Robert's Journal

Richard Munson  Beautiful robert. Same litter? I like the gate .Thought i was looking at my kitchen. Destructive little devils. Our first siberian over 50 years ago was insane, our second 14 years later was an escape artist and got hit by a car but limped from a pin in his leg after $15 grand at tufts, he then fathered our next. And they went 14 years. She died a month after him from a broken heart. Then we switched to malamutes being calmer but lots bigger and after 2 we are back full circle again. Still insane but smaller. Afraid guinea pig humans in name only. The real versions would be lunch. Lol. Thank you for those great pictures. Be well. Mgh was terrific but not itching to return any time soon. Sure you feel the same.

Robert Young  Yes they are sisters. I have to go down to MGH next month for a follow up echo    Still waiting for a response from the FAA on getting my medical approval to fly again. What a slow painful process that is. Was hoping to hear from them before going down in case they wanted additional testing but it has been since April and they have not responded. Painful dealing with a government agency 

Richard Munson  Everything they touch turns to blank. And there are folks that want more ? I finally dropped mgh for testing as it was a duplication of effort, tough to get to, and i was only seeng his nurse. I can always reconnect if need be. One of the great features of siberians and malamutes is the variety of colors and markings and coat lengths even within litters. Some other breeds can be pretty much the same. My village is big on goldens . A popular breed but they all look alike in my eyes. Yuppy land. Go to a sled dog race sometime and most dogs are different although a pure bred siberian that races has become rare. 

Robert Young  I agree with the blank statement wholeheartedly 😀 I am thinking about testing and getting a local doctor again as it appears that I will not be seeing the doctor only the nurse( not hacking on nurses as they are the glue in the hospital) yes the different colors and markings are plentiful with the Siberian and they can go to work day after day and are happy to do so. I just love the spirit. It’s a challenge right now when people or grandkids come over. Having a time from keeping them from jumping. It’s getting better but taking more time than I remember?

Richard Munson  Ha, ha, you’re older my friend. That is also shadows achilles heel. Its a big one however as they can unconsciously hurt someone. Very powerful dogs. Our trainer gives shadow a pretty good pop with the choker when he acts up. She did the same with cassie with the prong. She wants me to switch to the prong as he gets bigger. I bought a herman spranger version with the quick disconnect. Her attitude is you need to get their attention and a please and thank you is not the answer. Sled dogs rank up there in toughest to train category. Stubborn but smart. Agree with the nurses but when i drive all the way in to mgh, i want to see the doctor. Maybe i’m old fashioned. I recall your surgery was aortic and mine was mitral. Who was your surgeon and did you like him? I ask because i have a 4.1 cm aortic aneurysm that has been the same for a couple of years but it could grow and if it does i would want someone that specializes in aortic aneurysms. I like to be prepared. Thanks.

Robert Young  I had the Aortic valve replaced (bicuspid)the ascending aorta replaced (I think it was 4.9 ) as well as a pulmonary vein isolation and a atrial clip put on. The vein isolation was to help prevent Afib down the road and the clip was to prevent blood clots from entering the atrial appendage. Hopefully next month I’m off eliquis for good and will only be on beta blocker and Lipitor 

Dr D’Alessandro was the surgeon. I think he is the best( as we all think that) but he also does heart transplant too. It’s who DrPasseri in the Mgr heart valve program recommended. Who knows he could of had an opening lol. But again I do have the highest regard for the skill.
yes the masked girl is built more like the traditional husky and runs like one. The dark girl is much lankier and kinda runs like a loping  wolf. They are from the same litter so go figure. You have a great eye

Richard Munson  Thanks robert, i wrote his name down but hopefully will never need him. Well, off for our nightly walk. Getting dark earlier. 

Patsy Stewart  Robert, years ago, I stepped on a treadmill not knowing anything but how to turn it on….and I had help doing that. That thing kept speeding up and I was soon running as fast as I could go and didn’t have enough sense to know how to jump off. The owner of the gym saw what was going on and ran to my rescue. The machine had been programmed to gradually speed up until you were running. Whew!!😰 I never got back on another one until I had to have a stress test when I was 24. I failed it too. Ha!! My point…..don’t let your new ‘treadmills’ run you through the mill! They are absolutely adorable!!🥰~❤️

Robert Young  PatsySage advice! I have had these kind of treadmills for the last 35 years. We put in a 3/4 acre fenced in kennel for them to have a good size exercise area to try and wear them down …..then walk them 2-3 times a day. But I hear ya!

Richard Munson  Robert: That was why our first 3 dogs were siberians and our last 2 were malamutes. A little calmer, but much larger.  Less escape artists. If and when we feel we can love another dog again, we will probably return to the smaller version due to our age. Did you find them locally or far away? We also built a fenced in fortress with underground wires. Must be a mass general thing. 

Robert Young  To my MGH mentor. We found them in Minnesota. Flew them here with a flight nanny. The 8’ fence and underground wires we did “may” work. Looking forward to many walks and joy in general 

Richard Munson  I just received an email from a breeder in north carolina that saw our grief on line concerning the loss of cassie. She sent me a picture of what she calls wooly siberians which i never heard of. We always liked the wooly look if you saw cassies picture. If and when, i might contact her. In our younger days ( much younger), we used to race our siberians, talk about a lot of work. One race , in mid straightaway they spotted a rabbit off the trail, took a hard right and crashed me into a stand of trees. All tangled up with some mild injuries to yours truly. One of our guys dug out of our pen. before we knew the ropes and got hit by a car which ended our racing. He lived till 14 but with a limp. You must be feeling better due to my mgh mentoring. I hope to see more pictures of your dogs as they mature. Our house seems very empty as you might expect. I still look out the window expecting to see cassie in her enclosure. 

Robert Young  Thank you guys they are all you have expressed! To my mentor: I hesitated to put the pictures on (we got them a month ago) out of respect for you and Cassie. But I came to the conclusion that you would approve. The breeder we got these from has some woolly pups also. They look pretty cool. And finally I am feeling better everyday. The advice and wit you provide are encouraging. All the veterans on this site are great!