about Tasha and Project Pooch

We think Tasha is about 2 years old, but one never knows with adopted street dawgs. After Dave-the-Dawg passed away from us in Jan. '04, Meika the Siberian Husky was so depressed and lonely we thought she would waste away. She would come to us to get pets and love, but soon would go back to lie by the kitchen door, facing the door with her chin on the floor. After about 3 weeks of this, Jim started looking on line for another siberian husky, tho i wasnt really ready to get another dog. i missed sweet ole Dave so much i couldnt even think about having another dog. then Jim found "Project Pooch" operated thru the juvenile detention home. they take street dogs, homeless dogs and match them up with a youth at the home. the boy is then in charge of training the dog til it is housebroken, can follow a certain number of commands and is "adoptable". there is a kennel and a dog trainer person at the home and a vet who works with them. so the dog gets any necessary care, shots, neutering and general supervision. anyway, there was a photo of Tasha and description of her which called her siberian husky mix.... well, turns out there's a lot of mix and very little husky. so Jim and Meika went to visit with Tasha and they liked her. Then a week later, the trainer brought Tasha to visit us and to check us out as prospective adoptive family. we passed!! there was an adoption fee of about $200, which we thought was more than reasonable. there was even a money back guarantee! Tasha came to live with us last Feb. and she and Meika seem to love each other, tho Meika does occasionally feel the need to assert her alpha bitchiness. our TV room got a bit cramped when we put a second dog crate in there. Tasha has some funny "little ways" about her.... she has her morning talk-and-howl when she first gets let out of her crate... perhaps telling about her dreams and how happy she is about a new day! both of the dogs love stuffed toys, and seem to take it as their sacred mission to unstuff these things as soon as possible.... so i quickly knew there was no way i'd spend $10 at the pet store to buy them toys and have the limp and empty pelts lying around and stuffing all over the kitchen floor. and then i found the $1 stuffed animals at Good Will... bonanza! Meika seems to choose her "puppy-of-the-day" from among the 6 or 7 lying around, then licks/cleans it well and spends the day lying with it. Tasha watches this carefully and when Meika isnt looking, will steal it away and stash it in her crate. this little scenario can repeat several times during the day, til there is hardly any room left in Tasha's crate! so, that's about Tasha... she is an affectionate, funny dog, gets along ok with the grandkids, has been slow to learn that my fibers are MINE and my knitting needles ARE NOT chew sticks, but hasnt tried to take down the barricade i've built around my spinning wheel and fiber stash nest. she seems happy with us and has probably put about 10 pounds on what was a very skinny frame when she came here. and i am happy we did adopt Tasha!
and here they are: Tasha on the left and Meika on the right

and my most favorite photo of these 2. it looks like they are "singing" but in fact, are playing one of their favorite games which seems to have the goal of "who can open her mouth the widest?".