NorSled
Northern California Sled Dog Rescue
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Breed Information
To learn more about Nordic Breed dogs, click on Breed Information.
Contact Us
Northern California Sled Dog Rescue
PO Box 5784
Vallejo CA 94591
Phone: 800-471-5822
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Northern CA Sled Dog Rescue (NORSLED) is a 501(c)(3) non profit all volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing, fostering and finding homes for unwanted, abandoned and abused Northern breed dogs, including Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds, American Eskimos and mixes of same. We work throughout Northern California and parts of Nevada. We often provide extensive medical care as well. Donations to NorSled are tax deductible. Please click the PayPal icon to support NorSled.
Remembering Our Loved Ones
Here we remember the furry friends that we've loved and lost. Not a day passes that we don't remember their contributions to our lives. They made us smile, laugh, and cry. We will forever miss our fury friends.
Clara
On December 7, 2009, one of Norsled's sweetest huskies, Clara, went over the Rainbow Bridge. Clara is a very special girl, who captured the hearts of many of us at Norsled.
Clara was due to be euthanized in the Martinez shelter where her previous owner abandoned her. She was in bad shape but our Rescue Coordinator, Gail de Rita, fell in love with her the moment she saw her and took her into Norsled to be adopted. She named her Clara after the little girl in the Nutcracker.
As soon as we got her, Clara had to undergo a major procedure to remove six abscessed teeth - a result of gross neglect from her previous owner. Norsled
President, Jane Cordingley, graciously cared for her as she recovered from the operation. Although she had lost some of her vision, was mostly deaf, and suffered from arthritis, she remained bright and trusting of the people around her. She spent her last months joyfully chasing squirrels, exercising her curious nose, going on long brisk walks, and cuddling up for her afternoon naps. Although we never found her a forever family during the few months she was with Norsled, Clara was loved and nurtured by her foster families and
the entire Norsled family.
After suffering a seizure and losing her ability to function normally, we made the compassionate but painful decision to send her over the Rainbow Bridge. Clara is now in the wonderful and warm company of all of the husky friends that have moved on over the years - but she will always hold a very special place in our hearts. We miss you and love you, Clara!
Laika
Just wanted to share the news that our much loved 'Laika' (AKA: "Walter"), one of two beautiful rescued Siberians adopted through NorSled, crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday at 5PM.
Laika's sudden demise comes as shock to my wife and I, given the very recent diagnosis of stage IVb-V (terminal) lymphosarcoma of the gastric tract (a mere two weeks ago). Appearing to be otherwise healthy and happy, Laika suddenly started giving indications of having some serious overall problems. In the short span of two weeks Laika rapidly declined to the point where he wouldn't even eat especially attractive treats and special food (soft boiled chicken and chicken jerky, etc.) fed by hand. Soon, Laika would remain in the same position without moving for hours on end, wasn't interested in walks (having no energy), and gave every evidence that his condition had progressed beyond all reasonable hopes of remission or recovery. Having waited as long as we could in the interests of giving him as much time as possible, we finally decided the only proper course of action was to send Laika across the bridge. Poor little Laika had lost an appreciable amount of weight in those two short weeks since his first diagnosis, but despite the severity of his condition and his very obvious pain and discomfort, he bravely managed to walk in to the clinic with us through his own extreme effort.
Shortly thereafter and comfortably reposed on a nice soft pad, medication was administered via an intercath and Laika passed from this life to whatever lies beyond with tranquility, trusting calmness, and great dignity. Just as we said our last goodbyes, he managed to lift his head, looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes of his, and lavishly licked my face as if to say "Thanks for being my best human friend, boss, and helping me out of this pain…you did the right thing and I love you!" It just about broke my heart, but it certainly spoke volumes about the close relationship we had developed in the short 5-6 months our guys have been with us. As we have done several times in recent years with our other SIBS, we were right there with him, stroking him tenderly in our arms until he was on the far side of the bridge.
Laika was a unique Siberian with a distinct personality, like so many of these furry northern working dogs. Although most Siberians are fairly quiet and some are almost distantly dignified in their demeanor, Laika was a very verbal pup and would get quite excited at times, breaking into a bark to give urgency to his voluable enthusiasms. He was also a wildly affectionate snogger (GOOGLE it), giving anyone within the immediate range of his big pink tongue the full and unreserved benefit of its excellent slurping properties.
As a result, although Laika (formerly: Walter) was his formal name, he was always more affectionately known within the family as 'the snog dog'. His brother (Sooka) has become 'the floppy dog' for his habit of flopping down to get a chest rub, but Laika was the overtly affectionate, verbal, and 'in-your-face-happy' brother in this duo that we came to call 'The Fabulous Flying Furry Fuzz Brothers' (AKA: 'The Bros') for their hair's breadth escape from certain doom in the LA Pound. [For those who aren't familiar with their amazing story, both Laika and Sooka (both male littermates) were 'red-tagged' at the LA County Pound and were scheduled to be put down, simply because that facility had a shortage of space and because they were regarded by the pound as 'middle-aged dogs' with little chance for adoption. To their great fortune, they were rescued from that unhappy and undeserved fate with just hours to spare, and they immediately found a forever home with us.]
Obviously we're both grief stricken by this development and all the more so since we've now lost 3 of our guys in a short one year period. Sadly, the loss of any person or animal that one has deep attachments to is an irrevocable rite of passage for all human beings and it never gets any easier, no matter how many times it occurs. Fortunately, we still have 'Sooka' (Laika's brother) and he seems to be one very healthy, happy guy (he's also a great talker and howler, so we have frequent pack howls at the moon, although that lunar chorus will now be short its most illustrious alto voice, sadly). All we can do is hope that Sooka manages to cope successfully with the sudden loss of his close brother & littermate and that he continues to have a normal and happy life with us.
I'm not a religious person. I do not personally believe in gods, after-lives, or any of the conventional convictions shared by so many about what happens to the soul after death. I do believe, however, that if there were a God, he would have created dogs and placed them on Earth to provide us poor, confused, and emotionally peripatetic human beings with a source of comfort and pure love that transcends any faith ever imagined or conceived of by the more noted philosophers among us. All that matters at the moment, however, is that we have lost yet another true, faithful, and utterly loving friend and the emotional pain is still very palpable.
[Laika is the gray & white guy in the attached above pictures ) Best wishes to all who share similar feelings about our furry, four-footed friends and life companions. If you are a believer, say a little prayer for him and light a candle: he was a sweet, sweet soul whose life-force helped illuminate our experiential darkness!
Kiska
Little Kiska! You were 15 when you came to us, and 16 when you left. In that time, your body healed and grew strong, and you ran and played. Your happy, silly spirit soared! Sometimes you gave it words in your operatic voice. And we loved you so!! Run free now, little girl!!!
Dodger
Nikita
Thoughts of Nikita still bring tears to her human mom's eyes.
Through her surgeries and chemotherapy Nikita still brought joy to her family. Not many "two-leggeds" can walk so lightly on their paws through life, much less chemotherapy and surgery.
We celebrate Nikita - we will remember her every day.
Run free sweet Nikita
Orion
It was love at first sight! A gentle soul in the form of a 90 lb ball of fur. Orion came to us a tad skittish. We think he might have had a hard life starting out before Norsled rescued him and he came to us. Slowly, he came to trust us and we fell in love with the first addition to our small family. He was unlike any dog we had ever encountered. He never barked, not once, but man was he a conversationalist! He seemed to have full on conversations with us, he always vocalized his needs. He hated baths, but loved playing in the open water, loved to be scratched behind the ears, but not on the belly. Within a few months he was attached to us at the hip and could not stand to part with either of us, whether we had to head off to work or run errands he wanted to come along. Even after I had surgery my 90 lb. puppy was up on the bed with me and would not leave my side no matter what, until I got better. He had a sixth sense and knew I needed him.
Through vet visits we came to find out Orion had been mistreated prior to his time with Norsled. They found a pellet lodged in his hip, our poor baby. But, he was still active and it did not seem to bother him too much. Later last year in September 2007 he started limping on his right hind leg. We thought it might be a cruciate tear or the pellet bothering him. We brought him in thinking that the worst case scenario would be surgery. Unfortunately, the doctor was concerned and took tests only to discover that Orion was suffering from advanced bone cancer.
It was devastating news, but we had to make a decision. We decided to let him live out the rest of his life as free from pain as we could make him. It was very hard watching him slowly stop eating and become increasingly withdrawn and immobile. We tried to keep his spirits up but spending as much time as possible loving him and giving him everything he could want. He didn't seem to be in pain, and we were able to say goodbye and make him comfortable. Orion Petty passed away on 2/15/2008. We miss him terribly, but we know in our hearts that he is in turkey hot dog (his favorite) heaven running free and happy.