AFTER five weeks of very little or no human contact, evading capture and suriving off scraps of food, Husky has made a 100 per cent recovery. The security dog, a German Shepherd cross Husky had residents and its owners in a tizz earlier this year after escaping from one of his handlers. He had run into the bushes bordering the Mt Edgecombe housing estate and what followed was five weeks of frantic searching.

When Clint O’Reilly from Couver Security (who Husky belongs to), received the fateful call that Husky had been found alive and well, he harboured some doubts whether he would make a full recovery.

“Whenever people saw him they tried to capture him, and as a result he was very skittish and traumatised. When we found Husky, he had lost some muscle, was covered in ticks and his ears were fly bitten. Even when I approached him I could see he’d lost his confidence and he cowered in a corner.

“I had my doubts about him getting back to full mental and physical strength. However, he blew everyone away in rehabilitation, all he wanted to do was please everyone. He was put on a strict diet of chicken livers and rice and he went through a programme to get him used to people and different surroundings including the dam and the beach.”

O’ Reilly said Husky excelled at other duties during his rehabilitation.

“He has adapted very well and has also gone through a training programme with one of our anti-hijacking units and has bonded well with his new handler Dane Sylvester. What’s fantastic is he is bonded with Dane and they’ve formed quite the partnership,” he said.

Related Articles

Husky the dog, alive and well

Elusive security dog evades capture twice