Jerry was a retired sled dog from a local resort. I rescued him this summer along with 4 other resort dogs who were too old to work anymore. Jerry was a handsome fellow, all white except for the brown on his ears. No one knew what his history was, except that he was a trained sled dog (and had no dew claws, so he was from a mushing breeder), and he didn't want to run anymore. Jerry was well socialized and nothing seemed to surprise him.
I noticed as winter started that he was experiencing a lot of pain when trying to stand. His hips were shot. Medications helped a little. I assisted Jerry going in and out of the house, or up the stairs. More recently he was in great pain and having more difficulty; for a while I put off the terrible decision. But yesterday it was finally time and I put him to sleep. The resort thinks he was 11 years old. I think he was about 9. Jerry was very good with our other dogs and had a gentle way about him.
