Female Siberian Husky – 3 years old
Joined Punkhuskies February 13, 2025
Miss Canela came from a loving home in Georgia. Her family there had her since she was a baby but for personal reasons could no longer keep her. They loved her enough to want her to be in a home where she could receive much more attention. Lucky for me they decided to let me take her home. Being retired and living in the mountains of western North Carolina I could give Canela the time, exercise, home cooked meals and love that she deserved. I know it was not an easy decision for them to re-home their dog that they have cared for, raised and loved since she was 12 weeks old. I promised them that Canela would be well taken care of.
But most of all I made that promise to Canela – that I would make sure she felt loved, cared for, and had a home where she would feel safe and protected in, every single day for the rest of her life.
From here on, Miss Canela’s adventures will be posted on the 2025 adventures page. Any personal stuff for Miss Canela will remain here.
March 12
Today we all drove to Asheville to go to the Another Broken Egg in Biltmore Plaza. We were planning to also go to the NC Arboretum but by early afternoon it got to be too hot. So we just strolled around the Biltmore Plaza and went to Barnes & Noble bookstore and then REI coop outdoor store. https://www.anotherbrokenegg.com/locations/asheville-nc/. https://www.rei.com/stores/asheville https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/2326
At Another Broken Egg we sat outside on their outdoor patio area. We were the only ones there so we had the whole patio to ourselves. Cabela, Ravyn and Canela sat in front of the door waiting for them to bring the food out – and really quickly the man brought out a plate of bacon for them to eat with a big bowl of ice water. It didn’t last long but I’m sure it tasted good.
After the old man ate his breakfast we all went to REI Co-op camping store and then the bookstore. All the customers and the people who worked at REI Co-op and Barnes & Noble were really nice to us.
When the 4 of us walked into Barnes & Noble, I think initially they were a little apprehensive of our arrival. Canela is not as delicate in the stores as Cabela & Ravyn and she has a tendency to relocate some items from the tables and racks to the floor. But some really nice customers were quick to put the books back on the table for us and then sit on the floor and introduce themselves to the 3 huskies. Customers were taking pictures of them. When the staff of Barnes & Noble saw how quickly their customers got excited about the 3 huskies being allowed in the store they were much more accepting of us. They even offered them some small treats. We each bought a book and then bid the staff and customers a furry goodbye. My sincerest thanks and compliments to the staff of Barnes & Noble in the Biltmore Plaza in Asheville.
On the way home we stopped at Pet Smart and bought Canela a nice new harness to wear when we go on long walks. It fits much better than the old one he used to use for Cabela and I like it a lot. Then we all piled into the car and we headed back home. It’s a 2 hour drive from Asheville to back home so we all kind of fell asleep in the back of the jeep.
March 1
It turned out to be a beautiful early spring day today. Gorgeous deep blue skies with not a single cloud from horizon to horizon. So we all piled into the back of the jeep and headed to Cherokee for a hike up the Oconaluftee River trail to the Oconaluftee visitors center in the Great Smoky Mountains.
After a 40 minute drive to Cherokee, Canela was beside herself to get out of the car and begin exploring this new trail. Always the first 15 minutes of a new walk is more of an adrenaline rush than a relaxing stroll but soon Cabela was calming down. Until she laid eyes on the river. Then all restraint flew away and all she wanted to do was jump into the fast flowing water. Ravyn has the same response to seeing fast flowing water and between the two of them Cabela and I just hung on and hollered out, “if you pull us both into the river I’m not going to be too happy!!”
Just before the waters edge I managed to dig my feet into the gravel and hit the brakes. Before I could get my complete balance Cabela decided she wanted in the river also and plunged into the cold water too, nearly taking me with her. They ended up jumping into the river in several spots along the trail having a grand ole time splashing, jumping and soaking me with them.
We continued up the trail towards the Oconaluftee visitors center stopping along the way to view the beauty of the river and to talk to others along the trail.
By the time we got to the visitors center the day had gotten unusually warm and a rest on the open air patio was a welcome relief. I was thinking how lucky we were to not have any Elk along the way as Canela goes kinda wild around any other animals and I’m not really sure how she would have handled the sight of these rather large Elk.
We ended up having a great day along the trail – meeting lots of folks out walking their dogs and just strolling along the river trail enjoying the beautiful day.
thank you to the couple who where kind enough to take our picture.
March 6
After 3 weeks of socializing together I decided it was time to try them out all together inside the truck. Up till now Cabela & Ravyn were in the back seat and Canela was relegated to the large covered truck bed (which is actually more comfortable than the back seat). So, I piled Cabela & Ravyn into the back seat, then went back in to get Canela.
On the way home Canela jumped into the back seat, so I quickly got Cabela up into the front which she seemed to like a lot. She was fascinated with watching through the windshield as we drove home. All in all our first ride all together seemed to go very well. I looked at them sitting in their seats all looking out the windows and thought; for someone seeing us drive by with a husky sitting in each seat must look fairly comical. The million dollar test will be to see if they will be OK all together in the back truck bed. Welcome to the Punkmobile!
March 4
I have always told folks that Cabela is a true southern belle and Ravyn is a smooth California biker chic. I’ve been wondering who Canela will be once she settles into the homestead. Well, 18 days into her stay here I guess she’s settling in and I’ve figured out her personality – Denise the Menace. Yes, the sister of Dennis the Menace. I had to leave them home alone for a few hours this afternoon while I went to help my neighbor. When I returned Canela had ransacked the kitchen. She’d eaten a loaf of bread (luckily it was whole wheat), had a bag of potato chips and devoured almost a pound of salted cashews. The mess was scattered across the living room making the place look like they had a belated Super Bowl party. Of course Cabela and Ravyn were sitting amongst the mess with looks on their faces like, “we didn’t do it.. it was her!!!” So, ok… thank gosh nothing extremely toxic was consumed and I learned my lesson on what Canela is capable of when left alone. And really, how can you get mad at a face like this……
For 3 years I’ve had the luxury of living with 2 of the most well behaved Huskies ever conceived. Now I’m going to be living with a very mischievous ‘on your toes old man’ Husky. Smiling – this should be a lot of fun. “Canela!! Get out of the kitchen. The kitchens closed!” Sighs…….
March 3
Hi Mom,
It’s been two weeks since I’ve been up here and I still really like it. Every day we go walking around the dirt roads through the woods but mostly we go to this big huge field area and I try to run around but the old man will not let me off the leash. So I just run around a lot but I keep crashing into Cabela & Ravyn. Sometimes I get so excited i just run around in circles but then the old man gets tangled up in all the leashes. He grumbles while he’s trying to get free but then he laughs.
It’s a lot colder up here in the mountains but it feels really good. Some mornings the old man spends more time putting on layers of clothes than we spend out walking but I try not to say anything. One morning early we heard dogs barking somewhere in the woods and we quickly turned around and went back home. I think the old man gets nervous about coyotes around here.
Whenever we go on walks Ravyn and I have a lot of fun together. I try to play with her but the old man gets nervous that were going to get into a fight, but I know that Ravyn just wants to play and the old man really needs to start trusting us that we’re just playing. Cabela really hangs close to the old man every time we’re out. I think she keeps a very close eye on him. So do I. Cabela is a really sophisticated southern belle. Ravyn is more wild and crazy. (I think that’s why I get along so well with Ravyn.)
Once we get back to the house we all get our treats and kinda lounge around for a while. Sometimes I sit by the wood stove but it gets kinda warm so then i go over to the ‘cave’ bed where it’s cooler because a cold draft comes in near the air conditioner.
Well Mom, that’s about all I have to say right now. I’ll try to write more when we go out for another day trip to someplace fun. By Mom. I miss you.
Canela
February 26
Canela’s first trip to Bryson City. It was a gorgeous day today so we all piled into the truck and headed to Bryson City. We stopped at the NOC in the gorge for a walk around the outdoor center and a quick dip into the Nantahala river. Then off to Bryson City we went. The trio went bouncing along the sidewalks and Canela tried to enter every single store that had its door open.
Everything about Bryson City says it’s a very dog friendly place and that couldn’t be more true. Every shop and every restaurant and everyone on the streets are very dog friendly. We stopped at Anthonys restaurant for lunch across the street from the Great Smokey Mountain RR. A favorite place of Cabela & Ravyn’s when ever they visit Bryson City.
The food is great and the service is very friendly and personal. (They even have a dog menu you can pick some things for your best friend to dine on.) I was walking the 3 huskies and Anthony’s had absolutely no issue with all three of them lounging on the outdoor porch amongst all the customers. Even the customers had to stop and introduce themselves to Cabela, Ravyn and Canela. I learned that Canela is a masterful schmoozer. Cabela was also very good at that but Cabela was very subtle about it. Canela was just pouring out the charm and seductiveness. Everyone was having a good time and the trio of huskies was getting along really well and enjoying all the attention.
So, for a really fun dining experience with or without your “best friend” Anthony’s is the place to go.
https://www.anthonysderailedbrysoncity.com
February 22
The 3 of us took a drive over to Chatuge Lake in Haysville, NC this morning to walk along the trail on the edge of the lake. It was a beautiful day, not overly cold and windless. Canela was beside herself with excitement for a new place to walk that actually had other people walking around with their dogs. She was filled with 3 year old energy and tested the strength of the old man to keep 3 full grown huskies from pulling him behind them like a kite.
Cabela, Ravyn and Canela were thoroughly enjoying the beautiful warm sunny day. The one thing a husky truly enjoys is to get outside and explore. I always wish that I could turn them loose and watch them run free. It would be a sight to watch them run like the wind but turning them loose is definitely not going to happen. It would not be fair to them nor would it be fair to other dog owners. So, sadly they remain on the leash and we get as much exercise as we can that way.
Once back home and completely untangled from the melee of leashes they all settle down and wait for their lunch time carrot treat.
February 19
Mom!! Guess what?!?! I went out in the snow this morning with Ravyn. We had so much fun. I really like Ravyn and I think she likes me too. We pulled the old man all the way down the steep driveway in the slippery snow. He said a bunch of words that I never heard before but it still seemed he was having fun.
Every morning at 6 AM the old man and I go for a walk to this great big campground area that is not open but we slide around the gate. It’s still dark out and he keeps asking me to wiggle my tail so he can see where I am and he follows me. This time he brought a flashlight and we could both see better. He keeps asking me to keep my eyes peeled for coyotes and if i see any we both have to see who can get home first.
We stopped for a while and sat in the snow watching it come down and land on our faces. He rubbed my neck for a while to keep me warm but I really think he was more warming his hands on me. Ravyn was just sitting there like she just stopped to smell the roses but I didn’t see any roses anywhere. Ravyn has a lot of different faces. Sometimes she looks really friendly then other times she looks more like a Husky that you wouldn’t want to steal a bone from.
But I still like her. A lot.
When we got home I climbed into the bed that’s a cave and rested but then Cabela walked out of the bedroom and she headed right towards me. I thought, “uh ohhh… I better get ready for this… but then she looked at me and went to the bed right next to mine and layed down and went to sleep. She didn’t get angry or seem like she didn’t want me there. I’m pretty sure the look on the old man’s face was even more surprised than the one on mine. So he made us all a lunch time treat of sliced carrots again.
After lunch he played some music that put us all to sleep. I don’t know if it was supposed to do that but it did…..
February 17
Hi Mom, Just wanted to let you know that I’m doing fine and having a real good time. I kinda feel like you sent me off to camp and the old man here says I can stay as long as i want. The first night we spent in this camper and it was really cool. I thought we might be going on a trip but the next morning we were still parked under the canopy – we didn’t go anywhere. But it was still fun, except I was still a little nervous and accidentally made a mess on the camper floor.
During the day I went on a cool walk with Ravyn through the woodland and rivers. I even got to go swimming in the rivers with Ravyn. The water was really cold but I didn’t want to say anything. It’s really hilly here and anywhere you want to go you have to go up or down a hill on a gravely dirt road. Cabela and Ravyn call the guy “the old man” and at first I didn’t understand why they would do that but then when we were walking up the hill which is his driveway the “old guy” wasn’t really very fast and I had to pull him up most of the way. It wasn’t too bad though because he did try to move as fast as he could.
Today I had a sliced carrot for lunch. At first I wasn’t too sure about it but after I tried it it was really good and I hope we do this every day for lunch.
I get along pretty good with Ravyn one of his Huskies, but I don’t think Cabela likes me much. I found out from Ravyn that the old guy and Cabela are pretty tight, so maybe she’s just a little jealous.
Mom, there are these day beds in the living room that we can sleep on during the day that are pretty cool. One of them is even like a little cave you climb into. I just have to make sure that Cabela is not already in there.
Yesterday we drove into town to get some groceries and he took us to the town park. We walked around the big loop. It was nice but not as nice as walking through the woods along the rivers. We were having a little fun with the old man and decided to start pulling to see if he could keep up. Well, he was trying to keep up for a while but we could tell he was probably wishing he got goldfish instead of us, so we backed off and let him catch his breath.
So far I’ve been sleeping upstairs in the loft area. He tells me it’s because it’s warmer up there but I know it’s because Cabela hasn’t gotten used to me yet and doesn’t want me downstairs with her. But I know she will. I just have to stop trying to get her to play with me. Then I think she’ll like me more.
There’s a really cool loft on the second floor that looks out over the living room and I can watch everyone downstairs. The first time I stuck my head out the old man below started to go into some kind of those seezure things. I thought it was funny but he certainly didn’t. Now when ever I want to have some fun with the old man I just stick my head out. He comes up stairs really really fast. Not like an old man at all.
Tonight we all sat in the living room and shared a sliced apple. We seem to do this every night before bed and I think it’s a nice thing. The apples are good.
Well, I have to go now Mom. After 8 PM the old guy gets pretty cranky if he’s not close to going to sleep. I just wanted you to know that I’m doing ok. I miss everyone back home but I am having a real god time here. I’ll write more when I can Mom.
Miss you. Canela