Ref: http://animalcare.my/2011/12/23/the-case-of-the-2-year-old-siberian-husky/
This is from Maneki:
Your post about the lady who wanted to just dump her husky made me so sad. Huskies are absurdly ill-suited to Malaysian life for so many reasons. They’re high-energy dogs with a powerful work drive, and of course their double-coat is not meant for life in the tropics. It breaks my heart to see them becoming so trendy here. Further, they are prone to quite a long list of congenital disorders which simply proliferate as careless backyard breeders churn out puppies mindlessly. A vet in PJ once told me that he is now euthanising huskies at an appalling rate — people buy them because they think the dog looks cool but then quickly decide they won’t pay the vet bills to deal with the health issues, or like this lady you mentioned, they don’t have time to deal with the dog’s energy. SO SAD.
Thank you, Maneki.
We need to really educate ourselves on whatever knowledge there is about companion animals, particularly on purebreds as some people prefer to own pedigrees for reasons only known to themselves. Size and suitability to one’s abode and family members’ preference is one such reason which I totally understand. When my children were small and they wanted to have pet-dogs, I brought them to the shelter, but we could not find a small breed and my son was afraid of big animals, so we got Mac and Bobby from a vet. Mac was a returned dog as his first owner did not want him anymore. Bobby was one of two siblings from Sungai Petani. Their owner was trying to rehome them.
But here’s what we must do – find out enough about the breed before committing to having them. Can we afford the vet bills? Do we have the space for the animal to live comfortably and healthily? And most importantly, are we committed to take care of the animal for the rest of its life (we’re talking about, on average, 18 years for dogs and 20 years for cats). Should anything happen (migration, moving house, financial crisis), do we have a contingency plan for the animal?
Recently, I received a forwarded email about an owner who could not look after his elderly purebred dogs anymore due to a financial crisis. He was going to get them euthanised.
And here, we have this news about this lady who was going to dump her purebred Siberian Husky on the streets because she has no time to look after him, and he is only 2 years old, for goodness sake. And she cannot even give time for others to blog and look for adopters. She wanted to dump him the very next day.
It looks like for these people, pets are like toys. I think even little children who are mature and caring do not dump their toys.
As Maneki says, it’s SO SAD.
Let’s speak up for the animals, folks. Spread the message of kindness AND responsibility far and wide. Be a shining example yourself – that’s the best way to educate.
Comments
13 responses to “A response on the case of the Siberian Husky”
Sadly, Malaysians (and even many people in Western countries!) are woefully ignorant when it comes to animals. They go to a petstore, look at a puppy and think: “SO CUTE!! SO TINY!” and buy it on impulse. They don’t stop to think that puppies don’t stay puppies forever, and even the smallest, cutest puppy can grow up to be a huge adult dog.
And they don’t bother doing research on exactly where these petstores get their puppies. Reputable breeders often have long waiting lists for their dogs, because they breed conscientiously, not like puppy mills who supply petstores will endless puppies by repeatedly breeding the same dogs (most of the time, unhealthy and prone to genetic diseases) over and over and keep them in tiny cages where the dogs live their whole lives.
And then there’s the problem of people who only want a nice looking purebred for social status… for example, the Husky. They are beautiful dogs. That’s all these people know about them. They did not take the time to research and find out that Huskies were bred for pulling sleds and to have high energy to do so.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people wanting a purebred dog, they were bred for certain qualities. For instance, Shih Tzus were bred to be calm and docile house pets, Dobermans were bred for protection, Labradors were bred for retrieving, etc. etc. But please, do your research and look for a reputable breeder. A reputable breeder is one who tests their dogs for genetic diseases, health, and most show their dogs and their dogs are titled. They breed maybe only 1-3 litters a year, and as such, you may have to wait months or even years for a dog, but guess what? It’s so much more worth it than buying a sickly puppy from a petstore–whose parents are locked up in a cage in a puppy farm somewhere. DON’T buy pets from petstores. YOU are supporting these puppy mills by giving them your money.
Maneki, is the vet already euthanize the husky? If not, am willing to take in, as i have a friend who desparately want a husky, and he doesnt want to get it in pet store. Please let me know how to contact you. Thank you
Lee, the vet was not speaking of a particular husky. He simply mentioned that he is being asked to euthanise increasing numbers of them.
Also, I agree completely with Su Ann’s comment (above) and would encourage your friend to read and think about it carefully before adopting a husky. Can your friend provide adequate exercise to keep the husky healthy and sane? A cool enough living environment to keep in comfortable? And does he or she have the funds ready to cover whatever vet bills arise from inherited disorders the animal may develop? As Su Ann says, yes, huskies are beautiful dogs, but you really need to do your research before making the commitment to keep one. 🙂
I remember when I was a kid I never bought any pups nor kittens. It was a self-awareness made to myself. How? I don’t know. Purebreed means get it from a reputable breeder. Those years my aunt had German Shepherd. None came from a pet shop. This was in the 80s. Not many know about animal abuse, pet mills then. Not a big hoo-haa yet.
Even my late rabbit was a rescued from a pet shop which was closing down. I cannot recall how I got to know about the pet shop closing down. The next thing I knew, I was standing inside the shop and taking a white-mangled-fur and longest nails ever dwarf rabbit. I couldn’t take the other because it was very fierce and attacking me through the cage. This was 10 years ago.
What I have bought from the pet shop was 1 hamster and fishes. That was it.
The rest are rescued. My current dog a JRT (no cert) Jack, was a case of “oh-so-cute”. Let’s buy and then “oh-my-kid-will-get-asthma”. Give it away. From one hand to another. When I got him, he was 9mths old. I don’t know what drama he went through, but he freaks out every time he is in a new place or left alone. It took me 2 years to regain his confident with loads of love and communication.
Honestly, I am allergic to cats and now to dog fur. Still, I won’t give Jack away. I don’t know what will happen, maybe until the moment of life and death allergy attack?
NEVER buy from a pet shop. You never know where those pups/kittens come from. Torture, suffering, abuse, etc.
I agree with Maneki. When my family got our first Golden Retriever pup, she was so mellow and obedient, we didn’t have to go through much training with her. It was easy. But she died young, so through the same breeder, we got another pup from another litter, which was supposed to be her sister. But goodness this fella was totally different with her sister. She was rebellious from the beginning, with endless energy to burn. I was at a place in my life where I had to work very long hours, and obviously didn’t think it would be so difficult to raise her – both her sister and my older dogs were easy! So of course, without proper way to burn away her energy, she became the troublemaker at home – digging holes, barking for 3 hours, breaking the gate. chewing off her leashes and knocking people down all over the place. At one point I actually collapsed and cried, and I thought I had to do the only thing I never thought I’d have to do – to give her away. I thought I was a horrible human to her, and a horrible member to my family (she created lots of headaches for the family when I was away at work) as I have promised to train and take good care of her.
But I glad I collapsed, cried, and stood up again. I was desperate and my friend introduced me to The Dog Whisperer’s show and it changed everything. My boyfriend and I literally changed our habits. We exercise and bring her out for walks on daily basis, sometimes twice a day – and by walks, it’s no sniffing. Only walks. We practice exercise, discipline, and affection in that particular order – OK I’ll admit I sometimes surrender to those pathetic puppy eyes but he carries it strictly. Hehe. We now have 2 dogs – the no-longer rebellious GR and another also horribly active black dog adopted from a family who was about to send the litter of puppy to a shelter that practices euthanasia. Sometimes when my boyfriend couldn’t make it, I walk both of them, even if that means they might knock me down when I’m not careful and drag me along since I’m petite – which actually happened once, ha!
I probably could consider myself not being thorough when I thought about keeping such active and horrible dogs *grin*. My experiences didn’t tell me this could happen and I didn’t consider the possibilities. But I’m glad that my family and my boyfriend were supportive, and especially my boyfriend, who did all the rehabilitation and training together with me. It’s still an on-going thing, but I’m glad I didn’t give up. And I don’t think I’ll be afraid of keeping another horrible dogs anymore. LOL.
I suppose if a GR could have this much energy in her, there could be more in a Husky – I mean, they were bred to work hard, and if they don’t get to pull the sled, they’ll need other way to burn off their energy. Do think twice, especially whether you could provide the exercise he needs, and of course a suitable living environment and medical attention.
Huey, your story makes my day. I think your persistence and devotion to your dogs deserve HUGE praise. And cookies! Lots and lots of yummy human cookies. 🙂
Dear all,
Thank you for the feedback, I had already informed my friend earlier on once he said wanted to adopt a husky, that this breed need to be inside aircond room, need a lot of exercise otherwise will be a trouble maker at home, and need regular check up to vet, and at least rm500 basic maintenance monthly. He said he was aware and did a lot of research on husky. I know my friend is financially can afford to get one from pet shop, but he doesnt want to as he doesn’t want to support puppy mill industry.
It is really sad to hear the story that some people don’t take their pet as their family member,they just threat them as a toy, once bored or once the pet get sick, just simply throw them away on the street or get them euthanize. Don’t they feel guilty?
Lee, please contact me as soon as possible at chankahyein@gmail.com. Your friend can liaise with the lady who called me regarding the 2-year old Siberian Husky.
Haha! Thank you for the cookies Maneki! 😀 I do hope more people can understand that sometimes horrible dogs aren’t really that horrible if we could understand and fulfill their basic needs. 🙂
Fingers crossed, Lee, that your friend can save this husky and give it a great home. It sounds like he does indeed take it seriously. 🙂
Maneki,
I do hope my friend can give this husky what it deserves. Now my friend is trying to call up the owner’s mother, and so far no one picking up the phone.
I own a husky and it’s not an easy to train dog…huskies are the hardest to train, they are stubborn and destructive…I agree that many ppl buy them because they are the cool sled dogs…but too bad they did not do enough homework to research about husky…they can’t be off leash, they are NOT guard dog as they are super friendly, they are active dogs so they can’t be caged or chained all the time, when they get bored they tend to “destroy” things, shedding like crazy, stubborn and do not listen to command (totally different from the movie Eight Below)…i have many huskies friend…but come across few that they cannot take it anymore they just sell it off…I adopted my girl (when she is 1 yr old, now 4+) from my friend who too can’t stand her anymore…I feel that they are not committed and don’t understand what their husky want…whenever I go out, they will say my husky fur so smooth, nice, good girl and etc…why theirs are s different? It’s because they did not take care their husky like how I did…my girl used to be very under weight and weak and used to visit vet often…and now she is totally a different dog…husky is the common breed now…whenever there are an event…you can see huskies everywhere…sadly because they are too man home breeder…those breeder educate their clients to breed too…They say they love their dogs…but I see they love those easy earn money than their dog….
Lee, if your friend adopt the husky…hope you will advise your friend to spay the poor Husky 🙂