Dakota had a rocky start to his life. At four years old, he was in search of his third and last home. See, when he was about two years old, he was found running around the country streets of upstate New York. He was taken in by a nice woman and quickly became part of her family. After a break-up and some medical issues, Dakota’s family situation soon changed. He lost his house on the lake, his doggy pal and his way of life. Shortly after this his owner contacted TOTT for assistance in re-homing Dakota because she knew she could no longer provide him a stable, happy home that he so deserved.

After months of working with Dakota’s surrendering owner, Dakota was ready for his debut! It was May 29, 2005 when Dakota turned on the charm, flashed those gorgeous blue parti-eyes and claimed what was rightfully his…a great home with Gregg, Tonya and daughter Claire.

The day wasn’t all sunshine and happiness though... there was one small, but forceful, obstacle for Dakota to contend with -- their resident Siberian Husky, Sheena. While she is a petite, 37 pound lady, no one would know that from watching her pounce, bite, jump on and bully all of the dogs that she met that day. Obviously, very under socialized as a puppy, Sheena did not know how to behave and play little doggy games. Instead of play bowing, she bared her teeth and growled. Dakota watched as one dog after another went to meet Sheena and left the kennel begging to go home.

Finally, it was Dakota’s turn. He let Sheena bite, growl and attempt to intimidate him, to a point. The two of them ran from one end of the kennel to the other chasing and playing. Once sufficiently annoyed, he quickly let her know that while she was entertaining, he was the boss. With that decided, they laid side by side in the grass, both equally exhausted.

After hours of thought and the pain of having to choose just one new furkid, Dakota was chosen. While the adoption paperwork was completed, Dakota curled up on the floor by his new mom and slept peacefully. It was an emotional time because his former mom really loved him and was having a hard time saying goodbye. She put him up for adoption because she knew he deserved a better life... that in itself takes a lot of love.

Update from Dakota's new mom: It has been a month since Dakota came into our lives and he is the perfect match for us. Besides being absolutely gorgeous, as you can see from the pictures, Dakota has an amazing personality. Within days of being here, Dakota settled in to his forever home. He claimed the couch as his bed, the cats as his stalking entertainment, and Sheena as his chew toy. He greets us each morning with a stretched neck and raised leg for belly rubs, each afternoon with his tail high and low “woo-woo’s” waiting for a walk, each night with a grin and ears pulled back for easier petting access and sibe kisses come at all times in between.

As for the bully that we call Sheena, he and she are the best of pals! They play together morning, noon and night. They pounce, tumble, tug, hop and run around this house like they were gymnasts. They are also learning to harmonize and we get to hear the wonderful Siberian tones frequently now. It begins with a few woo’s and ends up a full blown choir session. Maybe singing is their way of thanking TOTT for bringing them together!