Mila's Story

When we were in Korea we came across a Facebook ad trying to find a home for a Husky. An American sailor was being deployed to Spain and huskies are on the aggressive dog list there so he couldn't take his dog with him.

We debated and we agonized but we eventually send the sailor a message. We agonized a bit more and then they brought Mila to see us.

My husband met the sailor at the McDonald's and they drove back to our apartment together. He said as soon as Mila saw him, she licked his face.

When they got to our apartment, Mila strode right in and plopped down on a chair. Like she'd been there all along.

We adopted Mila and slowly adjusted to a routine with her. She loved going for walks at the track in the park. Children loved coming up to her. They thought she was a wolf but once they realized she would play they were delighted. Mila was too, she loves children.

Once, we came across a toddler wearing squeaky shoes and Mila couldn't decide what to do! She couldn't decide if the wee one was a child or a giant squeaky toy.

Some adults and older children were mean to her, throwing stones or trying to kick her. Pets are still are relatively new thing in Korea and most people saw her as dirty and scary.

Mila was very well trained. When we first adopted her she was trained to ring a bell when she wanted to go out to pee. We quickly ended that ritual when we realized she was ringing the bell when she wanted to go play outside.

She would play with a giant tug of war rope, she'd "dig" in her giant blanket and play keep away. She had a tiny stuffed giraffe that we called her baby. She couldn't sleep if the giraffe was in a different room and she was always trying to take it out to pee with her.

Mila came at the perfect time as my husband and I were both struggling with different issues. Mila taught me about love and about sacrifice and I'm sure she taught my husband some things too,

One morning we woke up and our electricity was off. I walked the dog and left Mike to sort it out. When Mila and I returned, I let her off the leash. Mike took me out into the hallway to show me the fuse box and to explain what had happened to the electricity (long story short on that one- we lived next to a divorced women whose drunk ex husband would show up late at night and bang forever on the door. We think he shut off our electric, thinking it was hers.)

During this process, Mila came and stood in the hallway with us.

And in the blink of an eye, she was down the stairs and out the door to the apartment building (Another long story short: our downstairs neighbor liked to go crank his car and then  go back inside to wait for it to warm up. He always left the apartment building door open in the meantime. Between me going up and Mila coming down, he'd gone out, started his car, came back in and left the door open)/

We searched, we papered, we called. We posted. We hiked around the river with her treats, her toys, her bells. My husband hiked with one of our flyers posted on his back.

We cried and we searched some more. Our dear Korean friend, Vanessa, drove us for hours around the city, around the river where we'd gotten a report of sighting.

A military friend reported that the security guards at her apartment complex had tried to catch a female husky but she was too fast. It had to be Mila.

And then Animal Rescue called Vanessa. They had received a call from someone who reported that their neighbor was keeping a husky locked in an outdoor closet. The man was famous for eating and selling big dogs for meat.

We went to his house with Vanessa and Animal Control. They yelled at each other.

He had another dirty, big dog chained up outside. The dog flinched whenever the man approached.

The man showed his empty closet. Vanessa translated that he did have Mila but that one day when he opened the closet door she bolted and he couldn't catch her.

My Mila. My sweet, smart Mila. I hope he was telling the truth. I hope she ran. I hope she ran and ran until someone kind found her and helped her. I hope someone with children found her and took her home. And that she has beautiful children to play with.-children who don't have  squeaky shoes.