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L-R: Sierra, Everest, Summit, & Yukon. |
My husband Josh and I have been involved with the Siberian breed for over 10 years. I got my first Siberian when I was in junior high, and have been hooked ever since! I was blessed to find a man that loves the dogs as much as I do! We've been married for 9 years now, and can't wait to start a family of our own. Besides the dogs, of course!
We live on a farm in Nebraska, USA. We have an underground fence for our dogs that give them approximately 3 acres to run. We have built a "puppy highrise", which is basically a kennel sitting atop a wooden deck for cleanliness. We are in the process of converting a small building on our property to have 3 indoor/outdoor runs. In the future, we will build a bigger building to help house our dogs as well as foster and rescue dogs. We are pretty much in the planning stages, but we have BIG dreams!
We had been thinking about getting more involved with the breed early on, but knew that it was worth doing well or not at all. I have spent countless hours researching pedigrees, and studying ethical breeding practices. Not to mention in depth study of animal/dog psychology and behavior. Only after years spent researching and studying do I finally feel worthy of furthering the Siberian Husky breed.
Getting involved with rescue gave me pause, though. How can it not? How could I hear Yukon's disjointed story without thinking I would be adding to the problem? I did much soul-searching, and realized that the problem was with unethical breeders and puppymills. You don't see a well-bred show or working dog in the shelter. You see poorly bred dogs that came from Backyard breeders and puppymills. They may have been the product of an irresponsible owner, who may or may not have known that their dog was in heat. They may have been produced by a 'breeder' that just didn't take the time to learn about the health and genetic problems within their breed. And then there are the puppymillers... People who have no thought or care for their dogs. They live in small cages, often 2-3 dogs together laying in their own filth. Some of the dogs have completely lost the use of their legs due to their muscles being atrophied. The sad truth is as long as people refuse to educate themselves, there will be an overpopulation problem in the shelters.
Our goal is to contribute to the health and soundness of Siberian Huskies, and to educate people about unethical breeding practices. Don't get me wrong, we are not against ethical breeding done by educated and learned people. These people are the ones that keep many breeds from being ruined entirely by Backyard Breeders and puppymillers. We strive to be one of those ethical breeders, and through our rescue try to help clean up the mess bad breeders leave behind.