These are a few of my favorite things...

This Christmas, Lobo and Layla received so many squeaky toys, more than they know what to do with. What I do not understand is why each of them would want the toy of the other when the toys are exactly the same. They end up fighting for it and I end up the referee. If this makes sense to you, please feel free to inform me. I would really like to know. In any case, Lobo only plays with his toy for about two minutes then he is done with it. Layla, on the other hand, is very playful with her toys. She squeaks away to her heart's content. When she is tired with her toy she goes over to her toy corner and picks another squeaky toy. She is then off to squeaky-land.

She is fun to watch. She tosses it around and catches it. She pushes and kicks it around like it is a soccer ball. Her current fave at the moment is Lobo's Christmas present from my brother and his family, a gray, squeaky squirrel.

Her toy was already broken even before she was able to get a chomp out of it. Can you believe it? I had to stitch it up twice before she was able to play with it! After I thought I had fixed it up I handed it to her. Literally 30 minutes after, it ripped showing the squeaker. What a rip off!

Sharing is Caring

Look at my huskies, they share everything except food. But aren't they cute? This was taken a few minutes ago so I could say that it is fresh off the press. I don't know why they do this when each have their own beds. It's so cute they look so peaceful. While we work on building a family that comprises a "human baby", I suppose this will do for now.

For the love of Dogs!

We truly believe that Lobo is going to be on this prescription food for the rest of his life.

Whenever we give him the regular food, cheap or expensive he gets the runs and it pains us to watch him go through this digestive problem. Not only is this condition painful for Lobo but it is for us to. Imagine trying to get up from a deep sleep at 3 am. THAT is painful.

What irritates me is that the vet that did Lobo's examination did not really give us a definitive name for what Lobo has. He just told us what we already know, gave us a prescription medicine he should take for 10 days. Well, it worked for those 10 days. It alleviated Lobo's condition a bit but after the medicine was gone, came back the chronic diarrhea.

We went back to the vet and was seen by the same doctor. This time he gave us more prescription medicine and prescription food but still did not tell us what is wrong with Lobo no matter what we ask or how many times we ask "why". Ugh, irritating!

Anyway the medicine plus prescription food worked very well. Before that bag of food was consumed, we tried to mix his food with regular food hoping to get him back to regular food. BAD IDEA! So here we are with a new bag of prescription food. Nutro brand is one of the better brands and so is Chicken Soup for the Dog Food, neither worked. Now we keep a stash of two different dog food, one for each husky.

Oh for the love of Dogs!!!

I did my research about this because I want to know. I think Lobo has IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). Based on the consistency of his stool and his then condition, a watery diarrhea with weight loss results if the infiltration of cells involved in inflammation and immune response is called to the lower small intestine. There is no known cause for this condition, it just happens. Just glad it's not his liver or his kidney.

We're just happy that he can go about doing his business as normal...in more ways than one.

Pets, good for parenthood training

A dog, man’s best friend, loyal, provides unconditional love and best of all, trainable. I have heard many people say that a true test for parenthood is to own a pet. I never really believed it. Pet vs. human, totally different species, right? Well, it is not really a comparison between species but a true test for commitment and rightfully so.

My Siberian Huskies had their yearly dental check-up; includes cleaning and vaccination updates. The vet usually keeps them all day due to the administered anesthesia; drop-off is in the morning 7:00 a.m. and pick-up is usually around 6:00 p.m. I browsed through the treat aisle at Petsmart before picking them up. I wanted to give them a treat to make them feel a little better which I equate to giving your child ice cream after their tonsils have been removed. Walking down the aisle I spotted a new product…brownies for dogs!!!

When one is as in tuned with their pet as I am, you will know exactly what they need...or what you think they need. I waited for them to be brought out after checking them out (as you would in a hospital) they couldn't get out of the vet office fast enough. They saw me and they saw "home". They definitely have had enough of the place, they were whinning all the way home as if they were crying "why did you have to leave us at that awful, awful place mom!" I suppose no one in their right mind would like to be poked and prodded. My heart just went out to them. They really did not like that drugged and groggy feeling, neither would I. My efforts to make them feel better amounted to baking carob brownie from American Health Kennels. Add two eggs, 1 cup vegetable oil, & 1/2 cup water, voila, we have brownies and they loved it!

Can you believe it? I thought chocolates are poisonous to dogs? I guess it isn’t when they are made especially for dogs. Besides I have always said that I wanted to learn how to bake. Well, here’s my chance.

Ok, don’t chastise me for thinking that I am actually baking when everything is coming from a box or ready make mixture. Hey it’s practice, hopefully I will be able to use my mixing bowls and kitchen aid electronics from my wedding registry. My future children and grandchildren will be the benefactor of all this in the end. So wish me luck.

Overrun by Siberian's

...Siberian Huskies that is.

How our lives have been turned inside out and upside down in less than 3 years.

A little over 2 years ago we adopted Lobo. I spent hours everyday showing the then 1 year old pup the ropes; training him a few tricks. He was such a joy to train, he learned quickly. He learned basic commands like, sit & stay. He learned a few tricks like shake, rollover, speak, bye and a few others. He will and does everything we tell him to do. There is one thing he despise the most, be left in his kennel. He is the epitome of the phrase "escape artist". He will find a way to escape from confinement.

A year after Lobo, we adopted the then 7-month old Layla. She was a skittish little thing but oh so cute. I fell in love with her the first time I laid eyes on her picture on the internet. She had that "puppy dog" look saying "Please love me. I give hugs & kisses." My husband thinks it was all in my head, but I swear that's how I saw it. Anyway, she was an extremely frightened puppy who needed plenty of TLC...and I mean A LOT. The first night she was home she kept checking up on me. She was not potty-trained, she had plenty of "accidents". The worst part of it, she trusted no one. It seems like every time she made a mistake, she expects some kind of punishment. Maybe I am reading too much into the events but it was the only thing that made sense. Her body language just read of submission, and lack of confidence. Her tail was tucked in, her nose low to the ground; she was almost crouching.

We tried our best to show both dogs that they could trust us. The first day we got Lobo, we spent $250 at Petsmart. We got them toys that lasted (in one piece) for all of 2 seconds before it is shred to pieces. That is not an exaggeration. They were loved to the extent that people say they were spoiled. We pay for a "wellness plan" much like our insurance to make sure their health is kept in check and necessary vaccines are updated. Basically they were given the run-of-the-house. That is where the problem comes in.

They cannot be left alone for more than 5 hours or someone is going to get hurt. We had found Lobo a little bloody from trying to break out of the kennel. He will find a way if it means hurting himself. We have tried those doggie hotels but it is too chaotic for them. It's not that our dogs are not sociable, in fact, they like other dogs. But Lobo and Layla are pretty mellow dogs during the middle of the day. When there are other dogs around they cannot nap in peace.

Lobo pretty much lounges around. He could be seen napping around the house when we are home. He does not like to be bothered which is hard to come by when you are in a big indoor playground with dogs constantly wanting to play. Layla will have a nervous breakdown if she's in a pen with other dogs. Her mouth foams when she's in a situation like that. She will have her butt planted on the ground, in submission, the entire day if she has too.

Lobo is very social when he wants to. But he is easily bored and the magic of spending a couple of hours with petmates wears down quickly. We would like to socialize Layla better but I have to leave Lobo because there isn't a dog park with a fence high enough to contain him. Yes, Lobo is a jumper. Taking one and not the other is not fair.

Now, we take them everywhere we go. Good thing they are good in the back of a car, better than in the kennel.

Oh for the love of pets!!! :)

What does Layla think about the world?

This was Layla when we first got her. She was 7 months old when I picked her up from Fresno. I found her on the internet during one of my surfs. She was up for adoption. A returnee from a couple who were in the middle of a divorce and could not probably take care of themselves, let alone a dog. She was so skittish. I think there was yelling in that house because Layla is so scared whenever she hears high pitched sounds like kids having fun at the park, loud cheers from baseball games, the door on the UPS delivery truck being opened and shut with a bang, loud laughter and screams set her on a frenzied panic.

Layla, having lived in a kennel situated outdoors she did not quite take into the indoor situation Lobo is comfortable with. So we would leave her outside for a little while but she would never want to come back in. It was like pulling teeth with her. She was so stubborn that enticing her with treats seldom worked. I guess having a thick puppy fur coat is not suitable for indoor wear in the middle of a California summer. Little did we know, there were other things that kept her busy and cool in the backyard. She was digging. We always have to clean her. Believe me when I say, there is such a thing as "graceful digging". Lobo does it. He digs deep holes in the backyard but you will never know he did. He remains clean! Layla on the other hand bathes in dirt. Her puppy fur was so thick that she dug almost every night, and sits in the hole to cool down.

She's almost 2 years old now and she's been doing so well. She is still a little apprehensive with strangers especially when we are not around but she warms up to people quicker now than she did 6 months ago. She is so cute that she catches everyone's attention wherever we go. Everyone wants to pet her but she's so afraid of strangers. She would let you pet her only if I have my arms around her or if she's sitting on my foot. She feels safer I guess. She is our baby girl, spoiled and treated like a true princess. So if you ask Layla what she thinks of her life now?

She's doing just fine!

We all scream for Ice Cream

I normally make my sibes their own ice cream from plain yogurt, peanut butter, banana, strawberries, and honey. Yes, all natural no preserves. I mush all the fruits then I add the yogurt, peanut butter and honey and mix them thoroughly. I then place the thick mixture into my handy dandy ice cream maker and let stir for 30 minutes. I bought those sauce disposable containers from Ziploc and divvy 'em up. After a few minutes in the freezer, Voila! We have ice cream, au naturale!

Yesterday afternoon was a bit warm. I wanted to give Lobo and Layla a break by giving them ice cream. I opened the freezer to my dismay, there is but one container left. I was not in the mood to make a new batch. It calls for me to go to the grocery for the ingredients. Besides, bananas will have to wait to ripen.

Light bulb! Rite-aid sells Thrifty ice cream for $0.99 a scoop. I packed the dogs into the car and we're off to the drugstore. I paid my dues for two separate scoops of vanilla ice cream and headed back to the car. They loved it of course...until we got home.

I'm not sure if it was brain freeze, too much dairy, or too much sugar but I thought they were choking. They were doing this thing humans do when we drink that Jamba Juice or that Starbucks Double Chocolate Chip Frapuccino too fast. They were coughing too. It's not like this is their first time. We've given them vanilla ice cream from Dairy Queen before (a suggestion from a dog lover's book) and they were fine. I have to admit though, the drugstore's scoop was a little too BIG!

Here comes the big scare. After I thought they've settled down, I went to check on them. They were not moving and seemed weak. I wanted to punch myself for loving my dogs too much; spoiling them too much. Good thing they were still responding to my calls although a little sluggish. I guess sugar does not have the same effect on animals as they do on 2 year olds. Needless to say, I almost took them to the vet. I was relieved when Lobo stood up and asked to be let out into the backyard, Layla followed shortly after and both started playing and chasing each other.

Lesson learned: Stop spoiling your pets too much before you kill them.

Ok readers, don't go calling the Animal Control people on me. I promise, it will never happen again.

Spoken like a true criminal.

Can you train a Siberian Husky?

Lobo was a rumbunctious 1 year old when we adopted him in March of 2004. He caught our attention while trying to escape his pen. Right then and there we knew he was going to be trouble, but the same spunky spirit is what finalized the decision for us to adopt him. Did we know what we were in for? Well, we read about the breed, we weighed the pros and cons, needless to say, we only have an inkling of what we were getting ourselves into.

He pulled like a horse on a leash. He chewed on our teak furniture. He took apart my cell phone charger. He broke open our cushion (that we inherited from my husband's grandmother). He dug pot holes and left our backyard looking like the moon. He jumped the fence and caught a cat. It was horrifying! I'd rather forget that incident all together. Just when we thought we had husky proof our home, he always found a way to prove us wrong. He was a very willful pup but we were more persistent owners.

We spent many hours even days and weeks patiently training Lobo. It took over a year or so before we were able to train him. Everyday was a challenge, every two weeks we see progress. We worked on his strengths and putting that bundle of energy into something positive. He even learned a few tricks. Thank goodness he learns quickly but he is a husky. He is easily bored, to top it off, he was only a pup.

It took us a year of love, patience and understanding to teach him what he knows now. He walks gracefully on leash heeding our commands. He does not chew on our furniture anymore but he did chew on a leash once this year. He does not dig anymore. He understands the phrase "Leave it!" when a squirrel or cat crosses his path, displaying reluctant restraint, torn between his strong hunting instinct and obedience to our commands. He still is a willful escape artist as he has found a way to get out of the kennel but he has not jump the fence to leave the premises of our backyard. He is more mellow now and his days are 80% lounging around and 20% horse playing with our younger female husky.

We attended BASH's Ice Cream Social today and did us proud one more time. All that Sit! Stay! commands finally paid off. We decided to join him in the fun of "Musical Sit Down Contest" and he won with flying colors leaving all the other huskies in the dust. He listened. He obeyed. He made us proud!

So can you train a Siberian Husky? Oh most definitely!

Hike to Angora Lake

Here is Lobo and Layla's latest trip to South Lake
Tahoe. Usually, we come to Lake Tahoe during the winter when there is plenty of snow. We don't want them to forget what they were bred for or where they came from. Living in California, Lake Tahoe is the closests we'll get to replicating their native land of Siberia.

Lobo and Layla love Lake Tahoe in the summer just as much as they do in the winter. It was a nice day and Lake Tahoe is so beautiful during the summer. We hiked our way up to Angora Lake. Lobo and Layla waded in the water with another furry pal, Pluto.

The Great Houdinni

When they said that Siberian Huskies are escape artists, they were NOT kidding. I am convinced our male sibe is a direct decendant of Harry Houdinni if not, it's Harry himself.

This has been proven one too many times by our male sibe. He had jumped the fence. He escaped from the kennel by finding the weakest area of the chain link fence, patiently tugs and pushes on it prying the wires open creating a hole for an escape route. He has done this about 10000 times, ok maybe 10. He's dug under to get to the other side. The list goes on.

This recent breakout is new to us. We cannot figure out how he were able to open the locked door without undoing the carabiner or the latch. When we checked it, the latch was down and the carabiner in place only this time, the kennel door was wide open. We tried everything; jiggling the door, jiggling the latch, jiggling the carabiner, pushing on the chain linked door (to see if it bends anywhere), etc. but nothing could explain how he was able to swing the door wide open. A great force will require that latch to budge breaking it in the process.

Wait, that was the BREAK-OUT...now for the BREAK-IN.

We arrived home from attending a wedding. I opened the door from the garage to the kitchen and was greeted by our male husky his tail a waggin'. For a moment I thought nothing of it until I realized that he was supposed to be in the kennel WHERE I LEFT HIM. I was horror stricken because breaking out and breaking in would mean we need to fix something...AGAIN! He was very happy to see us, no doubt about it but my husband was NOT VERY HAPPY about what he's done.

All doors closed, how did he get in? WINDOWS!

First attempt: He broke the screen on the window in the sunroom, jumped in and realized that the door to the living room was locked. He jumped back out thinking he knows another way, THE SIDE WINDOWS. Soon enough, he was in.

I don't think he realized how much trouble he was in because that tail was still wagin' as my husband was fumin'.

Diagnosis...Cataract

Layla may not have diabetes but she definitely has cataract.

Layla went to an eye specialist about 2 weeks ago and underwent a thorough eye exam. Her eye doctor did an eye pressure test to completely eliminate glaucoma. She passed! He also suspected corneal dystrophy could be in her genes. We told the vet that this is true, according to her breeder, her mom has corneal dystrophy now that she is 6 years old.

Why did Layla acquire cataract at such an early age? He went on to explain that there maybe a number of causes; 1.) inherited 2.)age 3.) caused by extreme trauma around the eye area and 4.) diabetes. Layla's previous history, though short, is not really clear. We could only speculate on how she was treated there. We know very little about her parents but it could be possible that this is an inherited condition from two parents who are carriers of the genes expressing cataract. Basically, everything is up in the air and we could do nothing else but to make Layla's life comfortable.

Layla's cataract is confined within the nucleus of her left eye. Unfortunately, the vet is not sure if this will progress so he would like to monitor Layla's condition with monthly visits. Fortunately, her condition is not affecting her sight at all. She responded normally to the tests given to her. He also does not think that it is necessary for her to undergo a $2852.35 eye surgery to remove this cloudiness. Yes, yikes! to the price.

He sent us home with a tube of eye drops and a few suggestions:

1. Not to breed Layla. (Well, don't worry. She's spayed at the age of 7 months).
2. No irritation allowed.
3. No squinting.
4. No tearing.

...and a bill for $208 for the examination and a tube of eyedrops.

Layla does not have diabetes.

And thank goodness for that! She does not need another ailment and I don't need another thing to worry about.

We were a bit worried about her weight. Female huskies should ideally weigh no less than 35 lbs and no more than 50 lbs. Layla weighed more than 50 lbs even before she hit a year old. She gained weight fast from the first day she came home with me. We did not feed her any more than we fed Lobo and yet Lobo is taller and lean. Layla was...chubby. She gained an ounce for every kibble she ingested. We were scared that she may have diabetes thus causing the cataracts.

Whether Layla suffers from cataracts or glaucoma is up to the specialist to diagnose. Right now, all we know is that her left eye isn't right.

Reading up on eye diseases on siberian husky I found out that these eye diseases are either inherited or caused by old age. Since Layla is only a year old, hers could not be caused by old age but inherited. According to her breeder none of Layla's parents had eye diseases which would only mean one thing, both her parents are carriers of the recessive gene. Unfortunately for Layla, she got both genes; one from her mom and one from her dad.

Hopefully, the specialist can still do something for Layla. We're making the appointment to see how we can help Layla. In the meantime I'm going to contact her breeder to let her know that both Layla's parents should be taken out of the breeding program.

She's a brave girl.

Layla just turned a year old just this past December, for me she's still a puppy but to a lot of people she's more of a preteen.

Layla was a "returnee". A couple bought her from the breeder. A few months later, governed by the breeder's policy, she was surrendered because the couple was getting a divorce. A month after she was returned I adopted her, took her home, bathe her, fed her, bought her things she needed for a comfortable first night at her new home only to find out that she has some problems. She was skittish. She was hand-shy. She was extremely nervous, anxious, and a bit distrustful of everything and everyone.

Her first night was difficult. She was so used to staying outside in a crowded kennel with other puppies. She marked inside the house, our other husky was trying to dominate her and chase her, she ran through and broke the screen door probably not knowing it was there. I couldn't sleep that night because she was constantly checking up on me, maybe to see if I'm still there. She would jump on my chest taking me by surprise and put all her weight on me. She clearly needed to adjust, she needed reassurance, she needed comfort and did not know how to get it.

It's almost been a year since she first came home with me and she is a changed pup. She's happier, more playful, a little more trusting of people but still a little on guard. She warms up to strangers quicker than she did a year ago. She knows basic commands. She loves the snow, she loves to pull the bike, she loves running, she loves her treats, her toys, and us.

Layla has clearly grown up. She had her first physical check up in March this year and she checked out fine. She passed with flying colors; ears, eyes, lungs, heart, blood, liver, kidneys, except she had tartar which to the vet, is something minor since she will have her dental cleaning in August.

Last week, on my way out to work, I noticed that she could not open her left eye when she came to greet me. After a brief look over I noticed that her sclera is red instead of white. We took her to the vet immediately and she came home with some eyedrops and antibiotic. A couple of days after I noticed that the same irritated eye was a bit cloudy...or was it a reflection of our white walls? I was not sure until my husband noticed that the cloudiness I've been noticing was inside her eye. After looking it over on the internet I quickly narrowed it down to two things; glaucoma or cataract.

I was devastated. I do believe that I am more affected about her condition than she is. I called the emergency vet and brought her in. I love being right, but who does not! But this time I wished so much to be wrong. I would have been happy if I was wrong, but I was not.

We took her in to her regular vet and they did more blood test because a dog as young as Layla should not have cataract unless it is congenital. Her vet was worried that she may have diabetes which is the leading cause of cataract on a very young animal. He also said that although cataract is common in some breeds including Siberian Huskies, it normally does not start until 6 years of age. He wanted to rule out diabetes first before doing anything else.

This was so sudden. We did not see it coming. She just had her physical and she was fine. I do not understand. I do not think Layla understands either but her condition, whatever it is, does not seem to bother her one bit. She remains happy and in good spirits and still the sweetest little baby girl on the block. Througout these vet visits she remains so well behaved. She would look at me with those big brown eyes as if she's telling me "It's ok mommy. I'm going to be just fine."

I think she remains brave mostly for me.

An awesome show!

It was our 2nd wedding anniversary but the gifts we received were for the entire family. Actually, it's what we really needed to keep our huskies in check.

Last year, the gifts were traditional; paper. This year, it was not so traditional. My in-laws gave us the entire first season of the "Dog Whisperer". We have heard so much about this show, although we have cable we do not get the Discovery channel where they air the show.

I have read numerous articles about the husky breed, from all those, I gathered that they always have to lead. They are huskies and were born to pull. I never thought the dog whisperer's way will work on huskies; that huskies need a different set of training methods.

We walk our huskies on a retractable leash or a rope to the point that they have us trained. They are suppose to lead, not us. Easing up the walk, means long leash.

According to the dog whisperer, that is all wrong. Basically, we need to retrain our dogs and at the same time, ourselves. We need to let them know that we're the alpha male and female, not them. We must walk the dog on a much shorter leash and with confidence.

Lo and behold, in a week, the pulling has stopped! Well, I'll be!!! By George, they've got it!!!

Finally. Now, we just need to get Layla used to kids.

Show mommy!

This is a command that works on both our huskies. They respond to it in two different ways.

When Lobo wants something, he howls at me to follow him to where he wants me to come. Generally, when he howls, he takes me to the direction of the kitchen. Why the kitchen? That is where his treats are and where his dishes are. When he gets to the kitchen, he howls again. This is when I say, "show mommy". He would normally point his nose to where his treats are sitting on the counter or if it is water he wants, he points his nose towards the empty water bowl.

Layla on the other hand, is the quiet type but very clumsy. For a princess, this one has no grace. While Lobo moves with grace, like he has spring under his paws, my baby girl is the complete opposite. When she feels like a treat or if she wants me to follow her somewhere, she would hop on me. It's sort of funny, because to everyone else, it would look like she wants to ride on my back. She would totally put all 50 lbs. on me if I were sitting on the floor and she wants my attention. Anyhow, we've been so used to Lobo's body language being that we've had him much longer and had hours of one-on-one with him, that he is a lot easier to read. Layla is a whole different ball game. It takes me a few minutes to read her before I figure out that she wanted something. She uses the same body language for everything else that it makes it difficult to understand what she means.

After she'd try to squash me under her 50 lb. frame she'd take 2 steps forward, look back to see if I'm coming or not. If she sees me moving she'll keep going but if I don't budge (because I'm being dense), she'll keep trying to sit on me. That is when I start to get it. So she also makes sure that I follow her and again, like Lobo, we quickly move to the kitchen. Once there, I command her "show mommy". She'd just stares at the counter where the treats sit or she would circle her dish if it's water she wants all very quietly at the same time, clumsily. All these without making a peep. So different, don't you think?

Clearly our huskies have developed their own identities.

Disclaimer:
Our dogs have never been to obedience training, they are not professionally trained.

And they flunked!

About 2 weeks ago, we tried to have our two huskies evaluated to qualify for temporary lodging at a doggie hotel. We did not want them home alone while we were at an important wedding, we thought that was being too mean. The doggie hotel was too cool, you can see your dogs the entire day because they have a live webcam, not that we're going to have our laptop to watch the webcam during the wedding.

First day of evaluation, Lobo did ok. Alert and curious he was exploring the new place, which was expected. Layla, on the other hand, was scared. She did not want anything to do with the stange man that was evaluating her. His methods were quite like the dog whisperer's way on the discovery channel. He said that Layla's reaction may be due to stress and unfamiliar surroundings. The huskies were probably unsure because there were a lot of dogs already in the kennel. He suggested that we take them back the next day. So we did.

Day two, he suggested that we leave the dogs for a couple of hours. Two hours is the maximum time before they notice that "mom and dad" are gone and become antsy. Sounds like a 5 year old on his first day of kindergarten? Definitely! Sure enough, after two hours of playing with other dogs, they wanted OUT! He then suggested that we leave them there the next day for half a day.

Day three, Lobo and Layla wanted NOTHING to do with the doggie hotel or the possible play time they may have had. That was a bummer! You have to understand, these dogs, especially Lobo, are mellow dogs. They are very social and friendly with people and other dogs and yet THEY FLUNKED!

This is just my opinion, I think our huskies are too attached to us and have developed an affinity to a certain routine and familiar places that any deviation from it will lead to anxiety. I guess our lives are pretty routine (work/home) and we're comfortable with it, hence, our puppies are too. Hmmm, in the end...this reflects badly on our lives. It's routine!

This is our male husky, Lobo. He is a natural athlete with all the keen senses of a wolf but the disposition of a puppy. He just turned 3 years old earlier this month.

This picture was taken during our recent trip to Donner Pass, Lake Tahoe. He absolutely loves the winter. We indulge him with a few minutes of freedom to just run around the snow unleashed and wild. It's amazing how this 50-lb. pooch, who has never seen snow until last winter season, taken in the surrounding white powder of snow like he has lived in it all his life. Agile and graceful even in the thickest and deepest of this white fluff.

The biggest misconception about huskies is that they are mean dogs. On the contrary, Siberian Huskies are sweet and affection dogs. If entered in a contest for best guard dog, huskies would score the least...better yet, flunk. I do believe though that they could become protective when necessary be it out of loyalty or in defense of their humans.

Although they strongly resemble their ancestor, the wolf, they are not at all vicious. I always say that if there was a burglar in the house, the huskies would gladly welcome the company and even show the burglar around if it means the human will stick around.

This other husky here is our female, Layla. She's our little princess...in every sense of the word. I would like to believe that this "attitude" is due to the reason that she just turned 1 and still considered a pup. She is such a cutie and boy does she know how to work it. Traumatized from the mistreatment of her previous owner left her a bit skittish and aloof, mistrusting the smallest of hand gestures. Despite these, she is extremely sweet and affectionate once she has warmed up to you. I say, time heals everything and Layla's condition is no exception.