog had been seen by a vet for an initial exam, had been evaluated for any immediate medical condition, had been heartworm and lymes tested and been givenrabies vaccinations. AAHI has been involved in nearly a dozen impound situations and we have neverseen a shelter so organized and so capable as the group up in Fond du Lac. Manager Renee and herteam did an absolutely phenomenal job getting every dog taken care of in record time. Huge thanks toher and her team for being there for these dogs!

When we heard of the situation, we immediately put out a plea to our foster homes and volunteers to see if anyone could help fostering any of these dogs. With the sheer numbers the shelterwas dealing with, help was needed. And who better to help than the Siberian rescue, right? But as a foster home only rescue, we could obviously only take in dogs that we had a foster home waiting for.And we were full to begin with. So the email went out Saturday asking if anyone could fit in “just onemore”. And the responses started. Our volunteers stepped up to the plate big time, with folks emailingour foster coordinator on the hour saying “Yes, we’ll help out”. Unbelievable. We thought we would beable to take 2-3 originally, but with all the offers of help, we were able to pull 7 dogs that Sunday, with apromise to come back for more in a couple of days once we placed the 7 in the waiting homes. And thatWednesday, that’s exactly what we did-back up for 7 more for a total of 14 Siberians that we took fromthe shelter. We took in: Sahara (below center), Tamarack, Cassie (below left), Tachi, Shoshone, Westin(below right), Pawnee, Emerald, Riviera, Tuscany, Nugget, O’Shea, Paradise, and Harrah. But our totalsdid not end there! We had taken in three girls the shelter thought were pregnant and due to give birthimminently. One was not pregnant (yea!) but the other two, Sahara and Tamarack did whelp 4 and 6beautiful puppies respectively and they are getting near ready to head to their forever homes too. So ourtotal from the impound was 24 Siberians. And we could not have done it without all the help, both fromour wonderful AAHI volunteers as well as those in the Siberian and sledding communities. Thank you toall who stepped up for these special dogs. There are just too many to thank individually and we’d be afraid to miss anyone, but be assured we doappreciate everyone who offered help. And a special thanks to the Wonder Lake Vet Clinic staff who fit in12 spay/neuters in super short notice and the Antioch Animal Hospital staff who juggled schedules to fitin several emergencies. We appreciate all your efforts! With intakes like this, our vet bills can becomehuge and this one was no exception. Both Moms needed C sections, including one at an ER clinic. We’vehad several orthopedic surgeries needed for these guys and had several eye specialist appointments aswell. And the routine stuff of tooth extractions and cyst removals and bloodwork were pretty extensivetoo. As it stands, our vet bills for the Fond du Lac dogs are well over $8000.00 and we expect at leastseveral thousand more coming. When dogs are kept in conditions where they do not get proper care andnutrition, this kind of expense just comes with the territory. If you can help defray any of these costs witha donation, it would be much appreciated.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Events Round-UpAdopt-A-Husky

Husky Hike Illinois 2012

Husky Hike Minnesota 2012

Despite challenging temperatures, both of our2012 Husky Hikes were a huge success withlarge attendences at both events. Thank you tothose who volunteered and supported Adopt-A-Husky on the day.

Minnesota photos by Donna M.Illinois photos by Craig S.

The Story of Ben & Jenna

For those of you that have followed Adopt AHusky for a long time, you may rememberthe story of Ben Garcia. When he was a

young boy he was stricken with Hodgkin’sLymphoma and was a very sick little boy. With thesupport of his family and friends, he toughed outmany rounds of cancer treatment and finally gothimself into remission. About 11 years ago, theWish network made it possible for Ben to make awish of a lifetime. You see, throughout all of hissickness, his best friend Balto (a little stuffedhusky) stuck with him through thick and thin.Because of this, when he was offered a wish, heknew exactly what it would be. Ben wanted to goto the Iditarod.With the help of many people, Ben's wish cametrue. Ben traveled to Alaska to see the start ofthe Iditarod, and thanks to some great friends ofour AAHI family, Wayne & Chris, Ben was evenable to be Wayne's Iditarider that year and ride inWayne's sled with Team Stormwatch. One mightthink that for such a little guy, life couldn't getmuch better – but it did. You see Ben's other wishwas to have his own "real sled dog". That is whereLois (our founder), her husband Bill and AAHIcame in. About that same time, we had taken ina pregnant female and soon after we had our"Flinstones" litter in the skillful care of their newfoster mom, Cheryl. One of them, "Pebbles",would soon be big enough to take a long journeyto Atlanta to join her new family with Ben. Hewas excited beyond belief.

Every Siberian we are able to help is very specialto us, but some of the stories really stand out inour hearts. Jenna (as Pebbles was later named)is definitely one of those pups. In fact that litterwas so very special to Cheryl who whelped themand fostered them, that the next year at our hikewe arranged for a little surprise for Cheryl. AsLois was giving the pre-hike speech, everyonepaused and looked towards the parking lot.Cheryl (completely in the dark about our plan)turned that way with the crowd too, wonderingwhat could possibly be happening. Suddenly a

young boy, his mom and yes – Jenna – camemarching over to see her and finally meet theperson that helped bring his best friend into theworld. They had managed to travel all the wayfrom Atlanta. Needless to say there was not a dryeye in the place. Since then the Garcia family stayed in touch withAdopt A Husky. Ben has grown up to be a healthyand happy young man who is now a junior in college and the family is doing well. Sadly, a fewweeks ago, Jenna passed away peacefully whilesuffering from a case of bloat. The family is, asyou would imagine, deeply saddened but is eternally grateful for the 11 wonderful yearsJenna gave them and the immeasurable upliftinglittle Jenna provided to her buddy Ben. Theywanted to thank everyone that is in any wayinvolved with AAHI for all we do and for all theydid to make Ben's wish possible. Jenna is certainly thanking Lois and Bill herself, as we are sure they are together once again.

The picture below was taken by Ben's sister.Ben's mom wrote a little story of Ben and Jenna'slife and dedicated it to Lois. It is a very heartwarming story and I encourage you tobrowse through it. You can read it from our website. Thank you Jenna, for seeing Ben throughsome of the toughest years of his life and thankyou too Ben, for providing Jenna the most lovinghome she could have ever imagined. Rest in peace little one.

by Mike D.

In 2006, several Adopt A Husky volunteers, myself included,decided to invest in a veterinary seminar being held inWisconsin that was geared towards animal welfare workers.

Topics covered in the event were new Orthopedic Procedures,Pain Management, Rehabilitation, Vaccine Protocols,Behavioral Problems and Canine Cancer by such noted profes-sionals as Dr Jeff Schuett, Dr. Ronald Shultz, Dr. PatriciaMcConnell among many others. One session we were all veryinterested in was the “Early Detection and Treatment ofCompanion Animal Cancers” by Dr. Rachel Reiman. After all,there is a hardly a pet owner on the planet who has not dealtwith cancer in a beloved animal and we certainly have seen ourshare in rescue. So when she started off her talk saying “I amgoing to give you this tip-this one thing you can do that hasproven, conclusively, to give your dog on average 2 yearslonger life” we all had our pens poised and our papers ready towrite down the magic supplement or pill that will extend life.Her tip was simple-keep your dog in proper weight. That’s it.No expensive drugs or therapies or procedures. She went on tovalidate this point by a conclusive study done by the PurinaCorporation that covered 14 years. Details on the study can be found here:http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=26745 Lots of info here, but again, the message is clear-if you wantyour dog to live, on average, two years longer, and beinghealthier during those years, keep your dog in proper weight.A 2011 Wall Street Journal article states that studies haveshown that over half the dogs and cats in the U.S. are over-weight, with 1/5 of all of them defined as obese (30% or moreabove ideal weight). Other than a shortened life, an overweightdog is at higher risk for diabetes, arthritis, kidney failure, highblood pressure and yes, cancer. And yet owners seem to bepretty oblivious to the condition their pets are in. Pfizer’sAnimal Health division did a study that showed 47% of veteri-narians felt their canine patients were obese but only 17% ofthe owners agreed. And our experience in our rescue bearsthis out. We see so many overweight Siberians and when thedelicate discussion of weight comes up, there is a lot of “oh myvet thinks he’s fine” or “yes, he should lose a pound or two”when in fact it is more like 10-15lbs. And more concerning,there really is no plan in place to get the dog to where theyneed to be. It seems we often have blinders on when it comesto our dogs and I’ll admit to not being immune here either. Mysled dogs are in excellent physical shape but sometimes theolder non athletic dogs or retired couch guys might start get-ting a little gut on them. I think things like “oh, a pound or twois not bad” or “well, that could be because she has thyroid” andthen I have to remind myself that a pound of two IS bad andthyroid can be controlled with medication so the excuses needto stop. Because the bottom line is if you love your dog, youneed to take the blinders off and see your dog for what they areand get them where they need to be for optimum health.So, how do we do that? If you take a look at the chart on thenext page and realize your dog needs to lose weight, what isthe next step? Well, there are three actually. First step-have anhonest and open conversation with your vet to discuss any

health issues that might be causing the weight gain along withany concerns they might have regarding an exercise plan foryour dog. This is very important-just like in humans, youshould not start a diet modification and exercise plan until youget the all clear from your vet. The key here is to not getdefensive if your vet tells you that spaghetti and meatballs andice cream for dessert are not in your dog’s best interest or suggests that giving those calorie laden treats they just lovemight be a big part of the problem. Go in with an open mindand listen to what they say because they really, truly, have yourdog’s best interest at heart. Ok, so you got the all clear. Now it’s time to take a good hardlook at everything your dog puts in its mouth from start to fin-ish of the day. Treats count. Peanut butter filled kongs count.Calculate the amount of food your dog should be having for theentire day and set that aside. Your vet should be able to helpwith what is the proper amount. Feed a good quality food withhigh grade proteins. Count each treat as well. Once you see theamount in front of you, figure out how it will be given through-out the day and DO NOT deviate from that amount! If this is anextreme adjustment for your dog-if you had been feeding 4cups of food, for instance and have been told 1.5 cups is theproper amount, then you can add a bit of green beans to helpfill up your dog without adding many calories. You can alsomove from one big feeding a day to 2-3 smaller ones to helpkeep your dog feeling full. Don’t give in to the pleading eyes.Remember your goal-to keep this special dog with you for twoyears longer! Next up is an exercise plan, again, after your vethas OK’d it. Start slow-it is not fair nor realistic to expect a dogthat has only trotted around your backyard to go on a 3 milebike ride with you. Start with walks, increasing the distance asthe dog gets acclimated to it, moving to jogging or biking oncethey can physically handle it. Remember to avoid pavementand concrete and instead pick dirt, grass or limestone paths tomake it easier on your dog’s joints. Watch for overheating-takeit slow in the heat and only go out in the early morning orevening if it is too warm. Keep water with you and offer itoften. Think of the 120 rule many mushers use. If heat plushumidity equal 120 or above, it is too warm to do anything butwalk your dog in the cool of the day. If your dog has a physicallimitation like arthritis or hip dysplasia (all the MORE reasonthey should not be carrying any extra weight) you can talk withyour vet about non impact exercises like water therapy. There are options out there for almost any dog!

So our three steps to a healthy dog are:•Get your dog evaluated medically by your vet and

discuss diet and exercise•Calculate the proper daily calorie intake for your dog

and do not deviate from it•Get out and get active with your dog

Simple, right? By doing this, you will not only give your dogthe best possible chance for a long happy life, but you willincrease your bond with him as well. And once that dog is ingood physical shape, come talk to us mushers about puttingthem in harness! You’ll never look back.

Are we killing with kindness? by Mary Beth K.

We found our Furever homes!!

BLAZE

Darius HARRAH

KIPPENS

EMERALD

LEI

Cabret

Picadilly

RIVIERA RUE

THRESH TUSCANY

SELENA

PARADISE

Adopt-a-husky SHOP to order these and other cool items seeour website....www.adoptahusky.com

Thundershirt - $40.00Thundershirt uses gentle, constant pressure to calm

your dog, effectively aiding anxiety, fearfulness, barking and more.

"The Siberian Husky" is a fantastic book about the SiberianHusky and it's history. It features works from many recognizedexperts on our breed such as Bob and Pam Thomas, Al andAnn Stead, Nancy Wolfe and even our own founder - Lois

Leonard. It was produced by the International Siberian HuskyClub and we are fortunate to be able to bring this great 300+

page work to you at a fantastic price while supplies last. This is the final printing of this work so when they are gone,

your opportunity to own it will be too! Don't wait....

Originally sold for $40 - Now only $20

(To keep price reasonable, book will be shipped USPS media ratewhich has a slightly slower delivery. If you would prefer expedited

shipping at a higher cost please contact us for a quote.)

and the winners are....Illinois Volunteers of the Year - Ed & Donna Church

Minnesota Volunteer of the Year - Francine Alt Greenehuge thanks and woowoo’s to you!

Now accepting major credit cards!

GENERAL DONATIONSSarah Lingle • Jeff & Angie Lowe • Carol Fekete • Emily Wheeler & Jean Schuster •

International Siberian Husky Club, Inc. • Marc & Jane Roth • Kathryn Trussell • Andrea Thalasinos •Jane Ryan • Tamara Variano • John Haar • David Marano • Kenneth & Elizabeth Castaldi •

Wisconsin Trailblazers Sled Dog Club • Six Caring Friends • Lois Coyner • Mary Butler • John Spitzer •Christine Schram • Jamie Waterhouse • Leah Martin • Angela Hoth • Lisa Schryver • Kathryn Horn •

Jeffrey & Lori Madisen • Siberian Husky Club of Greater ChicagoAndrea Thalasinos • Tammy Pedriana • Amy Bellis • Dorothy Zagrodnik

Ladene Baxter • Little Fort Kennel Club of Waukegan

D O N A T I O N S

IN HONOR OF...Jerome & Judith Ruppenthal – In Honor Of – Their 50th Anniversary

Stephen Farmer – In Memory Of – Dorothy SwiatkowskiIN MEMORY OF...

Thanks You All!!

Adopt-A-Husky, PO Box 87226, Carol Stream, IL 60188-7226phone: 262-909-AAHI (2244) fax: 866-232-6882

email: adoptahusky@adoptahusky.com

www.adoptahusky.com

Adopt A Husky, Inc.A Siberian Husky Rescue Serving

The Midwest & Pacific Northwest RegionsA 501(c)(3) NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

Over 1350 Siberians Saved Since August 1998

one of our Fond du Lac puppies...how can you not love a puppy!

photo by Craig Smith