Things are looking up

Foxy standing outside...standing, on all four legs!

Things are looking up for us, I think, and there's lots going on.

First of all, I managed to track down the officer -- Officer Nathan Stuyvesant -- an animal lover who rescued Foxy the night she escaped our kennel. From him, I was able to gather more details about what went on that night.

He said he found Foxy huddled over a sewer drain keeping warm, and he knew she'd been hit by a car on her right hip. He said he saw Mandy that night, circling and obviously worried about Foxy, but that Mandy wouldn't come within 35 feet of him. He wasn't able to capture Mandy.

A huge thank you goes out to officer Stuyvesant, who saved our beloved Foxy! She is doing wonderful, and after just two weeks, is able to actually put some weight on that back right leg. She came inside after I snapped this shot above and followed the rest of the house dogs into the kitchen for a cookie -- our typical ritual after a potty break. We are so proud of and grateful for Foxy!

And grateful for officers like Officer Stuyvesant, who works our neighborhood from 11 p.m. until 7 p.m. five nights a week. Only, be on your toes around him. The other night I awoke to a pounding on my front door. I glanced at the crimson neon of the clock as I grabbed my robe: 2:30 a.m.! Opening the front blinds, I saw Officer Stuyvesant standing on my porch!

"I just tracked Mandy running down your street toward your house," he said. "Get your boots on!"

I was elated, albeit groggy! I ran out in our newly-fallen foot of snow and found dog tracks. The police cruiser lit up the night, red and blue lights flashing. He showed me the video tape in the cruiser of the dog he thought was Mandy. It turned out to be a false alarm.

I receive about five phone calls and emails daily of people responding to my many ads and fliers about Mandy. Every lead has turned up a dead end. We miss her terribly and pray daily that she returns to us somehow. But if that isn't meant to be, I hope she's lounging on someone's sofa somewhere, warm and cozy with a full belly.

In other news, we had decided before these incidents to add a couple new dogs to our sled dog kennel this season. Running dogs for other kennels has been wonderful, and I am so grateful for the opportunity and the many things learned. But, in order to do this successfully and smoothly, we realized we'd have to acquire at least one or two good dogs from good bloodlines.

Enter Ruffian.

She appeared in an earlier post while I was staying at Joann and Larry Fortier's watching their kennel while they were away at the Beargrease. I brought her home from the Fortier's on Tuesday, and at first, she was very scared. She'd never been away from her litter mates or the safety of her circle around her house. At only eight months, she was naturally quite frightened of the change in environment.

Ruffian, trying to warm up to our kennel

We gave her plenty of fresh straw and lots of time to acclimate to our crazy pack. And slowly, she has emerged.

checking it out

... the coast is clear...

Karma, our crazy cattle dog, has become Ruffian's favorite playmate. And the boys were perfect gentlemen around her. Yep, she'll fit right in here at the ranch.

(from left) Karma, Yeti, and Ruffian play a game of Doggy Twister to get to know each other!

Stayed tuned as we head ice skating with the girls tonight. Mush on...