Husky Run Away Stories

Having a husky is never dull, they make you laugh or cry at the drop of a hat. While they are silly, fun-loving, and scary smart, one of the not-so-fun parts of having a husky (or any snow dog) is that most of them are escape artists.

As anyone who shares their lives with a snow dog knows, whether it’s an unattended door or a faulty fence or gate, if you have a snow dog, you know the drill. Here are the three most memorable times my husky got away.

Summer Run

It was a hot summer day; Juneau was laying stretched out by the front door where there was cool tile to lie on. I was living with my sister at the time, we both had school-aged kids. One of the kids had friends over that day.

Everyone knew to take care around the door but one of the visiting kids left the front door slightly open. The opportunity to dart out presented itself and Juneau was gone.

Alert! Sound the alarm! I looked up and saw the door open and yelled that Juneau got out! To make it worse, in the ensuing chaos that followed, my sister’s Great Dane, Lady, followed him. Both dogs on the loose would only happen on rare occasions and it made the situation a high alert status.

The kids knew the drill, the oldest ran right after Juneau, he was the fastest runner in the family and had the best chance of catching him or at least keeping eyes on him. The middle child, my son, would run after the two of them, keeping an extra pair of eyes and hands in case he could be caught. I would tail them, bringing his leash and the house keys. The final kid would stay behind, alert my sister, they would get in the car and drive around in hopes of tracking him down.

There they were, a large Husky/Malamute and an even larger Great Dane running at top speed through the suburban streets of Elk Grove, California. They ran and ran until they reached a plaza, they discovered a beauty salon that had left their doors wide open, in they went!

That day those of us on foot were too slow, it was my sister and niece in the car who spotted them and were able to get the dogs once they went into the salon. My sister was mortified as she led the two unruly, lathered dogs out of the salon, but everyone was very understanding and had a good laugh over it.

Frightening Chase

Eventually, my son and I moved and we no longer had the extended runaway support team. One day my nephew was visiting, maybe Juneau wanted to make it feel like old times.

This was one of the scariest times my husky ran away. I was asleep early one morning when I got a call from the sheriff’s department. They said my husky had got onto the highway and was injured, could I come down and get him?

I got dressed in a hurry, worried out of my mind and confused by how this could have happened. I eventually learned that Juneau had been let out by a friend who was visiting and left him outside, alone. Being left unattended in the yard, he ran away by squeezing out through a fence.

There were rabbits in a nearby field and my theory is he chased after one, in fear, the rabbit jumped onto the nearby highway to escape, Juneau followed. Thankfully there wasn’t much traffic and no one was hurt, except Juneau. In order to get onto the freeway, he had to get through a barbed-wire fence, in doing so he nicked an artery in his ankle. Ouch.

He is a friendly dog, when people reported the incident and the sheriff’s department reported to the scene, he didn’t put up a fight, he went with them and was taken to the shelter to get medical care. They had to repair his affected artery; we were very lucky in many ways that day. He came home and slept on my bed for hours from the medication the vet had given him. I have never let anyone else take him outside again.

Party Time

I saved the best one for last. It was another hot summer day, we lived on a property with a front gate at the end of a long driveway that led up to our house. My son and I were outside with Juneau and our other dog a border collie/snow dog mix, Misty who we had just adopted.

This was a few months after the rabbit chase and I was keen to keep an eye on Juneau. What I didn’t know was the gate had been left open by a delivery person. When the dogs started to go down the hill toward the gate, I walked after them, but they had a good lead on me. I saw, too late, that they had slipped out and the chase was on.

My son and I ran after them, they were just up ahead, Juneau in the lead, Misty smaller, younger following him. They darted into an open garage, shortly after we heard yelling, and a splash!

As we made it to the house, we saw that there was a pool party going on in the backyard. Both dogs were dripping wet. We found out that once the dogs crashed the party, they caught sight of a cat and chased the cat through the yard, and ended up in the pool. No one was upset, the cat was okay, and they all thought it was very funny, thankfully!

Those are my top three stories; I have many more. Having a husky, or any snow dog will keep you on your toes. One time, many years ago before I adopted Juneau, I had a visit from an adorable Samoyed who got loose from his yard during a thunderstorm.

Like the people that Juneau would visit in the future, I didn’t mind one bit, there’s just something special about a snow dog.