Shelter struggles to find adoptive homes for musher's dogs

JOHN DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

The 28 sled dogs Mat-Su Animal Care and Regulation took from musher David Straub nearly two months ago are having trouble finding new homes, said Gale Landingham with Compassion in Action Animal Rescue.

In October, officers from Mat-Su Animal Care and Regulation cited Straub for 17 counts of animal cruelty and revoked his kennel license after investigating a report that the dogs were starving.

The dogs were initially placed under the protective custody of Dave Allison, chief administrator of Animal Care and Regulation, who said the borough would seek foster homes for the animals until Straub's case was completed.

Straub had appealed the revocation of his kennel license and Allison said he wanted to wait until Straub's paperwork was filed before any decisions were made about the dogs.

But Allison has since received approval to find placement for the dogs and has been working for about a week to find homes for them. The borough does not have the resources to care for so many sled dogs indefinitely, Allison said, and the clock is ticking for placement of the animals.

At the end of the business day today, at least one of the dogs is scheduled to be euthanized.

Three dogs that were initially placed in foster care by the borough were recently returned to Animal Care and Regulation when the foster family went north to train. The dogs have since been taken in by Landingham and are being held at Nomad Kennel, a private kennel owned by Gary McKellar, a professional musher.

"Those dogs were scared and skittish when they showed up, but they're happy and healthy and doing well now," Landingham said.

But Allison says there has been some difficulty finding homes for Straub's dogs.

"These are sled dogs, they're not family dogs," Allison said. "But they're also not in condition to run. They would work for people interested in a dog for skijoring, but it would take a lot of work to adopt them as a pet because they've been in the sled-dog world quite a while."

Most animals are given six to 10 days for adoption, after which time they are scheduled to be euthanized at the shelter vet's discretion.

Mat-Su Animal Care and Regulation has only euthanized one adoptable animal in 14 months, Allison said. Approximately 1,200 euthanizations have been done by Animal Care and Regulation in 2004.

"We've had some success placing the dogs, the mushing community has helped out, but a lot of people are reluctant to get involved in animal cruelty cases," Allison said.

Those interested in adopting the three dogs currently boarded at Nomad kennels should contact McKellar at 357-1113.

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.