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It
all started with Sophie… She was my first Siberian Husky. After years of wanting a Siberian Husky, I finally got Sophie in 1990. I didn’t know what I was in for; she took the first opportunity she found to bolt the yard and disappear. Two days later we found her with the help of West Linn animal control. After two more similar episodes, I caught on: You have to keep these guys close and well exercised! It helped that the last person who found her took her in and gave her a bath - she loved to play in the water, but hated baths; she never ran off again. Once she educated me, we got on famously and she was a joy to us all. Like my Siberians since, she was funny and athletic and full of play. She had such character. We lost her to cancer much too soon, but she has a permanent place in our hearts. Sophie’s legacy was to make it impossible to imagine life without a Siberian, or as it turned out, several Siberians. I have been showing, breeding, and raising Siberians ever since. My love of the breed is not without knowledge of the difficulties they pose as pets. They are nomads and will leave your loving home without a second thought. Our current fencing arrangement includes (in addition to a normal fence) chicken wire in the ground along the bottom of the fence to prevent digging out, and an electric “hot” wire all around on the fence. This has proved secure. The danger of escape is not only mishap to the dog, but fatalities to your neighbor’s cats since Siberians are hunters. The term applied is “prey driven”. If you are thinking of a Siberian as a pet, you should not take this lightly. A point that needs to be made since there is misunderstanding: A well bred Siberian is not a threat to humans, quite the contrary, they are poor watch dogs since they love everyone and greet all with open friendliness. I hope the photos we show here will give some idea of the richness of experience this breed can provide and why we who share their lives are so devoted to them.
Vianne
Patterson |