Jean shares her love for huskies

Jean Peterson has fostered over 30 Siberian huskies since she became involved with Husky Rescue SA, 12 years ago. Jean has been a resident of Roodepoort for over 40 years and has been passionate about dogs for as long as she remembers.

“Dogs are my passion, I love them and there are so many in shelters and just not enough good homes for them, which is why I try to help as many as possible to find homes and to have a better quality of life through training, K9 Yoga and enrichment. There is a lot we can all do to make life more pleasant for shelter animals, just by visiting them and by donating to the rescue organisations. Every little bit helps,” elaborated Jean.

Jean is happily married with five wonderful children.

“My amazing husband of 26 years, Shawn, helps me with all my dog activities and has put up with me bringing foster puppies and adult dogs into our home,” she added.

Jean and her family had more than 12 rescue dogs of their own over the years and she has fostered over 30 huskies since she became involved with Husky Rescue SA.

“Not all at once, and not for long periods, just until they found homes,” explained Jean.

She fills her time with learning new canine enrichment skills and is doing a Hersenwerk (Brainwork for Dogs) course at the moment.

“I do work as a canine behavourist and also do dog training, therapy dog visits for Paws for People and Top Dogs as well as Stand Up Paddling and walks with my dogs. I also try to find time to visit the shelter dogs at Husky Rescue SA and Nordic Rescue because I absolutely adore the Husky breed,” added Jean.

She went on to explain that her love of the Siberian husky breed began in 2008, when they became parents to two tiny one-day-old husky puppies whose mom had been poisoned.

“We had to bottle feed them and I just fell in love. We then adopted six huskies and husky crosses from Husky Rescue SA over many years and our most recently adopted gorgeous Husky boy, Blaise, was adopted from Nordic Rescue last August.”

She added that she had rescued cats years before she ever adopted any dogs, but unfortunately, huskies have a high prey drive, so she can’t have cats anymore.

“Digger was my first rescue, adopted in 2012. He has since qualified as a therapy dog for both Paws for People and Top Dogs. He is also a wonderful companion with a divine nature who is still fit and healthy at the age of 12. We always had rescued dogs, but Digger is the first one we adopted,” elaborated Jean.

When it comes to adopting a dog from a rescue, Jean advises readers to research the breed and not to adopt a dog solely based on looks.

“Rather adopt the breed that suits your own unique lifestyle. For example, Huskies are beautiful-looking dogs but need a huge amount of mental and physical stimulation, so they are not ideal for everyone and they are escape artists, so a double gated property is a must.

“My advice to someone who has just adopted a dog would be to have lots of patience with their new pet and give them time and space to decompress. Allow the new pet to settle in without expecting anything from them and without too much excitement in the beginning. It’s great if they can just have a quiet, boring time to begin with. And give lots of love to your other pets, it’s ok to give the new pet less attention in the beginning. It takes time for an adopted pet to learn your routine, start to trust, and settle into a new home.”

She also recommended that new pet parents focus on the present and not the trauma that the dog has perhaps experienced in the past and that they should work on bonding with their new pet. If there are any issues, Jean advises contacting a good canine behaviourist in your area.