A rescue dog proves to be an escape artist

Today, Times staff writer Jerry Hirsch continues his chronicle of Sasha, a Husky he encountered on a street in downtown Los Angeles. Hirsch brought Sasha home, only to discover she liked to wander... and that healthcare for animals who like to roam is expensive. Look for periodic updates on Sasha in the weeks to come on L.A. Unleashed. Click here to read the first chapter of the Sasha saga.

We returned Sasha to our side yard. But beforehand I reinforced the wooden gate with paving stones and bricks. Nothing was going in or out.

Sasha didn’t seem to appreciate that. She went right back for that wooden gate, pulling a heavy paving stone onto to her back foot. After midnight a visit to the vet ER ($399 including stitches, meds, de-fleaing) she slept or howled for most of the night and early morning in the side yard.

Her next stop was finally to our regular vet ($91.25). Sasha was pronounced healthy with the warning that blood work would be back in a day. It turned out she had whipworms ($61.75 more for meds) but the rest of the blood work was fine. We also learned she was about 18 months old and in heat. Might she be pregnant? After her run along the local creek, could she be carrying coyote pups?

So it’s clear this dog has a drive to run, and that the wooden gate in the side yard just isn’t up to the maximum security prison grade we need. We set up the a large metal crate we once used for Roni in the middle of the garage. In went Sasha for the night. We shut the latches, locked the garage and went to bed, trying to ignore her wolflike keening. What could go wrong? She was in a locked crate in a locked garage.

About five in the morning we heard an amazing ruckus. It could only be one thing. Sasha got out of the crate and spent much of the rest of the night knocking things over trying to get out of the garage. After the same basic drill the next night, we came to the conclusion that we couldn’t keep her safe for the moment. Off she went to a local kennel ($139 for the weekend), into the portion of the facility that I call Doggy Guantanamo Bay.

We still don’t know who this dog is. She was scanned three times with all of the chip systems, but nothing came up besides the chip we put in. Advertisements on Petfinder.com and Craigslist prove a bust.

The next weekend a friend helped me reinforce the back fence to hopefully be Sasha-proof. We are going to try a different crate that canine cognoscenti say is more secure. Still, I am not sure where this adventure goes from here.

We don’t want a second dog. However, once I put Sasha in my car, she became my responsibility. And, except for her ability to channel Houdini, Sasha is a sweetie. She is 49 pounds, very friendly with people, walks decently and forever on a leash, sits on command, will let Jennifer shove pills and meds directly down her throat with no objection.

Cleaned up, she is beautiful. She loves to be brushed and petted. We have not social-tested her with other dogs, but so far Sasha ignores dogs either in yards and walking by on leashes, and unlike our hyperactive Labrador, she ignores cats and birds.

We have no home for her, and we have spent $1,000 on this project. I can’t help but wonder if society would have been better off with me leaving Sasha on her own, or for someone else to rescue. Heck, I could have used that money to put a deposit down for a homeless person on an apartment or give it to the people rescuers at the Union Rescue Mission. Certainly, I would have gotten more sleep.

Comments

[Rochelle]

But Jerry, you know you've done the right thing! You've made a difference :) Remember the phrase: "To the world, you are only one person, but to one person (or dog in this case) you are the world". Keep on trouping - looking forward to more posts.

[Sonni]

You were meant to have this dog. Dog law says if you let them in, feed them, house them, they are yours.

[Renee]

I will steal the Best Friends Animal Socity Motto "A better world through the kindness to animals." You did the right thing!!!!

[Patience]

Getting her spayed will help. When a dog is in heat they have an urge to roam and find a male dog. This breed is also high energy and needs exercize (a lot) to mellow out. She's also young which adds to her energy level. Is there a dog park or a group of dog lovers you could contact for ideas? Good luck!

[Debra]

I know how frustrating this can be. I once found a male Brittany Spanial on the side of a rural highway, looking for the cars to pass before he crossed the road--smart dog. I rescued him, or at least thought that's what I was doing and took him home with me. At the time I lived on a military base and keeping him restrained was a challenge. I found he liked to be with his people and brining him into the house and letting him sleepwith me helped with his night time escape acts. However, if I left the house during the day he would have no problem getting off the chain he was tied to outside and running off to the flightline to go for his afternoon jog. The military police brought him back to me a couple of times.
Anyway, rather than trying to end his behavior, after all he was just following his instincts, I searched out a large farm owner that was willing to take on the responsability of having a dog that roamed about. The landowner was glad to have him, he was one of the best bird dogs I've seen for hunting pheasants, and the dog was much happier being able to be free. The additional good thing with giving the dog to the farm owner was the fact that the dog would be cared for with the rest of the farm animals at their vets office. Like a bulk rate kind of thing.
So, my suggestion to you wouldn't be to try to break the dog of it's instinctual behavior or for you to go crazy with the dog going crazy at night in your garage but for you to seek out somebody who can care for a dog with these behaviors without the issues you have with it. She really looks like a GREAT dog!
Good Luck!
Debra