I just realized I had not written up an introduction on here- please forgive me.

Hello everyone, I am Tyler. Several months ago I came to be roommates with a beautiful female husky and wanted to make a quick post to introduce ourselves.

Okami came into my life back in June. I was driving from Atlanta through Rome, Ga on my way to a Native American sweat lodge ceremony when I saw what at first I thought was a wolf, standing in the parking lot of a Dollar General. I pulled in to examine and found a shy, but beautiful dog with striking blue eyes. She was collarless, with mangy fur infested with burrs, ticks, fleas and blood from a gash on her side. She had small chunks missing from the tops of her ears where the flies had eaten away at them. She was very thin and looked like she hadn't been fed in a long time. She was nervous at first but eventually came to met and let me pet her. I went into the store to see if anyone in there was the owner. The cashier didn't know anything about the dog but dismissed her as a stray and volunteered to call animal control. I took one glance out the store windows at the surrounding neighborhood and decided the dog's next stop would likely be a cell and then a needle. Given my first impression of her, and her blue eyes, and the fact that the gentleman running the sweat lodge I was on my way to was named Tom Bluewolf, I figured I should at least take her with me. Somehow, despite her shyness, the dog got in the car with me and was quite peaceful, albeit excited on the ride up. I called the animal shelters in the area and no one reported missing a husky.





By the time the ceremony was over I realized I couldn't just leave her back at the Dollar General, so I decided to take her back to Atlanta.
I grew up with dogs- Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Golden Retrievers and a few stray mutts my parents adopted. I love dogs, but never really had much desire to get one of my own- they are a lot of work, leave hair everywhere and screw with your social schedule. I hoped that perhaps I could get my dad to let her join his pack of 5 dogs. If not, I could drop her at the Atlanta Humane Society, which is a no-kill shelter. However, by the time we got back to Atlanta, I had a sneaking suspicion that I wasn't going to be able to let her go that easily. I had already given her name- Okami. Okami has two meanings in Japanese- both of which I thought appropriate. "Great Spirit" (I found her on the way to a Native American Sweat Lodge) and "wolf" (She looked wolfy.)
The next morning I took her to PetSmart to be checked for a chip. She didn't have one and further inquiries on the internet about missing huskies in the area came up empty. And as far as i was concerned, judging by her malnourishment, if she had only recently gotten loose from some place, I wasn't inclined to return her. I took her to the vet and found she was miraculously free of heartworms or other serious issues. The vet said she was about 1 year old and didn't appear to have made many- if any- vet visits before, reinforcing my belief that she was a true stray. However, he also broke one other piece of news to me- in his best estimation, and having worked with some before, Okami might have a little wolf in her.
Now, I have always had a great affinity for wolves, and have been told they are my spirit animal, whether you believe in such things or not. That said, other than maybe crazed 13-year-old ideas, I've never had a desire to own a wolf and never thought that wolf-dogs were a good idea. Crossing a domestic animal with a wild animal is most likely to produce offspring that are a ball of conflicting impulses and instincts, with shaky domesticity. On top of which they are technically illegal in Georgia.

But, you all know how it goes. I loved her already.

She is a spectacular dog. She was 28 lbs when I got her, with supermodel ribs. She is now 49 pounds and doing great. Great temperament and very easy going- minus the periodic zoomies, aka "Crazy Husky Time". Her only real issue is lack of socialization with other dogs. Having been on her own for so long she doens't really know how to make friends easily. The first dog she made friends with took about 5 days of dedicated work. I've gotten it down to 20 minutes now, but I still can't let her run free in the dog park. However, we are working on it and her day is coming.

This post is running long, so I'll end it here, but thanks everyone and I'm very glad to have resources like this to help me out.

Tyler

Welcome! Great job saving her, she's beautiful!

Awesome story!!! I love that you're so spiritual! I must share this intro with one of my best friends! You sound so much like her and she's attended a few sweat lodge ceremonies as well

I love the meaning of Okami and she was definitely meant to be with you!!

Tyler, she is beautiful and I love your story. She was meant to find you.

Wonderful story and they both are beautiful

iceblulady wrote:

Wonderful story and they both are beautiful

Same dog. Just a "Before" and "After" comparison.

Great story! She looks so much better now. Why does your vet think she has wolf in her?

SaraB wrote:

Great story! She looks so much better now. Why does your vet think she has wolf in her?

Not entirely sure. I think because of her paws, teeth and muzzle structure. (A few outdoor behaviors as well.) He wanted to run a DNA test on her but said it would be better not to because if she does have some wolf in her that could create a record of it, and you can't have wolf in your dog in Georgia- even if its just a little. I don't really care one way or another. She is awesome, whatever she is.

she looks SOOOOO much better now, and that fact that you loved her enough that first day shows it in what you have done for her since then. We all love sharing the stories of how our huskies joined our lives and yours is a great one! its not easy to get a stray husky in a car, i have tired, treats and all and have failed. im surprised she was still in the lot after you went in to ask about her, it was meant to be.

Honestly, and I hate to say this since her story already sounds Oliver Twist-ish enough, but I think she was hanging around trying to eat food crumbs from the ground.

tyler999 wrote:

iceblulady wrote:

Wonderful story and they both are beautiful

Same dog. Just a "Before" and "After" comparison.

Opps... So Sorry I thought there were 2 different dogs.
She looks so totally different from when you found her and she looks so very happy

She's beautiful and I love her name. It's wonderful to see her looking in such good condition compared to the early photos.

tyler999 wrote:

Not entirely sure. I think because of her paws, teeth and muzzle structure. (A few outdoor behaviors as well.) He wanted to run a DNA test on her but said it would be better not to because if she does have some wolf in her that could create a record of it, and you can't have wolf in your dog in Georgia- even if its just a little. I don't really care one way or another. She is awesome, whatever she is.

That's interesting. Last I heard, only a couple of specialist research labs were able to do that genetic test, because there is so much similarity between wolf and dog DNA. Anyway, smart decision not to find out - much safer for her if she is part wolf. I think she does look a bit wolfy, but either way, she's gorgeous.

tyler999 wrote:

SaraB wrote:

Great story! She looks so much better now. Why does your vet think she has wolf in her?

Not entirely sure. I think because of her paws, teeth and muzzle structure. (A few outdoor behaviors as well.) He wanted to run a DNA test on her but said it would be better not to because if she does have some wolf in her that could create a record of it, and you can't have wolf in your dog in Georgia- even if its just a little. I don't really care one way or another. She is awesome, whatever she is.

Looking at her - muzzle, paws, etc - she looks full husky. I've seen a few huskies with minute amounts of wolf in them in rescue - and she doesn't exhibit any of the traits that would show wolf heritage. Your vet may not be familiar with huskies and be surprised by how "wolf-y" huskies look. Most vets see so few huskies. She's gorgeous!

Looking at her initial pictures i'm not surprised a vet would think she has "a little bit" of wolf in her. But at her "now" pictures I don't think there's any wolf in her, looks all Husky.

tyler999 wrote:

Honestly, and I hate to say this since her story already sounds Oliver Twist-ish enough, but I think she was hanging around trying to eat food crumbs from the ground.

Love it! Absolutely meant to be. Like me and Neptune!
I grew up with dogs my whole life too, from wolf hybrids, to German Sherpards, cocker spaniels, Rottweilers, and a many other assortment! Even since I can remember seeing a husky (maybe I was 6?) I was desperate for one! My mom always said, "no they run away too much!" But after moving out of the 'rents house, I NEVER had any intention of welcoming a dog into my world...I "thought" I had way too much "stuff" to do!

Two days before finding Neptune I said I would never get any dog other than a husky! And then "poof!", there he was!

Great to hear another fellow forum member into Native American ceremonies...I go to nearly all of them here. Can't wait to take the huskies to one! Thank you for sharing your story.

arooroomom wrote:

Looking at her initial pictures i'm not surprised a vet would think she has "a little bit" of wolf in her. But at her "now" pictures I don't think there's any wolf in her, looks all Husky.

I was thinking the exact same thing...doesn't look like a wolf hybrid to me at all. Perhaps the vet also had never seen a husky of her coloring. I bet most vets would see a "grey wolf" colored husky and bet it was a wolf hybrid.

What a beautiful girl! Thank you for saving her!

Quote :

Looking at her initial pictures i'm not surprised a vet would think she has "a little bit" of wolf in her. But at her "now" pictures I don't think there's any wolf in her, looks all Husky.

Ditto. She looks full husky to me.