Last Saturday, LOKI had his first trip to the veterinary clinic which comes into Hay River from Alberta courtesy of Doctors Jim and Jocelyne Stickney. Without these dedicated vets health care for our companion animals in Hay River would mean costly flights to Yellowknife or lengthy drives to Alberta.
LOKI lost his maleness that Saturday, and it broke my heart, but I know that to prevent illness down the road, this had to be. I must say that he was a very good boy, entering his transport crate readily on his own, to and from the clinic. Once home, he did have an uneasy night, coming out of the sedation, restless and uncomfortable he finally decided that my bed and feather mattress was where he wanted to be. 
Mom and I took turns laying with him to comfort him. Giving him the reassurance he needed and he finally fell into a deep sleep at around 11 p.m. 
After the trauma of last Saturday, we felt that LOKI should be given something very special for Christmas. His very first ever very own Christmas tree. Call us crazy but I went out and bought a beautiful white tree, lit with white and blue lights, and spent yesterday morning decorating it with blue decorations. This is after all, as I have often described, a Land of Snow and Ice, and against the backdrop of our blue walls and white lace curtains, I must admit, I made a good choice.
Always curious, always the extreme gentleman in the house, this beautiful boy sat for the longest time, head raised and looking……remember this is his first ever Christmas tree, in his first ever loving home. Spotting the blue lights in the window, he ever so gently used his nose to move back the lace 
and gaze at the blue window lights. After a time he and Hemi decided it time to share their company together 
settling into Loki’s favorite spot in the living room.
LOKI’s followers on Facebook now surpass 10,000 hearts.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-LOKI-Sole-Survivor/188340937903082
He has reached out and touched everyone with his determination and will to survive against all odds. Each day the comments posted to his Facebook page fill my heart with such joy and comfort. To know that there are good caring people still out there in a world and a society that inundates all of us with daily horrors brings some comfort to my own soul.
I have, in prior posts, made mention of the ‘Silent Growing Army’ and Loki has brought over 10,000 of us together, all of us total strangers to each other until now. The love that each and everyone of these people have given to LOKI as well to myself and my fur family is a gift that was brought about solely by LOKI.
Those of you who have followed our journey, know exactly how hard it has been and how long the road we traveled together. Now the ongoing joy of this ‘New Chapter’ of our journey together is being shared around the world as well.
This gentle beautiful boy, no longer has a bulls eye on his back, no longer must fear strangers, seek warmth from extreme winter storms, nor depend on the generosity of his few human friends to provide nourishment for him. He basks in the warmth of the a loving home and the knowledge that he will be forever safe and cared for.
In the Land of Snow and Ice, LOKI gives thanks, as does my family, for the Love and the Compassion he has received from the ‘total strangers’ now united by our love for him.
Filed under: dogs in Canada's north, Fate of Sled Dogs, LOKI, LOKI : fact not fiction Tagged: LOKI Sole Survivor, LOKI UPDATES
