Cloud's Story
Cloud (aka Cloudy, Eskimo Joe or Esky) was born on or around 10 April 2010 and was one of a litter of seven. At the age of just two weeks his Mum and Dad (Mia and Willis) and all his brothers and sisters came to stay at the Pet Resort. Cloud was the runt of the litter as can be seen in the first photograph – he is the one at the back, notice how much smaller he is than his siblings.
After staying about two weeks or so at the Pet Resort, Nic went into their kennel and found the smallest puppy lying on the floor. He was so weak that he couldn’t even raise his head and was malnourished. This was either as a result of his mother Mia not being able to produce enough milk to feed the whole litter or she had rejected him from the pack, as happens in the wild with the Alaskan Malamute breed, where only the healthiest and the fittest survive. We suspect it could have been the latter as he had a broken tail which may have been a result of being trampled on by his mother?
Cloud was brought down to the house and feed with an eye dropper for the first night, sleeping on our bed and being fed four hourly. We did not expect him to be alive in the morning, but he made it through the night although still extremely weak with little change in his condition. Off to the wonderful care of the team at Bent Street Veterinary Surgery where he was put on a drip, wormed and injected with vitamins and steroids to give him the best chance of survival. At just 1.4 kg it was touch and go. His lips and jaws were very anaemic due to a low red blood cell level. After four days and nights of intensive treatment and many cuddles from the staff, he was ready to come home.
It took a few days before he began to eat properly, but once he discovered food he has never looked back, nor ever lost his appetite. His first couple of months, winter time, he lived inside Nic’s shirt with just his head poking out, they were together 24/7 and so they have a very special bond. Cloud went to work and the occasional shopping trip to the supermarket tucked in tight. He learnt talk and in a typical malamute way, lets us know when he is happy, hungry, bored, tired, loving, feeling playful, mischievous, thirsty, curious and just because he feels like it.
Cloud was desexed, micro-chipped and had his rear spur claws (snow treads?) removed at the age of eight months. This is normally done at six months but due to his very shaky start to life it was put back a couple of months.
Cloud is the most loving dog. Having grown up in a kennel environment he wants to be friends with all our guests. We have never seen him show any aggression towards any other animal (although he fancies himself as a cattle dog) and he is the biggest coward or pussy cat you have ever seen.
Current Age – 11 years and 10 months; Weight - 50.6 kg (as at 9 February 2022)
Favourites (in no particular order) – sleeping, forest walks, toys with a squeeky, food, cuddles.
