My First Meeting With A Malamute.

I first met a Malamute in 1990 here in Darwin, worried hell out of me 
because I had never had any contact with this sort of dog.
A customer of mine had me treat his house for fleas but could not be 
there at the given time, so had given me keys to house, told me not to 
worry about dog as she was completely harmless, WOW! When I got there 
here was this great big silver & grey dog behind the fence just staring 
at me, no wagging of tail no sign of friendliness, just fixing me with this 
I can see you stare.
I must admit it certainly worried me so I rang Steve (the owner); he left 
work and came straight home, looked at me and said, “She won’t hurt you, 
only wants to be friends”.
I finally entered and lo & behold, this dog sat down & extended it’s paw, 
Then she stood with her paws on my shoulder & proceeded to give me a huge 
big lick.
After this, I could not get enough of seeing Penny (dogs nickname} I called 
in every 2-3 days just to say hello.
So I asked Steve where I might be able to get a Malamute & was informed that 
Penny was due to have a litter in just a few weeks, & if I really wanted I 
could get one of her pups, which was okay by me as I was completely captivated 
by these type of dogs.
So some weeks later I was the proud owner of this 8wk old female Mal. Puppy, 
wonderful little ball of grey fluff with a mouthful of razorblades instead of 
teeth, I had scars & scabs for months from her (sheeza, her name).
After 2years she was a magnificent looking dog, or so someone thought as she 
just disappeared, never to be seen again.
As you can imagine I was heartbroken over the loss, sheeza wasn’t a dog she 
was part of the family, my constant companion, ever willing to do what she 
could to help me.
BUT, after having one of these dogs, I found that I could not accept any other 
type for a companion, so I got in touch with Steve, told him what had happened 
& did he know where I could find another Malamute, you guessed it he had two 
8wk old pups coming to Darwin from South Aust. Both black & white & ready to be 
sold.
Whoopee!! I had another Mal. (that’s Apollo now) he went wherever I went while I 
was still working, didn’t want to lose another one (too expensive) he loved 
travelling all around the countryside with me, & made friends wherever we went.
Apollo is now 7yrs old, still as faithful as ever never leaves my side for very 
long, still likes to meet & greet people, but wasn’t to sure when I bought 
Chiahia home.
Chiahia had been badly mistreated before I got her, could not get near her to 
pat her, she would just move as far away as possible & cower in the corner, poor 
old Apollo every time he went near her she would snap & snarl at him & he didn’t 
know what to make of, nor did for that matter.
After 3-4wks she began to very slowly accept both Apollo & myself, letting us 
get close & allowing me to stroke her, & Apollo to sniff at her.
She is now 3yrs old, I’ve had her for 2yrs & she is the most affectionate & happy 
dog around the neighbourhood.
Well, that’s my story & I love these dogs, would never part with them, & go out of 
my way to try and explain to people what a magnificent breed they are.
Yours truly