Enter Varg, the hurricane

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August 1, 2019

any times when telling stories, you might say that "I've saved the best for last". We like to think that our dogs are equally good, but in the case of this one, we will say that we saved the crazy for last. This is Vargs story, or how we got our third dog. Fair warning, there will be some seriously cute pictures in this one.

As mentioned before, Varg is Stalpis younger brother. We discovered one day that he was looking for a home, and, seeing that Stalpi was turning to be such a fantastic dog, we decided we could handle another one (Famous last words right there). So, phone calls were made, deals were done and one November day Jana left to pick him up. The plan was easy enough: Plane to Trondheim, spend a day with Varg and his siblings, and then take him on the night train from Trondheim to Bodø. He was just as cute as the pictures promised, and the other train passengers loved him.

Early next morning Thomas suddenly gets a frantic phone call from Jana. The plan was to take a bus from Fauske to Lødingen, and Thomas would pick them up there, but the bus driver refused to let Varg ride inside the bus! There were words half mumbled about someone being allergic, but no one apart from the bus driver said anything, so poor tired Jana and eight-week old Varg had to sit down in the bus station. A backup plan was hatched, taking a bus to Bodø instead and then wait there for the local speed boat to Svolvær. The next bus driver (same local company I might add) was incredibly accommodating though, and even let Varg ride all the way up front. Even during the long wait in Bodø, the staff at the local kiosk let Varg come inside so Jana could get something to eat, and on the speed boat he could ride in a seat instead of in a cage. And so, six hours delayed, Thomas, Stalpi and Sabaka could finally meet Jana and the newest member of the family.

Stalpi and Sabaka were, to be honest, a little taken back in the beginning. Who was this little thing that had been brought into their domain? Why was he suddenly given a place on the couch, and food four times a day? We, on the other hand, were very happy to finally have him. Stalpi was getting big, and it would be fun to have a puppy again. Seeing as he is Stalpis brother, and Stalpi was an easy puppy, this would be a lot of fun. Oh boy were we wrong…..

Over the next weeks, the doggies were slowly, but surely strengthening their relationship. Varg was being taken care of by Sabaka, and even though Stalpi seemed too tough to care for Varg, he slowly took a liking to him, even going as far as teaching him how to beg for food when daddy was cooking. And he absolutely loves eating. That Christmas we went back to the Husky Lodge for a vacation, and we decided to leave him alone in the dog yard while we trained Stalpi and Sabaka. To keep him occupied, we gave him a fairly fresh cows head, from one that had to be slaughtered the day before and given as food for the dogs. And was it ever a sight to behold when we came back… According to the workers there, he had not made a sound at all, just chewing on the head. And since it was reasonably fresh, he was absolutely red from top to toe… Gave us quite a clean-up.

Varg also proved to be a fast learner, and was taught how to sit, lie down, jump up, paw and wait fairly quickly. And as if that first night was a hint of things to come, we had seen nothing yet when it came to his levels of energy…

We have always said that Varg is special, and where Stalpi is calm easygoing, Varg is wild and full of energy. During his pre-teenager stage, he decided to direct that energy at Thomas’ car, which soon had more holes than Swiss cheese. Outside in the garden his favourite project was digging, and inside on the couch Sabakas ears were the perfect chew toys. We couldn’t do much about the digging, and Sabaka did tell him off herself when it got too much. As for the car, see for yourselves:

Being the third dog, it’s been relatively easy training him for hiking, sledding and the like. He looks to the others to see what he’s supposed to be doing, and being a husky, pulling is in his blood already. As opposed to Stalpi, he hates swimming, and trying to give him lessons have proved futile. He loves running around in up to knee-deep water though, so he’s somewhat in the middle of the two others. He has an enormous appetite for food, and it’s all we can do to keep our fingers to ourselves when giving him snacks.

But despite the chewing, the crazy antics and near-decapitation of fingers, we have all grown very fond of Varg. He definitely is the clown in our group, and as of the time of writing he is nearly two years old, with no signs of giving up his puppy attitude yet. We hope he keeps it for much, much longer. Bonus: After the next pictures there are two videos from Vargs actual puppy years. Enjoy!