Project RePaw: Sarma - Letting a working dog stay a working dog
My name is Yana Petiet, and I own 3 dogs that have their origin story at Bearhill Husky. I met them there when I worked for Bearhill, and as I have moved on to new endeavours they have moved with me. I would love to share with you our story, which has been told in three parts.
The most recent addition to the pack is Sarma. She was born in 2021, but I didn’t get into contact with her much until she started her working career. The whole litter took a lot after their mom Cookie and they inherited her shyness. With Cookie we always liked to say that we would only have a working relationship with her: You make sure she gets good meals and that you take her to work, but she is not a fan of any other fif-faffing. Pretty quickly we figured out that her kids were really smart, and in combination with that shyness they managed to outsmart us many times. I understood that I would have to build a working relationship with these guys as well. If you let us take you, we’ll go do the thing you love the most: running!
They were excellent working dogs, and didn’t mind the attention from customers so much as long as they got to run, but the shyness was very inconvenient for new or inexperienced workers. Initially Sarma was rehomed to another Bearhill worker, but she ended up at Pinewoods Huskies with me in summer 2025. Officially she is mine, but she lives and works at the kennel.
I think that Sarma is a good example of how dogs don’t fit in all contexts, and how we need to try to find the right one. Right now, I see that she loves to run and work, how she is developing into becoming an excellent lead dog, and how she enjoys being around other dogs. Therefore, I think she is more comfortable being in a kennel environment. I think it works out well because we have a small team, and I have made the commitment for her to be mine, so she always has a stable person in her life that she can trust. Right now I think this is how I can meet her needs best.
As time goes on, I’ll take her home sometimes and see what she thinks of that. Some huskies never get comfortable inside the house and prefer to be outside. If that is what she wants I’ll accommodate her. If she decides that the house is pretty chill then she can come home with me more often. At this point I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to find out.
If you are interested in how the RePaw project started and would like to read more stories about dogs that have found new homes, you can visit the links below:
