PHOTO ALBUM

"Sasha" 1975 - 1988

This beautiful husky--the inspiration for my book The Haunted Igloo--was a mixture of siberian husky and malamute.

Sasha was a special friend whose traits and habits endeared her not only to her family, but also to others who knew her.

These dogs have minds of their own, perhaps even more than some of the other breeds. As with most huskies, she did not like to sleep on the floor, but, instead, insisted on the comfort of a bed or a sofa . . . like the rest of the family.

Huskies have many traits in common with their wolf ancesters, and they rank their humans the way wolves do in the wild. A well-trained husky considers its master the "alpha wolf," and accepts a lower position of second or even third in command. The husky voice is a mixture of a "woof" and a howl, and if you've never heard the melodious "yodel" of a husky, you've missed a wonderful treat.

Before coming to live with us, Sasha had one litter of pups and had been training to "mush." But we never raced her--indeed, the only racing she did was when she escaped from the fenced backyard a few times and took off like a streak of lightning. Such is the way with huskies, who are born to run.

Please visit the next page to see our other siberian husky, Oniktok--a hyperactive pet who seems to think her owner is a dogsled to be pulled on the other end of the leash, and isn't too sure whether she herself is a dog, a human, or a cat!