Summer passes to Fall...

The weather has finally cooled down. Enough to introduce Raven to Ester Dome!

And our morning runs have been more pleasant, too.

And so, too, have our walks been on the neighborhood trails.

Because Raven was a village stray and had not lived a super clean life, I decided to avail ourselves of our free grooming, as donated by Pretty Pawz Grooming, a sponsor of Sirius who donates a first free grooming and bath to all Sirius rescue dogs. I wanted to do it because we had Raven scheduled to be spayed, and I wanted her to be clean before then. But also wanted it to be at least a week before her spay, so her skin microbiome could recover before being sliced open.

During her spay, we also had her rear dew claws removed. Rear dew claws are not common among dogs who are not livestock guardians (although they are a breed standard for Great Pyrenees), but that isn't the reason I wanted them removed. They were not fully attached, and they were flopping around, so I wanted them removed so they didn't get torn while hiking, or while running through punchy spring snow. Raven also has front dew claws, which is totally normal, but sled dog breeders often remove front dew claws just so they are more amenable to wearing booties. They do it when they are a few days old, when the procedure is trival. Removing them as adults is quite a bit more invasive. Raven's front dew claws are well-attached, and in fact she can control them like vestigial thumbs! So I did not want them removed. It would have been very painful, and pointless besides! Anyway, here is the bath photo they sent. Poor Raven did not know what was happening.

They put bows on them! How humiliating! But Raven knows and trusts Sam, the groomer (and another Sirius volunteer).

Who's that pretty girl? Raven! Raven is that pretty girl!

Just wanted to share this photo of four new Sirius resident working dogs. Sibes from working lines. Daddy is a Sirius dog, mama lives in British Columbia. Lookie these hooligans!

Raven is very comfy with us, don't you think? I sure hope she is comfy with us.

Mmmmm BELLPEPPER! Queen Thistle lovesloveloves BELLPEPPERZ!

And Princess Cricket also loves BELLPEPPERZ!

And Duchess Raven also loves BELLPEPPERZ!

Another summer-winding-down activity: Harvesting all of the rhubarb:

I put most of it into the freezer for pies and crisps, but made a double batch of this tasty cake (obviously also great with blueberries, but you can sub any fruit or rrhubarb).

The recipe calls for a 10-inch skillet, so for my second one I divide it among a 6-inch and an 8-inch. A 3-4-5 ratio of the squares!

See, high school trig is not just for engineers. It's also for bakers!

Look how nicely my girls all get along! They eatz together!

And ridez in a car together!

And walk with their frenz together (the black and white Sibe is Lucky! Another Sirius rescue.)

The pretty skies that come in between rain storms!

"Excuzee, may wee have some cantylopze, pleez?"

Miss Thistle gets cantylope!

And Miss Cricket gets cantylope!

And Miss Raven gets cantylope!

And last night was Miss Raven's last night in her doughnut! Her incisions have all healed well. Yaaaay!

"The Nenana Dogs" before and after

I want to give an update on the Nenana Dogs. Late last spring, eight dogs were dumped by a gravel pit by the side of the highway near Nenana. They had been starving, their fur was half missing, half matted, and infested with lice. They were severely underweight. A group of people quickly came together to live trap and help them, comprised of local residents and Sirius volunteers (not me; a dear woman named KD is our live-trapping expert). Of the eight, a local musher caught one and brought him home and evidently kept him. One was never accounted for (I hope he is okay! Maybe also caught and kept by a local?). And six ended up at Sirius, either directly trapped by KD, or they were picked up by other kind people and brought to Fairbanks Animal Control, who relinquished them to Sirius because Sirius is more capable of handling these severe abuse cases. These six got called:

Mae (L) and April (R)

Pretty Girl (L) and Gimli (R):

Jill:

and Jack:

Here is a photo of Gimli in the live trap:

I can now give you updates that are mostly happy! Jack got adopted immediately and renamed Sunny. His new family is a retired couple who just loves him to death! He now divides his time between two off-grid cabins, and goes hiking and canoeing and on all kinds of adventures!

His vision is poor, so his new parents drove him all the way the heck to Anchorage to see a doggy opthamologist. They say he only has 60% vision, which could be a byproduct of his early malnutrition and abuse. But he is happy and loved, and just like any dog you've ever known with cancer, or three legs, or any other struggle, he doesn't know he is supposed to be struggling and lives a happy doggy life. They came to visit last week, and this is what he looks like now! Isn't he gorgeous? I had no idea what color he was due to his crappy coat condition (white? beige? grey?). But it turns out he is pure white!

Next up I will give an update on Jill. My dear friends and former neighbors, who now live in Anchorage, agreed to foster her. They renamed her Ivalu, since she appears to be a Greenland Inuit dog. She was very shy, but warmed up quickly at Sirius and blossoned with M and T. In fact, they report that she has become very snuggly, as well as demanding of attention! However, she is scarred inside from her experience as an abused dog. She has bb pellets embedded in her from being shot, and she's also reactive to other dogs, so they have to be very careful with her. Here are some photos of a happy, confident, and loved Ivalu!

The puppies April and May have been at the rescue, and we volunteers have been seeing them regularly, taking them to puppy classes, and letting them bond with and play with the resident dogs. They are doing great! I've posted quite a bit about April, so will spare myself choosing more from the 342 photos I have of her and just show you the ones I took the other day--a happy, confident April who greets visitors at the fence! You'd never know she was an abuse case, would you?

And here is Mae. I could not take a nice portrait of her She is so goofy and playful! Which is how a puppy should be! It's so nice to see that this cowering, scared creature has turned into a proper puppy pain in the ass! :)

Here is a recent one with April.

And here is one with Uncle Clyde, a long-retired elder statesdog who just loveslovesloves puppies. But they sure tire him out!

Gimli and Pretty Girl are also at the rescue, but they still have a long way to go. I have gotten to the point where I can hand feed them kibble, and I can just barely pet Pretty Girl, when she's in the right mood. Otherwise she hides in her house.

I don't even have a recent photo of Gimli! I don't like to photograph shy dogs. I feel like... it puts a barrier between us, if that makes sense. Anyway, here is a video of him playing with his buddies Spade and Casper!

I hope my next update on these guys will be better!