I have been tagged by Paul Lester to reveal 8 things you might not know about me. Since I have read some other posts lately about people’s pets, I have been wanting to introduce you to Chinny, even before being ‘tagged.’ So you will get only one for now. 
Chinny (short for Chinook) is a female, purebred Alaskan Malamute (commonly confused with a Husky). Malamutes in general are a lot bigger than huskies. My wife Lisa rescued her from a drug dealer at the age of one (no, she was not a customer!!), Chinny is now 6. Her previous owner left her outside 100% of the time, often with no food or water, and was frequently abusive. This guy was a neighbor to my wife’s mother, and one day she just went over there and said why don’t I take that dog off your hands. The guy agreed, stating she was a terrible watchdog, which is why he got her. Anyone that knows the personality of a malamute would say -’what an idiot’ – Malamutes are not watchdogs. They will usually greet everyone regardless if they know them.
About a year ago, she was diagnosed as having canine diabetes. This is supposedly quite common among northern breeds of dogs, no one knows why for sure. As a result, she needs two insulin injections per day as well as specially prepared food and a lot of control over what she can/can’t eat. Once dogs develop diabetes, it is with them for life. Unfortunately oral medications aren’t available either. She is well known at our vet’s office now due to the frequency of getting her glucose levels checked.
Before being diagnosed, we had a kennel we really liked where she would be boarded during some of our trips. However, they will no longer take her because she requires shots. That has led us on a search for a kennel that we like, that will also give shots. No luck yet, but still need to check out a couple leads. So our dive trips and other travel plans have been put on hold until we resolve this kennel issue. We generally try trips now where we can take her with us.
As pictured above, her mood completely changes when there is snow on the ground. Like night and day actually – you can tell these dogs have snow in their blood. We wanted to someday try her with a sled, but the diabetes also places a limit on her exertion levels. So we are nervous about that now.
She attracts a lot of attention when we are out walking her or at the pet store, etc. People just seem to love snow dogs. And since she is such a ham, she is more than happy to receive the attention. But when people get a northern breed dog, often they get frustrated by their stubbornness. They are also extremely intelligent and like to ‘talk’ a lot. . Chinny is no different with all of these characteristics.
So that is a short introduction on a member of our family, and one thing you probably didn’t know.
From their about page: “Named after the Ute word for wolves, Sinapu is dedicated to the restoration and protection of native carnivores and their wild habitat in the Southern Rockies, and connected high plains and deserts.”. . I particularly like their category tag “Postcards from nutsville!”
