Misha

"Call your dog!", the obedience judge at the dog show ordered to his nervous competitor. Shelley braced herself as she exclaimed in as commanding a voice as she could muster, "Misha, come front!" Like a rocket, the mischievous Siberian Husky launched himself out of his sit-stay from the opposite end of the ring. Misha, the "guided muzzle" activated his solid rocket boosters and blazed towards his helpless owner. Shelley cringed.

"Doggone it," she muttered to herself as a laughing observer collared her runaway. "Misha never comes when it counts." Turning her attention back to the judge, Shelley nodded in understanding as he dutifully explained that her dog was disqualified. It was a sentence that judges had proclaimed to her many times before. "And", he added in a loud voice, "don't bother coming back for the Group exercises."

After she was excused, Shelley hurriedly left to retrieve her escapee. With a heavy sigh she accepted consolations from her friends who already had competed flawlessly with their Golden Retrievers. "There's always next time," they suggested hopefully. "Yes," Shelley agreed. "Maybe we'll qualify next time."

But secretly, Shelley was beginning to wonder if that next time would ever come. More than anything else, she wished that she could hold that precious bit of green satin, an obedience trial qualifying ribbon. She dejectedly made her good-byes and headed out of the building. Shelley loaded Misha into his crate in the car and left the show grounds, ribbonless, again.

On the drive home, Shelley contemplated what had transpired that morning. It wasn't as if Misha couldn't perform the obedience exercises. In his weekly training class, the Siberian executed the maneuvers with a flair that no Golden Retriever could equal. But at the obedience trials he was clearly a dog of a different color. It was as if he considered it his responsibility to provide entertainment for all those fans watching at ringside. And entertain he did.

As soon as his Siberian feet felt the rubber mat inside the show ring, Misha would fire up his engines. He would qualify for each exercise, barely, until the Recall. That's when the Air show would begin.

Shelley's heart would be in her throat as she would position Misha in a sit on the runner. As she crossed the ring, Misha's black rimmed eyes would narrow and gleam up at her. He would lower his head in anticipation and turn his ears sideways. She would call "Come Front," and the rubber mat transformed into his launch pad. He would explode down the runway, gleefully streaking by his handler. Then off he'd go flying into the wild blue yonder.

Why don't you just give up?", her Golden Retriever friends inquired. But that just made Shelley try that much harder. She practiced the Recall again and again, not knowing that she was boring her Husky to death. She was firm in her belief in her dog and was determined to conquer this exercise.

The Siberian endured these endless training sessions patiently. He loved getting out and doing things with his owner. Misha truly loved Shelley and was not unaware of her frustration. However, the Recall was very difficult for him. In his opinion, reliably coming when called was most un-Siberianlike.

Misha wished that he could tell Shelley that when you are a Siberian Husky, there is no greater fun in life than enjoying the freedom and exhilaration of an all-out run. That is what Siberians are supposed to do. RUN! And when it feels so good to run, it is oh so very hard to stop. Unbeknownst to the young dog and his owner, the solution to their dilemma was just around the corner.

The next day after a so-so practice session in the park, Shelly coiled up the long lead that was attached to Misha's collar and opened the gate. Her thoughts were far away with dreams of winning a vgreen ribbon at the obedience trial that next weekend.

Distractedly, she closed the gate behind her and headed down the street. As she walked she was unaware that Misha had used up the length of the long leash as he trotted back to the house. Her beautiful dog was in front of her close to the intersection of the next street.

Slowing to a stop to wait for her, Misha had no way of knowing of the danger that lay just ahead. He was concentrating instead on the enticing rustle of a cat beneath a shrub across the street. Misha flicked his ears sideways and took off, yanking the leash out of the hands of his inattentive owner.

Shelley's mind was jerked back to reality by the oncoming roar of a car's engine. She felt the end of the leash slide between her fingers as Misha sped up the street. Horrified, she saw the flash of a turn signal through the bushes. In a split second she knew her beloved Siberian Husky would be directly in the path of the speeding vehicle.

All thoughts of green ribbons disappeared as she frantically discovered that in just a moment her pet was going to be killed. She started to cry as she understood that she had no choice but to try a recall. She had to! She realized that Misha's life depended on him successfully completing the one exercise that he hadn't yet passed. With as commanding a voice as she could muster, she screamed, "MISHA, COME FRONT!!"

What happened next she would remember for the rest of her life. Misha whirled around in place, and flew to his distraught owner at the side of the road before executing a perfect sit in front. In the next second the car whooshed around the corner and sped by her. The car crossed the exact spot where her precious Siberian had been heading.

The obedient Siberian Husky looked up at his owner as he remained sitting in front of her. His intelligent, inquisitive eyes scanned her face and he cocked his head. Shelley was bawling her eyes out.

"Misha, oh Misha," Shelley sobbed in relief. She slowly knelt to the ground before her knees collapsed and hugged her dog against her chest. "You're the best, most wonderful, most best, most wonderful dog in the world!", she babbled.

As she wept, Shelley wasn't thinking about any green ribbon. Both mind and heart were filled with gratitude that she hadn't lost her dog. She had learned almost too late what was really important to her. She loved Misha with or without an obedience title. She would treasure all the time left she had with him, both good and bad.

True, he was not as reliable a performer as a Golden Retriever. He was Misha, the entertainer; an exuberant, exasperating, mischievous, not-so-perfect speciman of Siberian Husky. Her Misha was still alive. That was all that mattered. Shelley could hardly see through her tears as she cradled her pet's head in her hands and lavished wet kisses all over his face.

Misha was totally astounded. All he knew was that he had just given chase when his owner had called for him to come. But there something different about this Recall. Really different. He heard it in her voice. He couldn't explain it but he sensed that it was absolutely imperative that he return at once to Shelley and sit in front. So that's what he did. And he knew that because he had, Shelley was happy.

For the first time in a long time, the Siberian Husky felt extremely clever. He basked in the praise that was showered on him. Unable to contain his joy, Misha threw back his head, flattened his ears and crowed "Ah-woo-woo-woo" in celebration.

His white-tipped tail swished the ground as it flailed from side to side. His whole body wriggled in delight. He licked the salty drops off of Shelley's face. Valiantly, his pink tongue tried to keep up with the flood of happy tears.

He would continue the effort that day just as he would after the obedience trial that next weekend. But Shelley would cry on, unashamed, with a bright green qualifying ribbon clutched tightly in her hand.

• Sled Dogs in Florida?
• Pix of the Litter
• More Obedience
• More Husky Tales
• Other Siberian Sites

Return to front page

Call or e-mail us for more information at:
Voice: 352.378.9383
OconnellS@mail.vetmed.ufl.edu

All photographs and text are © 1994-1996 Sally O'Connell/Allen Cheuvront except as noted

Please send us a quick comment by email
 
 

Keywords: Gainesville Florida siberian husky breeder show dog AKC Mileka obedience training mushing

This site is optimized for Netscape 2.0 and will look best under this browser. The latest evaluation version (3.0) of Netscape is available for downloading.

Last updated: November 7, 1996 by Allen Cheuvront