Our Husky Dog Kiva "Kivzilla"

Today I have decided to blog about something near and dear to my heart. Someone who I have grown to love, and someone who has become part of the family. Sometimes we call him Mutt or Muttzilla to be fancy. He is our Sibe, our Siberian, he is our Kivzilla, our Kiva the Husky Dog.

When you own a Siberian Husky, sometimes you wonder why you ever decided to get a dog who never wants to listen unless you have a treat, a dog when you hug him, you end up covered in dog hair, a dog that if he ever gets out would look at you calling him and just think I'll be back later for food and a dog who would say hello to the stranger coming in your house uninvited. Why sometimes I wonder if this dog can do anything, when he has the proper motivation I know he can do many things.

While sometimes this dog, Kivzilla, our Kiva, can be a pain, he has added much joy into the house. We got Kiva from Free Spirit Siberian Rescue. Free Spirit is a no-kill organization that takes in Husky and Husky-Mix dogs and tries to place them in loving homes. They are a non-profit organization that runs on the kind hearts of volunteers who love animals. They do lots of great activities for the families of these dogs and they keep any dog even when the situation isn't the best. Check out their website and see what great work they do and how many happy homes they have given to these dogs.

When I saw Kiva online, then Nanook, I feel in love with him. When I met the skinny little dog in person, he loved me right away. He had been in the shelter for 4 months and was given away because they said he was unmanageable. The kids loved him and he was fun to walk around. He sat good for treats, walked well on a leash and really seemed like a fun loving dog. I thought who would not want this dog and felt like we got lucky getting this one. Several days later we brought Kiva home. We of course were all so excited. He was like a new baby in the house and everyone loved him. Then the fun began.

Kiva wasn't trained as well as I thought. After him jumping on me eating and food flying all over, having accidents in the house, jumping on the furniture like a mad man and running around the house like it was a track, we brought in help for training. After stealing the steaks off the grill and running out the front door a few times we thought what did we get ourselves into. After getting some training and hard work, some things have changed and some have not. We have adapted to having a Husky Dog because some things will never change.

As I sit writing this blog my friend, Kiva, lays next to me on the floor. If I were to move now he would wake up and follow me. If I put on my workout clothes, I-pod and shoes he would get so excited to know that we were going for a run. He thinks we are going out for him. Sometimes when I sit here typing he comes up for attention and licks my fingers as I type. Annoying, but it shows how much he wants my attention.

While Kiva still won't come when I call him, I have learned that he isn't a lab and he is just well, Kiva! He seems to flock to me when I am wearing black pants as I yell at him to get away. He is smiling and happy as if he knows he will get hair on my pants. While Kiva can be the biggest pain in the butt, I must say that I love Kiva. He is now part of the family and I love when I come downstairs and he starts wagging his tail because he is happy to see me.

The best part about Kiva is that he was rescued from the animal shelter by Free Spirit Siberian Rescue, brought to our home and now has a loving family and has a given a family a lot of love and laughs! Kiva was saved and now he has added joy to people's lives.

Thank you Kiva and thank you Free Spirit!

Happy Holidays from Kiva The Husky Dog