For those of you who were not familiar with this cruelty seizure and rescue, I have posted the story below with some before and after photos. For those of you who remember these dogs, I have great news...
Khuno and Mikoa were declared HEARTWORM FREE by my veterinarian on February 23rd!!
THE STORY:
Mikoa & Khuno are Alaskan Huskies from a larger rescue situation. In September 2006, 19 dogs were taken from a sled dog racer's home in Mt. Gillead, Ohio. The owner had left the dogs in the care of a relative while he sought work out west. The caretakers stopped feeding the dogs, so they were found in extremely emaciated condition. On top of that, they were all heartworm positive. Thanks to Nancy and the folks at Northwest Ohio Siberian Rescue, Khuno and Mikoa (formerly named Cuddles and Katie) were treated for their heartworm. Thanks to Suzy (rescue transport coordinator) and all the wonderful folks that volunteered their time, these dogs were able to come here to New York to join the Lakota Song pack. They are adjusting well, and slowly learning to trust again. They have been introduced to life in the house and seem to be liking it. "Mikoa" means "squirrel" in the Penobscot-Abenaki language. She is rather squirrel-like in her movements and color. "Khuno" is the god of snowstorms in Aymara mythology. I thought this was fitting, as he is white and deserves to be named after a god considering what he's been through.
I also took a third dog, a female sibling to Mikoa. Ashley (previously named Mary) is now living in Seekonk MA with another person who was willing to take on the large task of rehabilitating these dogs mentally and physically. Until entering rescue, they'd never seen the inside of a house, never been allowed to run free in a pen, never had any real affection, never been treated as individuals or sentient beings.
Mikoa is coming along more slowly than Khuno, as she is young and has had such a short life filled with terror and fast-paced chaos up until she entered rescue. Khuno is older and almost seemed to have "given up" by the time he came here. He is learning to have fun and "be a dog." Toys were completely new concepts to these guys. They were terrified the first time they set foot in the house on my floors, but they've conquered that fear now. They are in love with the couch and their dog beds, and Mikoa has taken a special liking to my bean-bag chair. They're gaining weight nicely. Mikoa is just under 40 pounds and Khuno is exactly 50. They were skin and bones when they entered rescue. Here's some before pictures:
Khuno in the overgrown chain yard these dogs were found in. Note the black outline on his ear tip, those are fly bites (which are still healing):
Khuno at the rescue in Ohio, day 1:
Mikoa, at the rescue in Ohio, day 1:
Mikoa and Khuno at the veterinary clinic I work at on February 23rd while we were waiting for the heartworm test results:
Since I can only post 4 photos at a time, you can check out more photos in their albums and my group album at the following URLs:
http://lakotasong.com/gallery/khuno
http://lakotasong.com/gallery/mikoa
http://lakotasong.com/gallery/groups
Khuno and Mikoa were declared HEARTWORM FREE by my veterinarian on February 23rd!!
THE STORY:
Mikoa & Khuno are Alaskan Huskies from a larger rescue situation. In September 2006, 19 dogs were taken from a sled dog racer's home in Mt. Gillead, Ohio. The owner had left the dogs in the care of a relative while he sought work out west. The caretakers stopped feeding the dogs, so they were found in extremely emaciated condition. On top of that, they were all heartworm positive. Thanks to Nancy and the folks at Northwest Ohio Siberian Rescue, Khuno and Mikoa (formerly named Cuddles and Katie) were treated for their heartworm. Thanks to Suzy (rescue transport coordinator) and all the wonderful folks that volunteered their time, these dogs were able to come here to New York to join the Lakota Song pack. They are adjusting well, and slowly learning to trust again. They have been introduced to life in the house and seem to be liking it. "Mikoa" means "squirrel" in the Penobscot-Abenaki language. She is rather squirrel-like in her movements and color. "Khuno" is the god of snowstorms in Aymara mythology. I thought this was fitting, as he is white and deserves to be named after a god considering what he's been through.
I also took a third dog, a female sibling to Mikoa. Ashley (previously named Mary) is now living in Seekonk MA with another person who was willing to take on the large task of rehabilitating these dogs mentally and physically. Until entering rescue, they'd never seen the inside of a house, never been allowed to run free in a pen, never had any real affection, never been treated as individuals or sentient beings.
Mikoa is coming along more slowly than Khuno, as she is young and has had such a short life filled with terror and fast-paced chaos up until she entered rescue. Khuno is older and almost seemed to have "given up" by the time he came here. He is learning to have fun and "be a dog." Toys were completely new concepts to these guys. They were terrified the first time they set foot in the house on my floors, but they've conquered that fear now. They are in love with the couch and their dog beds, and Mikoa has taken a special liking to my bean-bag chair. They're gaining weight nicely. Mikoa is just under 40 pounds and Khuno is exactly 50. They were skin and bones when they entered rescue. Here's some before pictures:
Khuno in the overgrown chain yard these dogs were found in. Note the black outline on his ear tip, those are fly bites (which are still healing):
Khuno at the rescue in Ohio, day 1:
Mikoa, at the rescue in Ohio, day 1:
Mikoa and Khuno at the veterinary clinic I work at on February 23rd while we were waiting for the heartworm test results:
Since I can only post 4 photos at a time, you can check out more photos in their albums and my group album at the following URLs:
http://lakotasong.com/gallery/khuno
http://lakotasong.com/gallery/mikoa
http://lakotasong.com/gallery/groups
They look great, soooooo much better 
