Adopting a dog can require a leap of faith; it’s almost impossible to know what the dogs have been through before you welcome them into your home. A good shelter might be able to provide the answers to these questions, but there’s no guarantee.
That was certainly the case with Wulfgar the husky, whose past came with a number of mysteries and complications. Luckily for him and for his owners, he needed some TLC, and he got that, in abundance. See the amazing transformation.
The story begins
When an Imgur user and her husband heard about a stray husky who was wandering around their neighborhood in November of 2015, they were intrigued. Yet when the couple ventured out and saw the dog themselves, it became clear to them that something was peculiar about him: he was deeply afraid of not just the woman’s husband, but of men in general.
“As you can see, he’s in pretty bad shape in this photo,” wrote the Imgur user. “Notice the patchy fur and the visible ribs. He also had a large scar going across his ribs…”
The couple took the pup, whom they later named Wulfgar, to the vet right away. “A normal male husky ranges between 45 and 60 pounds, depending on height. Weighing him at the vet’s, he was underweight at 39 pounds. The vet guessed he should have weighed closer to 50 to 55 pounds,” wrote the Imgur user.
“He had demodectic mange,” she continued. “Huskies have two coats, so for his skin to be so red, dry, and patchy, he had to be infected for quite some time. Our poor boy was likely suffering for months.” What would happen to him?
The woman said, “His immune system was shot and the vet prescribed him a hefty dose of antibiotics and medicated shampoo. Miraculously, he had no heart worms or fleas.”
After a thorough check-up, the couple took Wulfgar home. “We immediately bought a kennel for him to sleep in. He went in without difficulty, which led us to believe he’d been previously crate-trained. We aren’t sure of what he went through or where he came from. He wasn’t chipped (not that we would have returned him anyway).”
“My husband and I have a few guesses: He escaped on his own from an abusive/negligent owner which might explain the scar; he was purposely abandoned; he belonged to an unlicensed breeder and escaped. Huskies aren’t typically a breed you find wandering the streets, so we’re strongly leaning towards the ‘escaped’ theory, especially considering his wariness around men.”
It took some time for the dog to get used to his new surroundings. “This is about a week after we brought him home,” the woman’s post explained. “The first few nights he cried and cried in his kennel, but unfortunately due to his mange, we didn’t want him sleeping in our room with us because the bedrooms were carpeted.”
During those initial days in his new home, Wulfgar would take a nap anywhere. He just seemed so exhausted from his ordeal. “Now he primarily naps in his kennel or on a fluffy blanket in the living room,” the story went on.
Later on, he started to learn to appreciate the luxuries that his new life afforded him. “This is another week later,” the Imgur user said. “He’s staring at a treat in my hand; sometimes it’s the only way to get him to look at the camera.”
“This was his first visit to the local dog park. He had a fun time. I was worried about how he’d act around other dogs, but in typical husky fashion, he was friendly and playful right off the bat.”
“He fell into the pond and I caught this wonderful moment a split second before he began to shake.” There’s nothing quite like watching a dog have fun, especially one who’d come as far as Wulfgar had!
“No big description—I just like this shot,” she captioned this photo, and no wonder! After everything that he had gone through, it must have been nice to see him so happy, calm, and healthy.
“He plays well with most other dogs, provided they’re also friendly. Since then we’ve encountered dogs that are aggressive or bark at him. He’s very quiet as far as huskies go, so he never barks back. He mostly stares in confusion,” she said.
Unfortunately, no matter how friendly Wulfgar tried to be, there were other dogs who occasionally didn’t want to reciprocate. “This husky-shepherd mix wasn’t too friendly,” the woman explained. Luckily, Wulfgar didn’t seem too upset by it!
“Wulfgar tries to engage my in-laws’ senior husky. Notice how sparse his tail is in this picture.” Though you can still see signs of his traumatic past, it definitely looked like Wulfgar was very eager to start interacting with other furry friends!
“We noticed that as he grew in new hair, it began to change color. When we first got him, his coat was a distinct red color. Here (and currently) it’s more of a grey color, and even dark copper in the sunlight.” Wulfgar truly was beginning to look like an entirely different dog.
After just about a month in his new forever home, Wulfgar’s personality was really starting to shine. “Now he loves car rides! At this point he’s put on a few pounds, though you can still tell he’s pretty scrawny.”
If there was one thing in the world that Wulfgar loved more than making friends and riding in the car, though, it must have been taking naps! Hey, we can all relate to that one, right? Just look at how peaceful he seemed in this photograph!
“You can see his neck fur starting to thicken,” the Imgur user continued. “He loves going into the backyard. He likes to sit and observe the other people in the neighborhood. When people would walk too close, he’d bark. We liked this protective aspect, though now he’s much more discerning of strangers.”
“I COULD stand like a normal dog but… meh,” Wulfgar’s owner wrote alongside this image. He almost looked like a cat, huh? It was remarkable to see how much fun he and his family were having together, especially given everything he’d been through.
Still, Wulfgar’s transformation wasn’t finished. “You can really see how his coat darkened in this picture. I’m hoping this is just a winter coat, because I loved his red coloring before.” Either way, he looked super handsome!
“He likes to rest on the cool tiles whenever we get home from a tiring day at the dog park. Sometimes he can’t stay awake.” It’s hard to blame the little guy for wanting to nap—having a blast at the dog park sure must have been exhausting!
Like so many other dogs would, Wulfgar looked absolutely thrilled and delighted to be getting ready for a journey on the road. Since his owners had no way of knowing before they adopted him, it must have been nice to learn that Wulfgar loved riding in cars so much.
“The park is very close to the house, so I always roll down the windows for him when we’re driving,” the Imgur user said. Every dog owner knows that life is easier when the dog park is a short drive away, and clearly Wulfgar was a fan!
“He’s actually memorized the route. As we get closer he starts whining and hopping around in the back seat out of excitement.” Most dog owners probably know what that experience is like! Who hasn’t taken the leash out and watched their dog totally lose it as they ran around with sheer joy?
“Remember how wispy his tail was before?” It certainly is remarkable to consider how much Wolfgar developed over the course of just a few months, both physically and emotionally. His tail was one of the best examples of just how much he changed since his rescue.
While his owners could never have known just how perfect Wulfgar would be for their family, they would have probably guessed that he’d be very curious about their people-food policy! Get your nose out of there, Wulfgar!
“That husky stare though… ” There’s something absolutely enchanting about a husky’s eyes, and Wulfgar was certainly no different. It’s pretty obvious why his family fell in love with him right away!
“My favorite picture of him. He’s now a happy, healthy, spoiled dog, and we love him and all the fur he leaves on our clothes.” Hopefully, things only get better for Wulfgar and his family from here on out! Clearly, there’s nowhere to go but up.
