AZ Husky Rescue

09/01/2025

We LOVE Dr. Kelly's Surgical Unit! We want to thank this wonderful company for their continued support of the rescue community throughout Arizona. We have many of our rescue huskies go to Dr. Kelly’s for their low cost spay and neuter, and have used them for other low cost surgeries as well.

In addition to their low prices for rescues and the public, they also do a monthly drawing where they give $500 to a winning rescue in our community - and we were selected this month!

We wanted to share our thanks and gratitude to them for their continued support, and all the work they do for rescue animals in Arizona! Thank you!!

09/01/2025

*** FREEDOM FOR LOLA! ***

WOW! What a difference a change in environment can make. We’re not gonna lie, we were pretty worried about this girl when we did her evaluation - she had a crazy amount of anxiety, wasn’t really interested in us, and seemed intent on escape - the reason she was elisted. She can also jump really high. We had no idea how we could place her in a home with a yard unless we found one with very tall fencing. We didn’t find that, but we found the next best thing - an apartment with fosters who work from home and will be with her all the time!

Lola’s notes indicated she was found with another dog and separated from him on intake. We also thought maybe the total isolation was feeding into her anxiety too. Well, we seemed able to confirm that pretty clearly today since she met her foster dog sibling and was absolutely over the moon at her new friendship! She had pretty much no interest in the people yet, but the other pup in the home clearly had her heart. She looked so incredibly happy and wasn’t even trying to get over baby gates in the home! She seems to have truly just needed some companionship.

She has shown again that she is just fine with children and that she loves other dogs. These fosters do have cats who are currently separated from her, so that is going to be the next barrier - regardless they are committed to this sweet girl until she is adopted!

Welcome to rescue, Lola! We’re so happy you’re here!

Pledges can be honored:
Venmo:
PayPal: paypal.me/azhuskyrescue
Website: https://azhuskyrescue.com/donate/
Zelle: [email protected]

08/01/2025

*** Lia - 4yo Girl Available! ***

Meet Lia! This sweet girl was originally saved from the e-list in December of 2022. Shortly after pulling her on her last day, we received an email from the county shelter letting us know that her owner had shown up looking for her. Although it took them a few weeks of missing her to check the shelter, we still returned her as they seemed devastated at the time. In December of 2024, 2 years later, we got a call from an emergency veterinarian that Lia had been brought in as a stray, and that our information was on her chip. They let us know that her condition was very concerning, stating she was very malnourished (under 30lbs!) and dehydrated. We were of course concerned and called her owner, who let us know that she had found another home for her a few months ago. The ER vet also told us that the person who brought her in had witnessed her being beaten. Our hearts just broke for this sweet girl, and we knew we had to find space to take her in and make sure she never went through anything like this again.

Despite the rough months Lia has had lately, she is one of the sweetest huskies we’ve ever met! She adores people and will snuggle as much as you let her, and loves getting belly rubs in your lap even more. She is also very playful with people but has shown some mouthiness when she gets too worked up – thankfully it’s nothing extreme and she is very easily corrected. She truly does just want to please, but despite her age has TONS of husky energy still! She does jump up when excited and we would definitely consider her to be a more high energy girl, so she may not be best for homes with too small of children. She is also a very sassy girl and will give you some of that famous husky back-talk if she’s not getting all the attention she thinks she deserves.

She also does great with other dogs large and small and loves to play. She also LOVES toys, to the point that she can get a little overzealous and growl at other dogs trying to protect her favorites. She hasn’t progressed to fighting in her foster home, and on these occasions her foster will just put this toy in her kennel to enjoy in her safe space. She is crate-trained and does well in her crate when needed! This may come in handy as she will counter surfing if she sees an opportunity and has gotten into the trash when not supervised.

Lia is a very well-behaved girl when she gets her energy out, which is so important for a young husky! She loves to go on walks and does great on bike rides to get her energy out. She will also play fetch and actually retrieve! She knows some basic commands like sit, and lay, and is very food-motivated which should help with future training. Although she is fully potty-trained, she can ti**le a little bit when she gets super-excited.

We recommend a very active individual, couple or family with older kids as an ideal home for Lia. The right amount of exercise will curb any chewing or other typical young huskies she may have when she is bored. If you feel you could be the family she so badly deserves, please fill out our adoption application to meet this sweet girl.

08/01/2025

*** FREEDOM FOR COMET & FRANCINE! ***

We’re so happy to welcome these two beautiful pups to rescue! We freed Comet yesterday and he has since gone to one of our fosters in Tucson where he is settling in well. We just got Francine out this afternoon and brought her foster home, and are looking forward to updates!

Both of these beautiful dogs were elisted for being shy and not doing well on a leash in the shelter environment. Comet came in with another pup who is still there but was a little more socialized. He is estimated to be only 10 months old. We know this sweet guy is going to do so well as he gets more comfortable.

Francine was also totally shut down in the shelter, being very timid and clearly having been through quite a bit before coming in. Her coat showed obvious signs of neglect with extremely unkempt fur and so much matting. She is looking better already and even gave us a smile on her freedom ride today!

We want to thank the fosters who stepped up for these two and allowed us to save their lives! We are still working on Lola and hope to be able to free her next 😢 please see our previous post if you can help!

If you didn’t know, we do bloodwork for every dog we pull from county and very often will catch issues that haven’t surfaced symptomatically yet, like valley fever and tick fever. The costs for this adds up and we are always grateful for donations to help us care for these huskies who have gotten a second chance. Please consider donating towards their care below, and as always thank you so much for your support!

Pledges can be honored:
Venmo:
PayPal: paypal.me/azhuskyrescue
Website: https://azhuskyrescue.com/donate/
Zelle: [email protected]

07/01/2025

*** URGENT FOSTER NEEDED FOR ELISTER ***

Lola has a deadline of 1/7 at the Maricopa County Shelter where she is currently e-listed. We want to save her life, but we need to find a very specific foster to make this happen. See, this girl isn't e-listed for aggression or for doing poorly with other animals.... she is just trying her very hardest to escape, and has been e-listed for this reason alone.

We went to meet her a couple days ago and tried to get to know her. She was very calm in her kennel, just sitting and waiting patiently. As soon as she was out of her kennel on a leash, it was a different story. Her anxiety was painfully obvious and the way she was panicking once in a play yard was pretty extreme. We felt absolutely awful for her.

She consistently ran around the perimeter of the yard looking for a way out. The walls of this play yard were 8ft tall (we asked to confirm) and her eyes were on the sky. She even tried to run up the 8ft tall block fence. She fortunately can't make it out of an 8ft enclosure, but her intake notes indicated she could clear 6ft. Any foster for her MUST have 7ft+ block wall fencing OR be willing to only take her out on a leash. She may be ok with a foster in an apartment (where there is no yard to escape from) if someone works from home and doesn't leave for long periods of time, at least initially as she decompresses and adjusts.

Lola's other notes were great - she did great with the finder's dogs outside of growling and barking when they got to close to her food while she was eating (would recommend separating to eat), but the other dogs were smaller than her and she had no issue. She was found initially roaming with a male dog who was unable to be caught, so she could be missing her friend too. She was also great with the finder's kids, even sitting in the lap of one of them at the intake appointment.

This girl really needs somewhere safe to decompress and someone able to work with her extreme anxiety and understand that she isn't going to be at her full potential for a while. She's scared, anxious and not ready to die in the shelter! Please share to help us find the right foster home for her, or fill out the form if you can help! It'll be in the comments with some video!

05/01/2025

*** 7-8MO PUPPIES NEED FOSTER/ADOPTERS! ***

Happy Sunday! We have some adorable new intakes to share with you! We were initially told that these puppies were 5/6 months old and found tied up in a park. The finder posted on social media looking for help, and we were able to intake 3 of the 4 - we would love to get that 4th pup, but this is part of why we need fosters interested in helping!

The other 3 we were also anticipating being a bit smaller than they are, expecting 5/6mo puppies - these pups have all of their adult teeth, though their molars aren't quite fully in place, so we do thing a 7/8mo age range is accurate. The female is 30lbs, the males we took in are 33lbs and 40lbs.

They are so incredibly sweet and playful, but unfortunately have not been taught anything yet. They are not potty-trained (though likely will learn pretty quickly from other dogs in the home if shown where to go) and don't have basic house manners. They were also absolutely filthy when our foster got them and all needed baths right away - thankfully they look beautiful now!

We would love to find adopters for these pups soon while they are all still developing and able to learn quickly with the right guidance. They seem to have great temperaments and are socialized, doing well with other dogs large and small and humans. We aren't positive about cats but anticipate they could still adapt well.

Since our foster wasn't planning to take in 3 puppies this big, foster apps to help out with these babies would be so appreciated! We need to move one from her and hopefully intake the 4th. If you can foster or adopt, please fill out the links we'll share in the comments!

03/01/2025

Welcome to Intakes 600 & 601! 🥳

We decided to kick the New Year off right with some new saves! And the timing sure is right - we’re hitting our 600th save with these two!

Chupo, new name coming soon, was e-listed for being very shy and shut down in the shelter. He has that absolutely adorable curious demeanor where you can just tell he’s a sweet dog who is very confused. He wouldn’t really walk on a leash in the shelter and had to be bucketed out of county today. Thankfully he’s already flourishing in his foster home, showing his foster that he even knows sit and shake! We will get more updates as he decompresses.

Nebula was our next save today - and she is going to turn into multiple saves since she is carrying some little nuggets too! She LOVES people, crawling right up into the lap of one of her fosters right away. She’s a little unsure of other dogs showing her teeth and wanting some space, but we’re pretty sure this is from transitions and hormones and that once she’s settled and not dealing with babies, she will be a very friendly girl with other pups. She put on her biggest smile to thank us for getting her out today! 😍 We will likely update our wishlist and see what items we need for the puppies and share that once we get X-rays and know how many babies mama is carrying. No clue on the dad, so we will see what mystery pups we get soon!

Thank you to the fosters for taking these pups in and to our entire community for helping us get to 600 intakes, and still growing strong. We love all of you! 💙

To donate towards their care:
Venmo:
PayPal: paypal.me/azhuskyrescue
Website: https://azhuskyrescue.com/donate/
Zelle: [email protected]

02/01/2025

Happy New Year! 🎉

The numbers are in, and we are so happy to share that we saved more lives this year than ever before! We're so grateful to our amazing community - fosters, adopters, donors, networkers and volunteers - for everything you do for us. We wouldn't be able to consistently save more huskies every year without you. So grateful. 💙

In addition to these numbers, we also had 46 puppies in 2024 - none of them are included in the e-list number below though any mothers we took in came from shelters. Please remember that if you're looking for a puppy, our pet overpopulation problem in Arizona is so bad that you can find any puppy you're looking for in a rescue.

Thank you! We look forward to doing even more in 2025!

28/12/2024

*** FREEDOM FOR MEDICAL E-LISTER MISTY! ***

This sweet girl has really been tugging at our hearts the last few days, and we're so glad one of our longtime fosters stepped up to take her in! Misty is estimated to be around 10yrs old and was found as a stray in Glendale - she got to the shelter on December 9th and has been there all this time.

Right away the shelter staff noticed that she walked a bit hunched over and her hips seemed to really be bugging her. They did enough diagnostics on her to determine that she needed to only be available to rescue since this poor girl is a bit of a medical mess. We can't imagine she put much effort into escaping or got very far on her own with her age and condition.

Medically, here's what she has going on:
🔹 Severely worn teeth, visibly look painful and will need exam
🔹 UTI with potential kidney infection / kidney disease based on the urinalysis MCACC performed - we will need to do full bloodwork to confirm organ function and make a treatment plan
🔹 Multiple regions of her thoracic and lumbar spine show degeneration, with some showing bridging between vertebrae - she may have nerve pain or other associated conditions that need diagnostics to improve her mobility. There were so many regions that looked concerning on her X-rays 😢
🔹 Degenerative joint disease in her knees

This poor girl has clearly been neglected for a while now with so many unaddressed medical issues. We can't imagine how long she's been in pain, but we're going to do everything we can to get her feeling better than she has in years!

We could really use some help with donations for this sweet senior - she deserves a second chance, but we know she's going to need a lot of care. Please honor any pledges and considering donating towards her care - all donations are tax-deductible! We can send receipts if needed too!

To donate:
Venmo:
PayPal: paypal.me/azhuskyrescue
Website: https://azhuskyrescue.com/donate/
Zelle: [email protected]

27/12/2024

***** FREEDOM FOR SILVER! *****

Thank you so much to everyone who shared this special guy and expressed interest in him! We actually had multiple foster apps for Silver, whereas we often don't even get one for these e-listed dogs - so grateful for all the love we saw for him! He is now out of the shelter and safe in a foster home, and we can't wait for updates on his progress.

We also already got a few apps interested in adopting this handsome man too! Our foster will have first opportunity to adopt, and we still need to give him some time to decompress and settle before we make that call. You will be able to check his status on our website along with all our other pups soon! We think this boy has a ton of potential and can't wait to see how he does and work out his perfect forever home.

Welcome to rescue, sweet boy!

Pledges can be honored:
Venmo:
PayPal: paypal.me/azhuskyrescue
Website: https://azhuskyrescue.com/donate/
Zelle: [email protected]

26/12/2024

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from all of our rescue huskies!

Our final festive pup looking for a forever home is sweet Hopper. He came to MCACC as a stray over the summer and was a medical e-list pull, needing mass removal on his tongue. He's long since healed, going on 6 months in rescue, and is searching for his forever family still. He's great with other dogs and so gentle and sweet. He's also one of our most photogenic pups!

Check out his full bio on our website or fill out an app to meet Hopper! ❤️💚

25/12/2024

*** Opal - Still Available! ***

This gorgeous girl is showing off her Christmas spirit! She’s been in boarding at Heidi's Village for some time now, and though the staff and facility are absolutely amazing, we know that nothing would make her happier than having a forever home of her own.

Opal didn’t do great with the other dog in her foster home when she first left the shelter - we think she may be ok with some dogs and not others as she was originally brought into the shelter with a companion husky. We have a foster who is hopefully going to give her a try to see how things go after the holidays, and after then we may have a better understanding of how she is with other pups!

When it comes to humans though, she is one of the absolute sweetest girls you will ever meet. She is super affectionate, snuggly and engaging, and clearly had no problem humoring all of our holiday antics during her photoshoot.

If you’re interested in bringing this gorgeous girl home, read her full bio on our website and will out our adoption application!

23/12/2024

UPDATE: Foster found! Thank you so much to all who expressed interest!

*** SILVER: FOSTER NEEDED TONIGHT! ***

We met this gorgeous guy a few days ago at the shelter and he was such a sweetheart. We can't believe he hasn't gotten a single foster application yet - and now it's the night of his deadline. He's set to lose his life tomorrow morning at MCACC and we just can't let that happen. He's a beautiful fluffy boy who wags his tail at the dogs in other kennels when he walks by. He is just so sick of being in a kennel and has gotten really stressed out in the shelter, which is how he landed on the e-list in the first place.

Our volunteer who evaluated him saw no aggression at all and said that he took treats pretty gently! He also absolutely loved getting his belly rubbed. He does pull on a leash but that was really the only negative trait she had to note, and it's pretty common for most huskies. He's a bigger boy but seems like he'll do very well once out of the shelter!

Please apply to foster this handsome man if you can help, and share this post to help us get him out - we need to find someone tonight!!

22/12/2024

*** Jameson - In Rescue Over 500 Days! ***

And looking for a forever home still! This sweet boy is a special needs case and because of this, he needs a very specific home. After over 500 days in rescue, 2 foster homes and 1 failed adoption, we really want to find him that stable loving forever that he deserves.

Jameson's special needs come from what we believe are neurological side effects from having distemper as a puppy. This is what we were told at his veterinary assessment shortly after he was first pulled from the euthanasia list at MCACC back in 2023, and it fits everything we see with him. Jameson has some depth perception issues when it comes to take treats (flat-handed is best!), and he can be a little stumbley on stairs. In what is probably his most adorable side effect, his tongue sticks out a bit quite often. He does also, sadly, get seizures on occasion. We have been redoing bloodwork and adjusting his medication recently and he seems to be managed well at this time. Full medical history will be provided to his adopter.

Because of Jameson's special needs, he cannot go to a home with children. He is totally fine the vast majority of the time, but has had several resource guarding incidents in the past, so we need to err on the side of caution. His current foster said he has no issues at all taking food right out of his bowl from him, but we do know from his past that there is that potential - it may honestly only happen when he is confused. He had a board and train program previously and received rave reviews from his trainer. He is a very sweet boy who really wants to please and wants to do the right thing. He's also had no problems at all with other dogs and currently lives with 4 other huskies!

Please consider taking this sweet boy home or share to help us find the right people for him - he is so deserving and has been waiting for so long!

21/12/2024

***** FREEDOM FOR JEREMY! *****

Today we welcomed MCACC elister Jeremy to rescue! This guy is just a bundle of goofy playful hyper husky energy. He’d had way too much of being in a kennel at the shelter and was really struggling in the environment. When our volunteer met him, she commented on how playful and happy he was - such an energetic guy who just needs to learn the basics. He can be a little mouthy but this is truly just the result of a husky who was never taught a thing and not a result of aggression. More updates to come as we get to know this sweet guy.

Pledges can be honored:
Venmo:
PayPal: paypal.me/azhuskyrescue
Website: https://azhuskyrescue.com/donate/
Zelle: [email protected]

19/12/2024

**** Paz has a Christmas Wish! ****

This sweet boy has been living in boarding for a few months now, and he'd really love to be in a home for the holidays. We'd even welcome a temporary foster home to get him out of boarding for a week or two if someone has limited availability but wants to show this boy a good time for the holidays. ❤️💚

Paz absolutely loves humans and is super outgoing and friendly these days. He's been through a board and train session with a trainer and come so far since we originally saved him from he e-list. He absolutely loves to hike, go for walks and play.

The biggest reason that Paz is stuck in boarding is that he just doesn't do great with other dogs. He lived in a foster home with 3 other outgoing dogs for a couple months and, though they co-existed most of the time, there were multiple fights that were escalating gradually. Our trainer did not think he would do well with other dogs in a home with him in the long run, sadly.

He also has shown some guarding behavior in the past, and though this is pretty well under control these days thanks to his training, it is something an adopter or foster should be aware of when considering Paz. We will not place him in a home with kids because of this. Any adopter will get a follow up training session included with adoption to make placement a success!

Paz truly loves his humans and wants to snuggle and just do whatever you're doing. He loves adventures but he also loves hanging out. Please share and help us find this boy a home for the holidays!

17/12/2024

PSA from Baxter (formerly Bones)!!📣

Our calendars are here and shipping now! If you already placed your order, it's either in the mail or will be soon. If you have not yet ordered a calendar, the last day for shipping before Christmas appears to be December 18th. We will still continue to ship orders when we get them, but it will be in the hands of USPS after that point.

These turned out great and we're so excited to share them with you - so many great stories of adopted huskies in their forever homes, and a huge year in review with all the wonderful huskies we've been intaking, and some currently with our fosters still waiting for a forever home.

We also have hoodies, hats, State Forty Eight and regular T-Shirts that are on the same shipping deadline - order by December 18th for Christmas delivery!

Shop Support AZ Husky Rescue through our shop! All proceeds from sales go directly towards supporting AZ Husky Rescue a donation to the care of homeless and medically in-need Siberian Huskies and other similar Northern Breeds in Arizona. Thank you for supporting our mission!