Natural History

Dave has been in Finland all summer.

While over there, he went to a laika event, and impressed with the dogs, he decided he needed a West Siberian laika.

The only problem is there are very few, if any, of these dogs in Canada.

But there are some in the United States– mostly in Appalachia and the Deep South.

It turns out there is a breeder of West Siberians in Kentucky just west of the West Virginia border.

And through some logistical jujitsu, I was asked to pick up a puppy for him.

I drove to Charleston last night to meet the breeder, and now, if everything goes to plan, Dave should have his little “Pavel” by Wednesday.

He’s quite an interesting dog.

He acts nothing like a Siberian husky.

He pays very close attention to my voice, and he looks me in the eye to ask for direction.

He also can’t stand for me to leave him alone. If I go into another room, he starts whining.

And I got him to do some retrieves this morning– which totally blew my mind!

I know that the Russians do breed these dogs to retrieve, but it’s mostly hit or miss.

I didn’t push him beyond four or five retrieves, so it may have only been a fluke.