#116 -- The Harbinger of Huskies

Myrtle as Mother

Note: This doesn’t read like my typical essays. It reads more like a personal letter. My apologies, but it’s really the only way I can get it out of my brain and onto the page, when we are still in the middle of it. Maybe later I’ll have some perspective and some thoughts on it, but for now…

I’ve been going back and forth on how to start this letter and I think, because of who I am and what I’m most comfortable with, is just to say it. Otis is gone. I have no confirmation of his demise, but it’s safe to say it is likely a foregone conclusion.

Myrtle & Otis

With that out of the way, let me back up and tell the tale.

Brief background for those that don’t know the saga of the dogs in question: Two Husky-looking strays showed up at our doorstep, I think back in October. They pretty much stayed with us and then they would disappear, reappear, mostly together, and a couple times not. But they would always show up within a few days of each other.

It’s been two weeks now that Otis has been gone and there’s good reason to fear the worst. Now, I’ll be the first to “never say never” and I sincerely hope he’s inside on some huge bed filled with food and getting all the love and attention he deserves. But the last time he was seen, with Myrtle, was on an island about a mile up the river.

I had collars on them, with a tag on Otis. It was tiny because it was our cat’s old tag, so I understood when we received a call from someone saying they had found Thumper. I drove up to bring them both back. After some determined aversion to getting in the car, they climbed in and were asleep within a few minutes.

We got back home and they were so tired, they ate and went right to sleep.

The next morning they were gone again.

I once again got a call from the same guy, telling me Otis and Myrtle were up his way again, this time on an island in the middle of the river. They had apparently swum out there, chasing a deer, or just messing around. But I tried to get them to come back with me, but they would not leave the island and I had no way to get to them, short of getting a canoe over there, and then no idea if I could get two gigantic huskies in a canoe.

I would go by each day and try to coax them. But they were either stuck or guarding a carcass. It was hard for me to tell that far away. It was about a 40 minute drive to get to where they were, but by river it was such a short distance; I was hoping they would get bored and hungry and head back home.

After a few days of this, Myrtle showed up. Just out of the blue. I had actually been up at the island calling for them and when I got back to the cabin, there she was, under the porch. She came up to greet me and I hugged her and looked around for Otis. I instantly got worried. Otis was always the more friendly and outgoing of the two, and more of the homebody.

We all looked for him, hoping he would come back. I spoke to the gentleman up the river and he hadn’t seen him either. It would appear our dear friendly Otis either got swept up in the river or something else horrible. Or, like I hope, he’s living the high life playing tug of war and eating caviar. So, while we waited and hoped, Myrtle stayed put. No more wandering, which was odd, but I put it down to Otis being gone.

Let me cut to the chase. Myrtle, it turns out, was pregnant. It took an astute observation from my friend, Stew, who said: “That dog is pregnant.” I took a good look, and sure enough, she was heavier than ever. I guess because they were so skinny when they came to us, that I just assumed she had finally started putting on some weight.

But it turns out that she was even further along than I imagined, because about 12 days ago, she disappeared. First Otis was gone, then Myrtle. I was beside myself. I thought the worst of course, and I imagined all sorts of horrible things.

Then 10 days ago, she reappeared. This time, a lot skinnier. She was crying and yelping and carrying on. I got out some food and went inside to get her some water. By the time I returned she had left. I was scared for her and wanted to find her, but the thing about huskies, they can just disappear. Some nights I would go out to check on them this past fall and, unbeknownst to me, one of them would be no further than 10 feet away. They can blend in with the scenery.

But it wasn’t long before she returned, once again ravenous. This time I was ready for her. I had boots and a jacket and after she ate, she ran off again, this time with me trailing behind.

I thought she might try to evade me, but she seemed fine with it and headed for my neighbor’s shed. She did stop and take a quick look around before ducking down and sliding underneath. The shed is approximage 10x12 feet. I ducked my head down but couldn’t see anything, it was too dark.

It was enough, at the moment, to know that she was safe and the babies were safe.

Since then, she’s been coming over every day to get food, sometimes 3 times a day, eating a mixture of dry and canned food. I’ve never bought so much canned food in my life. I’m buying out the local CashSaver supplies.

I was worried that if I pressed things, she might try and move them, so I proceeded with caution. I would go over and check they were okay, flash a light in and try and get a head count. It’s so dark and low that it’s hard to tell but I’m pretty sure there are 4 pups, maybe 5. I can’t wait to see them and smell some puppy breath.

Myrtle and the puppies, under the shed. Hard to get an accurate headcount.

But at the same time, there is the fear and uncertainty. Yesterday, we had a large amount of snow and tonight, it is supposed to be down to 3 degrees. That’s low, even for a husky and especially for babies. I consulted a lot of people and they said the best thing to do was to wrap up the underside of the shed and leave her one entrance/exit. But that leaves her in the dark most of the time. I built her a shelter under the porch and filled it with straw per my friend’s advice but so far, Myrtle is staying where she is. Hopefully once the pups are mobile, she’ll move them over here. And hopefully, this damnable weather will abate. I love cold weather and would normally welcome it, but there is just too much going on now.

I am sure there is some sort of overriding, overarching message to this, something about nature, and something about wilderness and doing the best we can. Probably something about futility and love and pain and joy. Probably a lot of all of that.

But honestly, I’m just too fucking tired to reach in there and grab it.

I’ll do better next time.

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Thanks for indulging me,

~ Tim