Ian began his campaign to own his own husky on July 2, 2018. On July 3, 2018 he determined his first husky would be a male named Balto. He also decided that day that he would be needing a second husky –a female who he would name Jenna. This is a child who thoroughly believes in seeing his plans through fully.

The last 9 months have brought too much loss to our family. Kidney failure crept in and took Mogwai in December. We lost Chaco this summer after selfishly asking her to hang around a little longer despite her increasing pain and confusion. We prepared Ian for this time to come by telling him he could choose a replacement for Chaco. But then he wore us down sooner than expected, and Balto came into our lives in 2019. Mogwai’s sudden decline in health caught us all off guard, and we once again comforted Ian by telling him he could choose the next dog. As we watched Mog’s days grow fewer, we contacted Balto’s breeder to enter the waitlist for her next litter. Unfortunately mama dog did not take when bred, and a Christmas puppy did not materialize. We buried Mogwai and hoped that Chaco could hang on long enough that Balto wouldn’t have a period as an only child. A few weeks later the breeder called with the good news that she would be having spring pups!

Ian waited on edge for the weeks to pass and Jenna to arrive. Finally, two days before Ian’s birthday we got a text message containing several pictures of teeny tiny huskies! Our breeder, a delightful lady who lives 30 minutes away, sent images almost daily, and a week later invited us to come meet the pups. She generously gave Ian pick of the litter. I (mistakenly) had the idea that we would meet the pups, and maybe in a few weeks go back to actually pick Jenna out once they were a bit bigger and showing their personalities. How wrong I was…

When we made it to Ms. Megan’s home, she pulled the pups out one by one and set them on a blanket near Ian. He sat back on his heels, rather calmly to my surprise, and looked at each one as she set it down. Then she pulled Jenna out and Ian’s hands shot up to take her. This gerbil like pup, with the white dot on her back, was undoubtedly Jenna. Ian half heartedly picked up some of the other pups, but just like when he picked out Balto, he really only had time for the one pup who he knew belonged to him. Ms. Megan pulled out a pink collar to identify Jenna as sold!

Weeks rolled by and Ian asked every day when he would get to pick up Jenna. And every day we had to remind him, “not yet.” As we grew closer to time, Ms. Megan allowed Ian to come by for visitation, and Ian reluctantly gave Jenna back at the end of each visit. But finally the day arrived and Ian brought little Miss J home. She came in like she owned the place and has worked very hard to complete our training in record time. Sibe owners frequently say that huskies don’t have owners, they have staff!