NorSled
Northern California Sled Dog Rescue
Resources
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
What's New!!
Donations Needed
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.
Success Stories!
Here are some of our success stories!!! We love to hear from NorSled adopters. Please email your success stories and photos to success@norsled.org.
Snowcap
Loretta and I have been blessed to have Snowcap come into our lives since March, 2008. Woody, our Lab mix had passed and Patty his sister was alone and sad. Enter our new friend . He has made our family whole again and given us countless hours of love and companionship. He has bonded well with Patty and even his cat sister Sally.
He is always up for a new adventure and travels well between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. He truly is in his element in the snow and just floats over it with amazing agility and quickness. We have had many dogs in our lives and Snowcap is the latest in furry friends that give to us far more than we can ever give to him.
Thank you Norsled for all you do and allowing Snowcap to become a member our family.
Best wishes,Larry and Loretta
Mya
After losing one of our beloved husky's our family began searching to adopt. After months of browsing websites and driving to local shelters we found our girl, a young, stray named Mya recently rescued by Norsled. From the first photo we saw, it was obvious that she was the one for us. We contacted them immediately and began the adoption process.
On the day we met Mya at her foster family's home, she was beautiful but seemed hyper, untrained and a bit unruly. She jumped up, scratched, ran aimlessly and displayed no desire to please. Until we got into the car...almost immediately, she lay down and rode quietly, head down and quiet. Upon arriving to her new forever home she somehow transformed into a respectful little lady. She quickly learned sit, stay, lay down and our other husky mix bonded almost instantly and romped around the back yard for hours. It took a few days for her to learn, but quickly adapted to being a very gentle companion to our young 17 month old daughter; who is now her best friend. They spend hours playing together each day and she is the most tolerant, loving dog imaginable.
Mya is a typical husky who is fun, energetic and eager to work. And although the husky breed is known for their mischievous inhibitions; if given the appropriate love and training they are simply amazing animals. She is the perfect match for us and we are so incredibly thankful to Norsled for their patience, guidance and endless breed knowledge.
Mia
Hi Everyone,
My name is Mia. I wanted to tell you my story. I am a 1-1/2 year old White Siberian Husky that was brought up in a home that must not have been ready for me and my sister. Somehow we got out of our yard and there we were out in the big world. For a couple of hours it was so much fun but then we lost our way back. There we were, out on the streets, alone and scared. A couple of weeks went by and no sign of our humans. Hmmm, what should we do? We kept looking and looking. Then some very nice people from Norsled got us. At first we were really scared because we did not know them. Now we are a couple of smart cookies and figured out that Gail, Katherine, and Lianne were our new best friends. We were treated so good and they made us feel safe, happy, and most importantly, loved. After all, isn’t that what everyone wants?
Because of Gail, Katherine, Lianne and everyone else (sorry, I forget everyone’s name) at Norsled they found my sister a great home. I was so sad because I was alone again but knowing Honor was going to a good home, it was worth it. Catherine (foster Mom) explained to me that my new Mom and Dad was out there somewhere and that it was just taking a little longer for them to find me.
I will never forget the day that I met my new Mom and Dad, May 16, 2009. I was at Pet Express and my foster Mom and Dad were getting me out of the truck and lo and behold there they were with my now brother Raider. I knew it, I could just feel it and they looked so excited to see me, Raider was wagging his tail letting me know that I was special and that they finally found me.
The ride to my new home was so much fun, I finally found my new family. Once I got home and went into the backyard you will never guess what we have, a pool! Well, like I said, I am one smart girl, I went right to the steps, walked in and took a lap. Now my favorite place to hang out when it is warm is in the pool on the first step. I met my brother Max, he is a bit of a sissy but I love him. Believe it or not but I also have 2 sisters and they are chihuahua’s! I know hard to believe but they love to lay next to me in the house. We all watched the movie Eight Below and Snow Dogs and that was just my first day home.
I go for lots of walks, I know to sit before I cross the street, when Dad says “go to bed” I know that all of us go upstairs and I have my own bed next to my parents. I feel like after living on the streets for a couple of weeks, I went from the Outhouse to the Penthouse. Here is a picture of Raider (on diving board) Max and me.
In closing, I just wanted to thank everyone at Norsled for all they have done to help me find my new home. As every great story ends, “And they lived happily ever after”.
Woof Woof, Mia
Sierra Blu
This letter is long overdue, and I hope you will forgive me as I have been immersed in work and family since we last saw you when we picked up Sierra Blu to bring her to our home in San Francisco.
I have wanted to write for many weeks, and finally have a quiet moment to take advantage of, to share with you just how much the addition of Sierra to our family has meant to me personally. In short, she has changed my life, and quite frankly, I don't know how I managed without her before. I feel that must sound a bit silly, but it is the only way to describe how profound an effect she has had on me personally in just two short months.
It's funny when I find myself talking about her to friends and family who have known me for decades as _not_ being a 'dog person.' They can not seem to understand me when I try to explain how much joy she injects into my daily existence, how she takes me out of myself, how she makes me want to go outside for a romp, and how she calms me when I am overworked and stressed out by life's many stresses, whether work or family.
I guess the most remarkable thing to me, is that she is the opposite of what I expected when adopting a dog. I feared life with a dog would be loud; she is quieter than a gentle rain. I feared life with a dog would be dirty and smelly; she is as clean as newly fallen snow. I feared life with a dog would be laborious; she makes me smile and laugh just to look at her when I watch her sleeping on her back with her paws in all directions, and she calms me when I watch her in the rear view mirror, with her nose stuck outside the back window as we drive to work.
One of her greatest joys seems to be to snooze at my feet when I work, except of course when she senses we can go out for a walk, or a romp in the park. She greets every person and every dog with friendship, and I wish I had a nickel for each time I have been asked if someone 'can pet my beautiful dog,' or for each time I tell her rescue story. People always think she is a puppy from her petite size, and are always amazed to find out that she is twelve years old, as she acts like such a pup. They always say how lucky she is that we rescued her, and I always correct them to tell how lucky we are to have been rescued by her.
And I always tell of Norsled, and the wonderful people who do such great work to rescue such worthy creatures. I tell them of how grateful I will ever be that you saved our girl from an untimely end, and helped her to find us, to become her forever home, and to fulfill her final mission in life which must be to bring such joy to our hearts and those of everyone who meets her.
God bless you all for the work you do - I truly have become 'one with the Huskies', and will be so forever more.
All our love, Don, Kayko, Niki, Mike and of course Sierra Blu
Snowy
My family and I adopted Snowy a little over five months ago. She has become a great addition to our family which consists of myself, my husband, and our two young children, ages two and four.
Snowy is such a friendly and loving dog. She loves being with us and I call her "my little shadow" at times. She likes to be right there and doesn't want to miss out on anything. She also loves to play and would probably do it all day if we were up to it.She has a lot of energy and spunk!
Just yesterday, she earned my grandmother's stamp of approval who is ninety-one and not too fond of dogs. Our two year old daughter went up to Snowy the other morning when she was sleeping in, and said,"I love you Snowy". That just says it all!!!
We thank Norsled for rescuing Snowy and giving us the privilege of making her part of our family. We also want to thank her foster parent, Jane Eagle, for all of the love that she gave to Snowy.
Sadie
Hello my name is Sadie Barnett and this is my NORSLED success story. My mom searched for over two years for a Siberian Husky to call her own. She went to every pound and shelter in the Sacramento and outline areas and could not find one, she even had her name on waiting lists so if one came in they would call her. She finally gave up hope of finding one to call her own.
So her and my dad decided to see what a breeder had to offer. They found a breeder in San Francisco who had puppies for sale. They went and fell in love with my brother Zeus who is a red and white Siberian Husky 6 months older then me. After they had him a couple months they decided he needed a brother or sister so my mom decided to search on the Internet and see what she could find.
She came across the NORSLED website and was looking at the available dogs for adoption and saw my picture, she called in my dad in and showed him and that was it, they both fell in love with me. My mom contacted Cathy Christensen (which is now Cathy Sparks) who was my foster mom at that time to see if I was still available for adoption. Cathy told my mom yes, but there were several other people also interested in adoption me.
So my parents went through the process. They even went to Cathy's house with Zeus to see how we all interacted. My parents were told by Cathy that my sister Logan and I were found in a box on the side of the road. My sister Logan had already been adopted and I was just waiting for my turn. Cathy then went to my parent's house to make sure it was up to NORSLED standards for Siberian Huskies and found it was.
After what seemed like forever my parents were told they were the ones chosen to adopt me. So I went to live with my new family. My mom still supports NORSLED and we have friends who have also adopted from NORSLED. My parents are always telling people about NORSLED, sometimes itʼs embarrassing. My mom and foster mom Cathy are still in contact with each other. Cathy even help set up a play date with my sister and I, years after we were both adopted.
THANK YOU NORSLED and CATHY because of rescues like this one and dedicated people like her I have a HAPPY ENDING to my story.
Ganesh
We adopted Ganesh in October 2007. We already had a Siberian Husky and felt it was time for a companion for Chaos. We searched many sites and came apon Norsled and spotted Ganesh. We fell in love with his face and knew, we had to meet this fella. We drove down to Dixon, CA ( all of us) to meet Ganesh and when we arrived we were surprised at how big he was.
Our other Sibi was a lot smaller but once we saw Ganesh & Chaos play we knew they were meant to become brother & sister. So we took him back to Winnemucca, NV with us. The first night together was very interesting and none of us got much sleep. It took sometime but everything seemed to iron out and today you would not know that he was adopted. Ganesh recently celebrated his 4th birthday on Halloween and every day we are so thankful we found him.
We have come back to the Norsled site many times to just see if maybe…………….
Shodakai
This is a 'Thank You' to NORSLED, especially Gail de Rita and her cohorts for having rescued what I consider one of the smartest, most beautiful and easy to teach blue eyed husky : Shodakai.
When I lost one of my huskies, Amber, at 14 years I was in a morose state of mind but worse: my other husky, Olivia, became sad, sluggish, always looking for her companion and went from playful and energetic to couch potato supreme.
This could not go on and I perused the Internet looking for another dog, another husky. I wanted a 2 year old female and wound up with a six year old male who jumped straight into my heart when I first met him . White, with light blue eyes he did not impress Olivia then but I felt a bond for this boy.
His previous 6 years he spent in a smallish backyard with no 'inside the house sojourns' ever. So he destroyed his guardians fence too many times to play with the neighbors dogs: facet: he was given up to NORSLED . Six years old and not house trained. ......Argh!!
He went into a large crate the first day and was so calm, seemed quite satisfied that I took him out. He showed no intention of destroying furniture , chewing carpets , digging or other nefarious deeds, that I dumped the crate after 24 hours. He was almost a perfect gentleman......................almost, because he was lifting his leg everywhere. Nothing was safe.....the carpets, the antique chest, the leather couch were all such great spots to leave his mark that I became hoarse from yelling:' No PeePee'. This went on for 2 days.....................the floor was festooned with newspapers and all furniture covered in same with masking tape.
After 2 days, whenever I yelled the No PeePee mantra he dropped his leg and came to me: he thought his new name was
No PeePee................and then, on the 3rd day: a miracle. His leg stayed down and all peepee went into the backyard forthwith, the door being open day and night.
One down and one more to go: off- leash training. Every morning we all spend an hour on the hill behind my house in San Francisco, an off -leash- area.
For two months he stayed on a 25 ft leash and learned 'come' and then he got a treat. But the day came shortly thereafter when I put Olivia on the leash and let him run...............and that he did: back and forth - uphill and downhill - played with at least 50 dogs - disappeared - came back. He had it all down.....................and the perfect dog had emerged!!! After only 2 months!
Now that he knows he is a permanet addition, he has claimed his own couch, his own doggie bed, his own dish, homecooked food and a companion who finally broke down to play with him. The house is full of squeals, squeaks, grunts,howls, nips, flying fur and wagging tails.
Happiness is me, the alpha dog, with her two huskies..........one of them thanks to NORSLED
Kona
We welcomed Kona into our family February 2007 when he was 5 months old and we immediately fell in love with him and his floppy right ear and goofy big feet! He is a German Sheppard/Malamute and everyone assumes he is a wolf. He has the sweetest and most playful temperament and makes us laugh daily. When we take him to Pet Smart or the dog park (his favorite place!) we get nothing but wonderful comments about how handsome he is.
Kona turned 2 years old in September and is now the guardian and best friend to the newest addition of our family…his baby sister Emma (who is now 3 months old). Emma loves to watch Kona jump around playing with his bone and Kona never leaves Emma’s side. They are quite a pair! Kona is a crucial part of our family and we couldn’t imagine our lives without him! THANK YOU NorSled for giving us the best puppy EVER!
Maggie
It was almost one year ago when the kids and I decided we missed having a dog and agreed that we'd love to have a husky join our family. Once the decision was made, I started researching various rescue organizations before finding Norsled.
As soon as Gail de Rita brought Maggie (formerly Cookie) to our house for our initial visit, it was love at first site. We couldn't wait until Maggie was able to join us full time and have thoroughly enjoyed her ever since. She is probably the sweetest dog I've known, gets along with all people and animals, and loves to play.
Maggie came to us with a serious hip issue due to probable abuse at her previous residence, but it hasn't seemed to affect her much at all. Daily, I'll find the kids running around outside with her while she laps the yard. Another favorite pastime of Maggie's is playing fetch by herself. She'll pick up her ball, throw it, and run to fetch it. Except for the moments when she accidently hits the door with the ball, it's highly entertaining.
We're thrilled to have Maggie in our family and are toying with the idea of adding another husky to the mix at some point in the future. Thanks to Norsled for providing us the opportunity to find and adopt such a wonderful addition to our family.
Nanuk
Our very dear friends were the foster parents of Nanuk (formerly Wolfie) and my husband and I took one look at him and fell in love and took him home in July. Nanuk is truly a loving and happy dog. He loves to play and when we take him to the beach we can not keep him out of the water. Nanuk has gained some much needed weight and he is still nervous about loud noises but he is now thriving and becoming a very spoiled puppy.
We are very thankful toNorsled because without you and your wonderful foster parents we would not have Nanuk who is one of our greatest joys.
Tonya and Jonathan Mountain View California
Lola
Your new website had me thinking I should say hello and send you a Lola update. There isn't anything major to report, which in her case might be considered good. Lola has settled in to being a very good pet for us. Our vet and his staff recently complemented her on how much more relaxed she seemed on a recent visit. The vet was even able to check her teeth without incident, and the staff is much more relaxed with her. I am still very careful, but on walks now she even consents to be petted by interested small children. We always review how to approach a strange dog, which stifles some childish enthusiasm, but it's a good learning experience for Lola and the kids! We've had no nipping, growling, or anything like that. She is even getting to the point where she will shake hands with them. I think you'll agree that's a big improvement for Lola. She doesn't exhibit much of the insecure behavior we saw when we first got her. Our almost two-year-old gran dson was visiting for a day last week. That is still a "nervous" time with Lola, but eventually she ignored him like she does with most other visitors until they and she are ready for closer contact.
She is still in many respects more of a cat than a dog. Aloof, independent, etc. But she is also learning to play, tug-of-war with a now eviscerated "fluffy" (formerly a stuffed animal!) or her rope. And, get this, she actually came up to me as I was sitting on the sofa last night and gave me a muzzle nudge - as in "come on, pet me or let's play." Lola showing affection? Who would have thought it! And yes, Lola and Susie are getting along just fine as well. I had a men's group meeting at the house a couple of weeks ago; they were most impressed with her laid back behavior, and especially impressed when she ate a Kleenex one of them had used and not yet thrown away! She is still very food focused, which helps with behavior modification and training. We've slacked off a bit with new tricks, but this morning she did a very good job with preliminary steps to learn to "crawl." I think she needs a t-shirt which says "Will Do Most Anything for Food."! But as one of the men's group said, "she is just a good, no nonsense dog." I still get compliments on how attractive she is when we are out in public, and I still don't have a definitive answer for "hey mister, what kind of a dog is that?" When given the chance I always mention her rescue history and Norsled. I think most people are somewhat amused by a dog like her having the name Lola! By the way, when we come home and "accidentally" open the garage door when she is there, we can collect her instantly by opening the car door. She still loves car rides; just don't have any food in the car with you. Did I tell you the story of her getting out and going into the yard next door with all the little kids? If not, remind me. She has got out a couple of times when we leave the garage door open, but beyond snooping around a couple of neighboring yards, she doesn't seem interested in running very far away, thank goodness. We still walk approx. 2 1/2 miles a day. A tired dog is a well behaved dog.
Susie and I will occasionally watch The Dog Whisperer, and I think Caesar would say Lola now understands her place in the pack, and is much happier for it. We keep working on it.
Seems like every time I write you about Lola, the e-mail is longer than intended. Well, that's life with Lola, "a good, no nonsense dog."