Hi all!

Please say hi to Niko, my beautiful lil husky boy.
Niko has had an unbelievable start to his life that I would never wish upon anybody, but we somehow got very very lucky and he is here today loving his life and bringing joy to ours.

If you would like to hear the story, here it is:

I found Niko online for sale in El Paso, which is about 8 and a half hours away from my home in Austin. I have always loved huskies and was looking forward to having an active sidekick that would enjoy going running a lot and hiking with me. So when I found him I fell in love and decided to take a road trip to El Paso to pick him up.
The trip went fine and we picked him up no problems. Just a ball of fluff that slept almost the whole way back! He was adorable. This was on a Saturday. On Sunday we played all day and got acquainted with our new surroundings. We ate well and napped in the crate. He slept great that night too!
The next morning I had to be at work, so we got up early and had a nice walk/run around outside, and then I decided to take him on a little ride in the truck because he absolutely loves riding for some reason and falls asleep right away. I wanted to calm him down before I crated him up for work. We drove around for 5 minutes and he passed out. I decided to stop at the grocery store to grab a granola bar before work. I cracked the windows and locked the doors and left Niko in the truck while i ran inside. Inside I grabbed a granola bar real quick then went to pay and realized I'd left my wallet in my truck so I ran back out.

He was gone.

The passenger door was unlocked and there was no puppy in sight. Talk about an awful feeling. I ran all over the parking lot and surrounding areas trying to find him. I ran inside and talked to the manager of the store and he said that they didn't have security cameras and that puppy theft had unfortunately been happening recently there. The same exact thing had happened the week before.

I was devastated. I called the cops and whoever else I could. I talked to my parents and they were as heartbroken as i was. I was a mess and it's tugging at my heart right now just thinking about it.

But somehow we got him back. My dad sent out a puppy amber alert (which i didn't even know existed). What that did was send out a notification with a photo and description to every vet, pound, shelter and pet store within a 50 mile radius. It also calls as many people as it can within a 5 mile radius of where it happened, telling people to keep a watch out for the dog. Within 3 hours i was getting a call from them telling me that they think that a vet has my puppy on the opposite side of town. I of course flew over there and sure enough he had my puppy. After talking to the vet, he said that somebody had brought the dog in without any tags and told the vet that he needs to know whether the dog is microchipped or not, and what kinds of shots he was needing. Niko is a pretty good lookin dude with specific markings and the good vet recognized him instantly. He told the man that this puppy was a high alert dog that was missing and asked him where he got the dog. The man supposedly got flustered and said he just found him on the side of the road. The vet said ok and that he would hold on to him until i could come and pick him up.

That's how i got my puppy back.

You'd think that was enough for one day right? haha

Not for Niko.

Later that afternoon as i was walking Niko around outside, there were several people in my complex approach me and ask me if that was my dog, etc. because they had recieved a call to be on the lookout for a missing husky. So i had to explain to them all that yea it's my dog. I then got a call later that night from the landlord. She (a new manager) said that they too had gotten the amber alert call, and that several residents had called her saying that they had seen me walking around with a husky. I told them that yes, this was my puppy. She then went on to tell me that unfortunately they had JUST changed their restricted breeds list and that Huskies were now included on that list and so I cannot keep the dog.

You've got to be kidding me.

why today? haha

So. My parents have taken lil Niko with them and he is spending his first few months at their place until my lease runs out and I move into my new house. I've been going home as much as I can, and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to go to my parents place the week after it happened and see lil Niko remember me and come running up to me with his tail wagging and jumping up at me. He won't leave my side when i'm there which is such a blessing.

He's doing great and has a nice big yarrd to play in and my parents older dog to teach him a few things.

Although it pains me not to come home to my puppy yet, I know that I am incredibly fortunate to even have him at all right now and I'm excited about my future with him.

Thanks everybody who read this, and I look forward to joining a great community here!

Cheers from Austin.

Nathan

Wow that is a good story love it..


Welcome to the forum

Niko is a real cutie.

take care of him

That is amazing. I'm glad you got reunited with him, I bet he's very happy.

Thanks for sharing and welcome to the forum!

Oh my gosh, he is so cute! That's a crazy story, but thankfully you have great parents and a good support system. Best of luck in your house hunt, there are plenty of places out there that are Husky friendly.

I'm glad you shared about the puppy amber alert, I had no idea that was available but I will go research it and share with others.

Wow what a story! Glad that you got him back, that amber alert is cool! Never heard of it!

He's so cute Welcome!

welcome! he is so cute. That story was so interesting! So sorry for you!! I hate BSL! I am so glad you reunited with him!

Thanks everybody. It was a crazy, emotional day for sure, but thankfully all is well now. I just miss my puppy!

The pet amber alert is what saved him, though, that's for sure. I dread to think where he'd be now.

Pet Amber Alert

Welcome to the forum! What a crazy start to puppy parenting!

Congrats and welcome!

Glad it all worked out in the end.

Who the fuck steals a dog? What the hell is wrong with people!

Anyway, I'm glad you got him back, you guys make a great pair!

Wow what a story! That touched my heart and I am so happy you got you're beautiful puppy back! That is absolutely HORRIBLE that somebody could steal a dog/puppy like that! What a terrible person. The vet should have called the police, so some sort of justice could have come out of this (aside from you getting you're puppy back of course). Anyway, welcome you have a beautiful pup and I can't wait to watch him grow.

Snow White wrote:

Who the *uck steals a dog? What the hell is wrong with people!

)

Sucks as it is but it happens all the time.

Here is an on going one right now.

https://www.itsahuskything.com/t4360-stolen-husky-port-richey-florida

Wow, that is a crazy story. But Niko is freaking adorable, I love that picture of him passed out on your chest. Too cute. My dog has separation anxiety when home alone but happily stays in the car (when it's not hot out!!!) I CONSTANTLY worry about her getting dog napped. Between summer coming and all these dog-stealing stories, we are amping up the desensitization training so I won't have to leave her in the car anymore.

Glad you got your cute little buddy back. And I'd definitely get him micro-chipped asap.

Welcome to the forum and I'm sooo happy everything worked out in the end!!! I love that pic of him in the tub! He is a very very handsome boy!! I can't wait to see more pictures as he grows up. You are in for a heck of an adventure with your active and adorable sidekick!

Hello from Corpus Christi! We are from the Ft. Hood/Austin area!!

Welcome! wow what a weekend you had! glad everything worked out in the end. i love the get me the hell out of this tub picture!

did you check with your apt before the list got changed or did you just know dogs were ok to have? im hearing more and more about places not taking huskies cause of that breed list, hope your new search for a place goes well. i would ask about breaking you lease since they changed the rules and did not tell you.

so so cute and welcome!

Thanks y'all!

He's growin up quick and has such a personality! He's just figured out that his back legs open up a whole new world for him to jump and stretch to!

Awesome pics.

The bath, towel and sleeping on your chest pictures are priceless.

Hello from Corpus! Mia and I love going to Austin and going to Barton Creek/Zilker Park area! She loves our truck rides also...and also sleeps the whole way! haha. You've got an adorable pup there!

Wow, glad your story had a happy ending, although it would kill me to be away from my new puppy. That landlord lady sounds like a real jerk though. Glad you're moving away.

What I want to know is, how your passenger side door became unlocked. Are puppy thieves really that good? Makes me never want to ever leave my pup in my car.

wow thank god you got him back. what a story!! welcome to the forum! niko is beautiful! I love the wet bath picture hahah!

not a clue how they unlocked it so fast. according to the manager of the grocery store it had happened several times recently. People lock their dog in the car and when they went out their it was unlocked and no dog. absolutely horrible.

Supposedly - and this is horrible - people who are into dog fighting like huskies to use as training tools for their other more aggressive dogs. Huskies are generally pretty friendly, but they're big and strong. So they'll tie them up and let the other 'fighting' dogs practice on them. It's called dog baiting, and it's awful.

Give your husky a hug tonight.

Wow that's an amazing story. Made me want to cry. I'm super happy for the both of you. Hes such a cutie! (:

That story is so crazy! I always worry about Dragon getting dognapped! Poor baby. He is so freaking cute tho!!