Morning all,
I’m thrilled to announce the newest Ling member, Griffyn Pendragon Ling! But before I reveal his pictures, the unique and character-building story must be revealed…
You see, it all started when our family braved the wilds of North Carolina for Thanksgiving. It was a dark and stormy night, and a moose once bit my sister, and ….
Okay, that’s an exaggeration. Really….it started 30 years ago when I was 14. An avid dog person all my life (I was raised with dogs and parrots), my family included Beulah and Brutus (basset hounds) but I didn’t have a "dog of my own", so to say…until a stray German Shepherd/collie mutt wandered onto my street and into our backyard. I caught him (you should have seen my eldest’s eyes as I was relating this story…
"Gee mom, you walked up to a strange dog? Are you freakin’ NUTS?"
"No dearest child of mine, I stayed in my spot and compelled the dog to me. Took some time but, well, dogs like me." 
Anywhos, to make a (very) long story short, that’s how Buddy came into my life. I named him in honor of the first Seeing Eye dog back in 1926, who was owned by Morris Frank….the things dogs can accomplish are amazing!
During the next few years, I trained Buddy to be a comedy dog performer, and we visited nursing homes and hospitals to give uplifting humor shows. I’ll never forget that time…Buddy was truly a magnificent mutt!
During the next few decades, my life was notable dog-free. Not parrot-free, mind you…I started the newsgroup rec.pets.birds back in 1991 when Angus, my yellow-collared mini-macaw Beak of Doom, joined my life as a single adult (great birdie for a single person – he’d lie in my hands and I could bounce him up and down like a bouncy ball. Alas, after I married, Angus became more and more jealous…and when my newborn arrived, made it his mission to snag baby fingers for breakfast. I brought him over to Nancy’s Parrot Sanctuary and then later on to Foster Parrots).
Well! About 3 months ago, I realized my family was ready for a doggie, and I floated the idea to my husband…
"It’s not that I’m considering it NOW, you see….but soon. Okay?"
Now, my husband knows that "soon" to me really means "hop into my time traveling machine and make it happen yesterday." I got me go-ahead, but with school and the kids, didn’t really have the time to dedicate to finding the perfect doggie for our family.
Zoom to our North Carolina Thanksgiving trip! The kids’ aunt has a small yappie papillon-type dog over whom the kids swooned…and I realized, it’s time for our family to adopt a dog for ourselves.
Thus began my research into adopting/rescuing dogs from the animal shelter. And my oh my, what an eye-opening process that was!!
You see, Buddy taught me the joys of mutts…and ever since I had him, I knew I’d never buy from a pet store or breeder as there are literally millions (yes, millions) of wonderful dogs crammed into shelters who eventually have to be euthanized 
Irresponsible people will buy puppies and ooooo and ahhhh over them…but when said puppies become awkard canine teenagers, and they realize they need quality training to learn how to be a good doggie around people…the owners just chuck ’em to the shelter at the best and kick them out at worst.
Now, I will confess – I did have a particular breed in mind when I went searching for the Ling Dog. I have adored wolves now ever since I can remember….and decided that a husky or Malamute or mix/etc. would be ideal.
Big red flag now comes into play! I have been told that Huskies and Mals have a very high prey drive – anything they see that they can catch, they’ll do their darnest to introduce them to their teeth. And I have 13 free-flying Twitter Budgies in my office!
But as always, I never let mere common sense and what the rest of the world says to dictate my behaviors. So I contacted wonderful husky rescue associations like:
and started canvassing Petfinder as well to locate Siberian Huskies. Petfinder is a SUPER service – you really should visit if you’re considering adopting a dog. I couldn’t believe the quality of the doggies that were in shelters from all over the state.
Talk about an opportunity for driving! This was the first week in which the Ling family missed virtually ALL karate classes; I packed the kids into the van after school to check out various dogs from various shelters. We drove to the Linden shelter to check out this gorgeous husky – alas, because he’s quite the dominant dog, he wouldn’t fit well with my family (I have two smaller boys as well as my eldest girls), but wow, for a family without kids and with someone who knows the breed, what a perfect dog. And the Monmouth County SPCA has a stately Malamute, 10 months old who is definitely worth investigating as well.
Never being one to give up, I continued to search….and the planets were in alignment for the Ling family! 60 miles down south, I came across a white Husky (who really does look to me to be part GSD – what do you think?) – 6 months old, male, and super-friendly to boot. And here’s how the week progressed:
Tuesday….I first saw him.
Wednesday….drove the 60 miles again with the husband and my youngest – the dog was a complete marshmallow with both, so we brought him home!
Yes indeed…"speedy" certainly is my name when I want things accomplished yesterday.
And there came the challenge. Remember my 13 free-flying parakeets? Remember the fact that huskies have a high prey drive?
The first thing I did was bring the dog over to my office and watch the birdies fly overhead in a circle. And the dog…..completely, as in totally….ignored them.
Can you believe that! I must have found the only Sibe around who DOESN’T consider parakeets to be tasty bite-sized doggie snacks! ‘course, you can also check how one husky dealt with a cute kitten….what a ferocious epic battle!
And my kids! Oh wow, talk about high-energy – they romped with him, rolled him over (I taught my girls how to do the dominant alpha roll, which the dog adores), chased each other all around…..in short, this is an utterly perfect dog for the Ling family!
A name was needed, of course…one that bestowed the kind of digity about which all folks think when pondering on the Lings. And what better name than:
Griffyn Pendragon Ling!
"Griffyn" for a griffin, the mythological beastie that’s half eagle and half lion, and "Pendragon" as that was King Aurthur’s last name. Oh, and I spell it with a "y" as I love the welsh writing.
So! Without any further ado, take a gander at Grif!
Here’s his official photo:
And here was my admittedly pathetic attempt at using a different camera motion mode to catch the first meeting action of Grif and my eldest:
Huskies are known for being extremely high-energy, as you can see below.
You tell me – pure husky or mix?
And when the evening descends, it’s always a great idea to first indulge in a nighttime cuddle.
And that’s how Grif Pendragon Ling came into our family.
Remember – there are millions of deserving doggies in rescue shelters! Adoption really is the way to go – always make certain you check out that possibility whenever considering a new dog. You’ll be thrilled you did!
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – speaking about huskies, have you seen:
Get Started Here
You’ll love what you learn… Promise!