Sasha the husky gets another chance

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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.

When we last left Sasha the stray, she had trashed my house, causing several thousand dollars of damage. My wife, Jennifer, had 24 hours to find her a new home or else I was hauling the dog to the nearest animal shelter.

Readers thought I might have been a bit hasty in my judgment, and a bit too inexperienced in doggy rescue to be taking on this task. Some suggested various forms of doggy Valium and others wanted to know why we didn’t use a crate to contain Sasha.

Here are some answers. First, I granted Sasha clemency. She isn’t headed for the pound. Do you really think I could condemn those laser-like blue eyes to death? Sasha remains in our home, though we don’t leave her alone in the house. Her beautiful snow-white coat gets brushed and she gets walked three to five miles a day. We even have figured out what treats Sasha likes best.

And don’t worry about her being outside. The backyard has fences well over six feet tall and double gates.

Some readers might have missed it, but we did try to crate Sasha. We have a large metal crate that our Labrador slept in when she was a puppy. But metal crates are no match for a husky. She escaped from it twice with shocking ease.

We then put her in a heavy duty plastic crate and gave her a sedative at night. That works, but who wants to keep a dog on drugs constantly? Sasha now sleeps in a dog bed next to the Labrador in our house.

Sasha is sweet and friendly. We took her to an assisted living center for seniors and she was calm and loved it when the residents petted her. She is patient on her morning walk to Peet’s Coffee, and unlike the Labrador, won’t try to snatch a latte or pastry off the table.

Sasha has a date with the knife in October. She will be spayed and if she is carrying puppies, they will be aborted. After that, we hope to be able to adopt her out.