Dakota is six years old - a Husky mix. One day in January of 2004 he simply appeared at our sanctuary. He didn’t quite join in the canine games at first, but as a young, albeit skittish dog, it was obvious his curiosity was getting the best of him. It’s always interesting to watch the “pack” dynamic take hold of new arrivals to the sanctuary. They can’t help but get closer and closer until, what do you know? They’re part of the pack! What he didn’t seem too curious about were humans. Obviously, someone, somewhere had been pretty harsh to him. It took a good two months before he’d let a human approach, let alone touch him. Four years later, a stranger has a better chance of being struck by lightning at our sanctuary than physically touching Dakota and he’s just fine and dandy with that rep. One of Dakota’s more interesting physical traits, beside his devastating good looks, is his pronounced under bite. Sometimes he’ll come up to where we’re sitting, staring sweetly into our eyes, swishing his tail to and fro and then...he grins and out juts the under bite of an orthodontist’s dream! Dakota is now one of the more dominant pack members although not an aggressive one. He likes to play hard, but responds immediately if called out. Dakota will live out his days at our sanctuary with his limited social skills, but that’s fine with us. He can be intimidating to some people and you better believe he knows who to intimidate. He’s a very protective dog and he makes no apologies for that. He could care less if he’s popular with visitors although predictably people always try to win him over, always wanting what they can’t have. You could have grilled steaks hanging from your body and if Dakota doesn’t like you, you’ll get a withering glance - he’s got teeth in his eyes! - as he walks away, rejecting you because he’s The Dude.
