Kato, My Siberian Huskey Part 1

I acquired Kato, my Siberian huskey by catching sight of an ad in the classified section of the newspaper: “Free to a good home, a Siberian Huskey, 5 years old”. Well I assumed someone was moving and had to leave their canine…so I called and got the address and headed over to see Kato. I have had huskeys in the past, Samoyeds, the all white huskeys, also known as the Christmas dogs, but never owned a Siberian. Both of these breeds come from the Spitz family of canines. I met the owners, a young couple with two small children, then they took me to the back yard and there I saw the beautiful canine, Kato. He was a magnificent specimen, larger than most of the Siberian Huskeys I was accustomed to, probably about 85 lbs I guessed….but it was his eyes that won me over. I couldn’t help but stare right into them and it almost felt like I was staring into a wolf’s face as he locked onto mine. Something wild and primitive there, I thought. It excited me. His furry body was rusty tan color with white powerful front legs, and as he jumped up on me, I could feel the full strength of those front paws holding me. Immediately I wanted to know why this couple was giving up such a gorgeous animal….I could almost tell I was broaching a subject they probably didn’t want to talk about. So I asked, simply, “Why are you giving him up”? He kind of hesitated, and then said, “we love this dog, we had him since he was a pup, he was actually a wedding present…. But a few days ago he broke off his chain and headed over to my neighbors and got into a fight with her dog. She ran out to try to get between them and was bitten by Kato.” To make a long story short, the woman had to be hospitalized and the couple’s homeowners insurance was going to raise the premium, unless they got rid of the dog. They were young people struggling with a new house and two young children and simply could not afford this unfortunate circumstance. So I told them I was interested and would give Kato a large farmstead to live on, and the fact that I owned huskeys before and knew a little about them, gave me an advantage, that some others that applied to the ad earlier, didn’t have that day. He and his wife stepped away for a few minutes, then came back and said, with an almost bittersweet look on their faces…”He’s yours!”
So I took Kato by the leash and put him in my van, then as I started up the van, I couldn’t help glancing out the window, one of the youngsters crying, my heart sank in my chest…I was taking his friend away. The mother quickly embraced the child in her arms and tried to console him, but I could still hear him sobbing, as I drove away with Kato and wondering, was this right.

Nick