For years, Jodi has wanted a siberian husky. When she found a husky rescue shelter in Easter Washington, she found Jaden. Jaden was originally bred to be a sled dog and was 1 of 30 other siberians under the same owner. They spent their lives tied to individual poles on 10′ chains, wrapped around their necks, in the cold with little food and water…and beaten when the refused to pull the sleds.
When the owner found that Jaden was not fit to be a sled dog, he decided he was fed up and wanted her gone. He called the animal sanctuary and asked that they come get her and her two siblings. She had lost most of her fur, had wounds around her neck from the chain, and her teeth covered in tarter and colored black from malnutrition.
His excuse: “this is how sled dogs in Alaska are raised”
Thankfully, all of them were rescued – but most of them feral.
She had never been inside a house: terrified of the TV, never heard a radio…the dog bed was foreign and the only place she wanted to be was outside. After being taken to the vet to have her teeth cleaned, the vet found that Jaden’s jaw had been malpositioned on the right side. Three of her teeth were broken and rotting. The vet had to file her jaw bone down to reshape it, remove 3 of her teeth and then sewed it up and cleaned her remaining teeth. He believes it was no accident, that she was hit in the head by someone and hit hard. And she had nobody to help her… She had completely lost her trust in people, especially in men.
Jaden spent 18 months at the rescue because she wouldn’t let anyone near her. Jodi felt very lucky to take on the task of giving her a better life and earning her love and trust. Within a week, they were best friends. She has made tremendous improvements and now has a chance to live a wonderful happy life – one she’s always deserved.
It was an honor to take these photos and capture the real impact of such an amazing cause… moments that we seldom see.
