SAN DIEGO — Animal shelters and rescues across San Diego County are dealing with a dramatic rise in the number of Huskies coming through their doors.
So many Huskies end up in shelters and rescues because people often buy or adopt huskies without considering the amount of time, patience, and money required to provide for them.
“It’s overwhelming for everybody including the dogs,” said public information specialist, Viviana Castellanos.
Shelters and rescues across San Diego County have been particularly hit hard by an uptick of abandoned huskies, including at Chula Vista Animal Services. They currently have nearly three dozen Huskies in their care.
“We have 20-25 Huskies at any given time, right now we have 29. So, that’s a very large number of animals in our facility. This trend as far as having 20 plus, we’re going on at minimum 3 to 4 years of that being pretty normal here," said Ashley Milo, Chula Vista Animal Services. “We average 140-150 dogs right now. So having thirty of them that’s one fifth of the population, that’s one specific breed it’s unheard of."
Milo is the Deputy Director of Animal Services and says part of the reason for the staggering number of Huskies is due to media exposure. Many have been featured in TV shows and movies.
“It all kind of started with Game of Thrones and wanting to have these wolf-like breeds," said Milo.
Huskies are known for their striking appearance, intelligence, energetic personalities and even their howling, but the breed comes with specific requirements that often prove to be too much for some.
“They’re amazing dogs, they are very very energetic. They love to run, they’re used to running acres and miles at a time. You really need to provide them with that exercise again, at least twice a day," said Milo.
Huskies require mental stimulation and social bonding to live a happy life. They also need a lot of grooming.
“They shed a lot so you want to make sure you’re brushing them. Between the energy and the shedding, that’s common reasons that they end up outside instead of a home with a family,” added Milo.
The best thing you can do to help is adopt or foster to give these dogs a second chance at life. It's also imperative that you research about the breeds before buying or adopting.
“It’s just a breed that you really got to do your research and make sure you’re ready to give it your all," added Castellanos.
This summer, Chula Vista Animal Services is celebrating 101 years.
On June 29th, 2024 from 10am-4pm all pet adoptions will be 100% free. For more information, click here.
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