Siri seems to be a friendly, mannerly, happy girl.  It’s too bad she had to go through a dark time in her life.

Last Updated: Oct. 22, 2020

Base Info:

• Intake date: Sept  9, 2020
• Breed: Husky
• Sex: Female
• Age: Youth, Adult, Mature, Senior
• Birthdate: Sept 02, 2017
• Weight: 55.4 Pounds
• Spayed: Yes
• General Health: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor
• Temperament: Energetic, playful, friendly
• SAFER Test performed: Yes: Passed
• Claimed By: A Pathway to Hope
  
• Departure date: Nov. 13, 2020

History

Her story, as it was told to me, is that she was born to a nice family who gifted her as a puppy to their son, daughter-in-law and grandchild.  Son and daughter-in-law divorced, daughter-in-law kept the dog.  Then she started acquiring more dogs, mostly chihuahuas and terriers.  This turned into a hoarding situation.  Siri was retrieved from that situation by her original owners, but escaped from them and was picked up as a stray.  They saw her posted as a found dog and called to get her back.  But they didn’t come in.  The shelter hounded them (pardon the pun) and eventually the fella came and surrendered her.  So Siri became “available” and the shelter asked Piney Mountain Foster to take her.

Siri’s Progress Summary:

Detailed notes on this foster dog’s progress are posted below the summary.

Relational Behavior Relates well to other dogs: Benign dogs, yes.  Better with males than females. That may abate now she’s spayed. Can eat food/treats near other dogs: Seems okay with food, protective of her squeaky toys. Preferred style of play: Loves squeaky toys! Is affectionate: Yes Is good with: . Men: Yes . Women: Yes . Children: Not small children: too active . Cats: Yes (See Oct 22 entry below) Jumps up on people: Sometimes Mouths: No Walks well on a leash: Doing better House Dog Training Willingly enters her crate: No Yes Is calm/quiet while in crate: No Yes Understands going outside to potty: No Yes Alerts me of need to go outside: No Yes Is destructive of bedding and/or toys: No Yes Refrains from kitchen counter cruising: No Yes Stays off people furniture: No Yes Terms of Adoption: Submit a completed Adoption Application (PDF form, print, complete, return). IMPORTANT: Dennis, our Adoption Coordinator, is on vacation.  E-mail your application to Doug@PineyMountainFoster.org NOT to Dennis. Contact information for your veterinarian is required and we will do a reference check. We do not adopt to people who neglect their dogs. An adoption Contract must be signed by PMFC and Adopter. This is a legal document and an actual signature is required. If the form must be mailed back and forth, allow time for that to happen. Electronic PDF is allowed if you can print/scan. Adopter arranges transport. We have worked with PETS LLC and HEARTS LLC (fees are paid to the transport service). Adoption fee is $200.00 This generally does NOT cover what we have invested in medical care and room & board. But it helps.

Commands: Comes when called: Yes Sits on command: Yes Down / Off: Yes Shake / Paw: Yes Kennels on command: Yes, with a bribe Medical DA2PPv: Sept 2, 2020 (F.A.S.) . Booster: Sept 25 (PMFC) Bordatella: Sept 2, 2020 (F.A.S.) Wormed: Dates | Product | Dose | By . Sept 2 thru 4, Panacur, 12 ml F.A.S. . Sept 23 thru 25, Fendbendazole, 12 ml PMFC Rabies: Oct 16, 2020 Claws & Paws 4 a Cause Microchipped: Oct 16, 2020, PetKey brand, Not registered To register: https://www.freepetchipregistry.com/ Spayed: Oct 16, 2020 Claws & Paws 4 a Cause Heartworm Oct 16, 2020 Negative Claws & Paws 4 a Cause Flea/Tick preventative: . . Heartworm preventative: .  Oct 20, 2020, Ivermectin solution oral, 0.4 ml . Nov 12, 2020, Ivermectin solution oral, 0.6 ml NOTES: . . Diet Victor Classic – Professional Dry Dog Food 1½ cups AM, 1¼ cups PM. PMFC Peanut butter cookies Retriever Beef Basted Sticks Jones Beef Hooves Grillerz Pork Femur

Gallery

In chronological order, newest at the bottom. Some pictures are linked to a more detailed Doggy Tale about that update, click those to open the related story.

Progress Updates

Progress notes are listed below, in chronological order, newest at the bottom.

Sept 9

PMFC’s kennels are chock full so we’re boarding Siri until we get a vacancy.   Once she’s here I can work with her and get to know her much better.  During her SAFER test I found that she reacts in a friendly, playful manner to friendly dogs, with indifference to dogs who are barking and being rowdy, as long as it’s benign.  But a dog who gets nasty toward her through the gates gets that attitude dished right back at them.

There were cats wandering the halls of the shelter.  Siri was curious about them and approached several with caution.  If they’d run, I’m sure she would have given chase.  One puffed up and hissed at her and she backed away.  A wise move, those critters have wicked claws!

She pulls hard while on a leash.  That needs work.  But she loaded up fine and rode well.  She greeted our groomer sweetly, sat when offered a treat, and crated up without incident.  So far, so good.

Sept 14

I was in town this morning to run some errands.  I dropped off a squeaky ball toy i bought for Siri’s at Kathy’s, where Siri is staying for now.  Kathy says she’s really a very sweet dog, well behaved and lovable.  They had her in a crate upstairs at the time, instead of the big kennel downstairs.  Steve gave her the ball and immediately SqueakSqueak-SqueakSqueakSqueakSqueak-SqueakSqueakSqueak.  She loved it!  She may drive them nuts with it, but she loves squeaky toys.

Sept 23

Siri joined us here at PMFC two days ago.  So far all has gone well except that she REALLY want to be in the house.  Until I determine how she will do with all of the four dogs already living in the house, that isn’t happening.  House dog is an earned privilege.  But she is doing well, keeping her room immaculate, waiting for yard runs to potty.  She’s been a little testy with Blondie Bear.  That needs to settle out before we could consider coming inside.

She is not a howler or screamer.  She sleeps well at night.  She is doing better about not standing up and flailing me with her forepaws (and claws) when in the yard.

Sept 28

Siri has settled down a LOT!  She no longer “boxes” me (standing up on her hind legs and flailing me with her forepaws), she no longer plays “demolition derby” with me by ramming my legs when she is allowed to run in the yard, and she is much more affectionate, desiring being petted.  She’s turning into a sweet girl!

When left in her kennel, she likes to play hoofie hockey, and will squeak a squeaker ball for HOURS … if it lasts that long.  Otherwise she lounges on her Kuranda and watches the goings on.

Oct. 10

Siri is calming down in her interaction with me: less insistent, much less injurious.  She can be bull-headed, but that comes with being a Husky.  She sees Blade playing the Chase Me game in the yard and she tries it too, but she slips back into bashing into me, so that game ends as soon as she tried that once.

She has been pulling some dominance moves on Blondie Bear, so I’m keeping Blondie inside during play time.

Siri really, REALLY wants to be a house dog.  I think that’s part of the dominance thing: jealousy.  But even mild aggression against any of the house dogs keeps a dog from being invited inside.

She has does a great job of keeping her room clean, always waiting to potty until a play break.

Oct. 12

I heard back from Vanfine in regards to my complaint about Siri’s “indestructible” squeaker toy lasting only a couple of hours.  They apologized for their product being a disappointment (see video above).  They are working on an improved version that is not on the market yet, but since Siri is such a serious chewer they would like to send her one and ask her to do ‘product testing” for them.

Siri said she’d be happy to test their new squeaker toy.

Oct 21

Siri’s new squeaker toy has arrived.  She loves it.  I’m limiting the time she gets to play with it though: partially to help it last longer and partially because CONSTANTLY chewing on it for hours upsets her GI tract.  Too much saliva maybe.  She knows where I keep it, though (a large metal mailbox retired from service as a mailbox, now used to hold treats, toys, tools, and small equipment near the kennels) and goes straight over there when I let her out of her room and beats on the box with her fore paws, “I WANT MY SQUEAKER!”.  When I don’t comply, she wanders off to take care of business.

She is recovering nicely from her surgery.  We’ve had little trouble with her licking the incision so I did not need to cone her.  Coning a Husky is an exercise in frustration anyway.

She also seems calmer — less hyper — now that she’s been spayed.

Siri has been watching me play with Blade in the yard and is trying to emulate him, except where Blade evades me, Siri likes to collide with me.  I’m working with her on that, but it’s good to see her wanting to play.  She’s also becoming more affectionate: seeking petting not just treats.  She has become very good at keeping her room clean, holding everything until she gets out in the yard — as long as I am at all reasonable on the amount of time I make her wait.

Oct. 22 — Cats

While we were evaluating Siri in the shelter, we encountered several free-ranging hallway cats.  Most of them gave Siri a wide berth.  One sat in her way and dared her to start something.  Siri was on a leash, so I was able to control her.  She was fascinated by the cats and wanted to sniff them, but was not aggressive at all.  She talked a little at the tough-guy cat, but didn’t bark at them.  Tough-guy growled at her and she backed away, big-eyed.

I am quite sure that had any of them run, she’d have given chase.  She’s a dog.  That’s what dogs do.  But she gave me no indication that she would intentionally hurt any of them.  The only issue might come from the fact that she thinks she’s a small dog.  I’ve been working with her on that, and she’s doing well.  But she sometimes forgets how big she is.  If properly acclimated to a house cat and taught to co-exist I think she’d be fine.  She dos not seem to have that high prey drive that some Huskies do.

Nov. 11

As we are preparing Siri to board the Husky Bus tomorrow and journey to New Jersey, I have noticed that in the past week or so Siri has become much more affectionate.  She now comes to me when we are in the yard and seeks petting.  If i sit down she practically crawls into my lap.  She still gets rowdy sometimes, but it’s less often and less determined.  She has developed a nice temperament.

She REALLY wants to be a house dog – and would be if she could get along with Callie.  But she gets highly excited whenever Callie walks by her kennel, so we’re not taking that in the house.  She seems fine with everyone else.