Wiconi Pictures

I've uploaded some pictures of Wiconi to Facebook.

Maggie and Otis have adapted quickly to another dog in the house. I think Otis was a little disappointed that Wiconi did not start playing right away. He looked at her like she was familiar, but kept sniffing her as if to determine that this was NOT Nala. Wiconi bears a striking resemblance to Nala, except with a black, white and grey coat. Wiconi even has a lot of Nala's mannerisms, probably similar to any senior Malamute.

I found Wiconi last Monday on Petfinder.com. I was curious to see if there were any Malamutes in the area. After the fence was put in, we talked about a 2nd dog. Various discussions led us to realize that we really wanted another Malamute. So, that eliminated trying to get an English Shepherd that had been rescued (an ongoing saga here in Billings about a dog hoarder). We briefly discussed rescuing a Siberian Husky from another hoarder in Montana, this time in Kalispell (about an 8 hour drive), or driving to the nearest Malamute rescue in Pocatello Idaho (6 hour drive). Realizing that either of those trips would be extremely costily: gas, food, overnight accomodations, we decided we should look to see if we could find a breeder. Unfortunately, Malamute breeders are hard to find in Montana -- seriously, who would think it would be hard to find a sled dog in Montana?? Thus my search on Petfinder.

I sent Wiconi's picture to Rocky who immediately asked me to call. I did, and Tuesday evening we took a drive to Round Up MT to meet Wiconi. Maggie and Otis came along. Otis was rather nonplussed by all the dogs there, though was very happy to be going home with us! Maggie cried and cried on the way home because she wanted "a little black puppy." It didn't take us long to decide we wanted Waconi and by Friday, she was ready to come home!

Rocky brought Wiconi home around 4 p.m. She didn't want to get out of the car, so in an effort to entice her, he opened the garage door and both car doors. And she took off. With Otis not far behind. Fortunately, Otis actually listened to Rocky and ran back home. I locked Otis in the house as Rocky took off after Wiconi with a leash. Maggie waited impatiently for them to return. It had taken us a few days to convince Maggie that Wiconi was the dog coming home and not one of the other 13 dogs that was at the Rimrock Humane Society. But seeing Waconi (or "the black and white dog" as Maggie sometimes calls her) in our yard, Maggie seemed to easily fall in love with her. And fortunately, Waconi seems like to kids as she easily puts up with Maggie's love.

We are trying out both Wiconi and Winnie for names for her, though Wiconi seems to be working out okay. We are pronouncing it Wi-CONE-ee.

Wiconi wasn't quite sure what to think last night. She spent a lot of time looking out the front window, perhaps waiting for her old friend Samantha (who is still available for adoption) to come by. She did jump into bed with us for a while, but much like Otis, didn't stay for the night. She also spent most of her first night sleeping on the floor in our room.

Early Saturday morning, Rocky took Otis and Wiconi for a walk on the doubler. He said they both did very well so future walks should not be a problem. We spent time playing outside and Rocky got Wiconi to play with Otis, which seemed to thrill Otis to no end. I think he was a little disappointed Wiconi wouldn't play Friday night, as he had pawed at her a few times, to no reaction.

Currently, Otis and Wiconi are enjoying a shady part of the yard taking a well deserved senior nap. Welcome home Wiconi.