My Platform

I've always been fond of huskies and malamutes and wanted one since I can remember. However, as a child you don't always get what you want. Bummer. Fast forward to adulthood that comes with choices and responsibility. There I was on December 9th, 2013 with Chico's leash in one hand and adoption papers in the other. Walked outside of the Idaho Humane Society and said to myself, "congratulations I officially became a parent." Yikes!

Crazy story, my initial intention was to adopt Chico's sister, Bella. She was the only husky at the Idaho Humane Society at that time. Chico was currently located at Petsmart, an affiliation of the Idaho Humane Society. So I sat there interacting with Bella. Poor girl, she looked so sad and kept howling. Probably saying, take me home now!

I went home that day and thought more if I was ready to adopt Bella. It felt so right and couldn't get her sweet howl out of my mind. Tomorrow couldn't come sooner as I felt like a little kid super excited that I was going to get a dog of my own. The next day I went back to the humane society and located her kennel. She was gone! There was a sign saying that she was out for a walk, phew. I took a seat on a bench and waited. 20 minutes passed. 40 minutes passed. Now it was almost an hour of waiting. I thought to myself- that is strange. She can't be out there that long. I talked with a staff member and come to find out, she was adopted earlier that day!!! My heart sank and now I was the sad one. No worries, said the staff member. We have another husky who is currently at Petsmart. Take a look at the bulletin board to get more info about him. Sure enough I stood in front of the bulletin board and saw Chico.

He looked so handsome in his headshot and from that moment I knew he was mine to adopt. I immediately took the drive to go see him. Of course, he too looked sad just hanging out in his kennel by himself. He wasn't very responsive as he just layed there and stared at me and then the wall. I wasn't able to take him out of his kennel and play since he was going to have his eye checked out by the vet. Followed by his appointment, they were going to transport him back to the humane society. And so another wait.

The next day I rounded up some friends and went to the humane society to see Chico. Had a much better interaction with him as he was much more attentive. Of course I wasn't going to wait this time around to ensure I was ready to adopt him and soon enough I filled out paperwork. The rest is history!

Just kidding! History is still being made as he is my inspiration and the reason why I started my platform, Huskies & Malamutes-Adopt a Rescue. Some people may say the I have gone dog crazy (perfect example, my dad) but I have so much love for Chico that I can't just sit here and do nothing to help other huskies and malamutes. So the work towards my platform began to grow and the search for knowledge continued.

I first started out by volunteering with the Idaho Humanse Society then I joined Idaho's Husky Huddle Malamute Mingle group. The husky huddle malamute mingle group has been a wonderful support group as there are many other owners of these breeds that share advice and information. There are also monthly meetups at local dog parks for the dogs to interact. It's husky and malamute heaven!

I can't forget to mention Moonsong Malamute Rescue! An amazing rescue organization based in Idaho. They also work in Montana, Northern Nevada, and Wyoming. After reading about this organization, via Facebook, my heart was filled with happiness. I wanted to get involved. At that time they were looking for volunteers to spend time with a rescue, Sheba, who was at a local kennel facility. I got in contact with MMR and sure enough started spending time walking Sheba. She was my first interaction with a malamute and an absolute bundle of joy! She was 110 lbs, full of energy, and definitely the queen.

After Sheba, there were other wonderful, fun-loving rescues that came along the way. Being a volunteer with Moonsong Malamute Rescue helped put the final touches to my platform, which was to advocate for adopting a rescue. These dogs are simply amazing and it's disheartening knowing some of the backgrounds (neglect, abuse, puppy mills, owner surrenders) some of these dogs lived. Some worse than others.

My first project was to create a site and blog to reference the endless works of other husky and malamute rescue organizations throughout the United States. But to also use this site and blog as an outlet to gather and share information about these breeds. Google became my best friend as I spent countless hours discovering and learning.

Here I am today on a mission revolved around huskies and malamutes in rescue (of course with Chico by my side). With one project down, there is still much work to do. A lot of the credit goes to these rescue organizations. I am just forever grateful to be a part of this cause and promote four essential points- learn, donate, foster, and adopt!

Much love,

Amy and Chico