Little did Burghead man Graham Robinson know a minor hospital operation would change his life — and turn him into Saint.
The life-changing event ended up filling his home with gorgeous four-legged friends and saw Graham become the first north co-ordinator for the UK charity Saints Sled Dog Rescue (SSDR).
He’s calling for more volunteers from the north and north-east to help with the charity’s vital work.
SSDR was founded by Heather Saville in Peterborough 10 years ago to rescue and rehome sled dogs suffering from abuse, or whose owners can no longer care for them.
The charity’s only point of contact in Scotland originally was in Glasgow, leaving a massive gap in provision north of Perth.
So it’s just as well Graham got talking to fellow patient Tim Sugars in hospital.
The two have RAF service in common, but Tim has a passion for Siberian huskies, including rigging and running them.
Graham and his wife Sandra had lost their much-loved Samoy dog and were beginning to look around for a replacement.
Meet the huskies
Their pet was crossed with a sled dog, and the couple were interested in going down the sled dog route for their next pet.
Tim encouraged them to meet his huskies, and there was no turning back.
The Robinsons went on to adopt rescue dog Troy.
“We picked him up in the Tesco car park in Aviemore,” Graham remembers fondly.
“We had no intentions of working him, but Tim suggested he try the harness, and he loved it.”
The term sled dog applies to any dog able to be harnessed and trained to pull a sled, generally over snow.
These are generally Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies, plus various cross-breeds.
Irresistibly cute
These dogs look irresistibly cute as puppies, and that can be a problem, Graham says.
“The puppies are off the cuteness scale, but owners need to know what’s involved in looking after them when they’re older.
“We’ve noticed them becoming more and more popular thanks to films like Snow Dogs, and Tomb Raider where Lara Croft is filmed with one.
“There was a surge also in ownership during the pandemic.”
It’s not that the dogs are difficult, it’s just their owners need to know certain ground rules in order to home them successfully, Graham says.
Always choose a reputable breeder
Rule number one, always source from a reputable breeder.
“There are too many backyard breeders under the radar, so go through local clubs,” Graham advises. “Make sure you have complete traceability and get to see both parents.
“Or better still, chose rescue dogs.”
Graham and Sandra, who is also a Saints volunteer, practice what they preach and now have five dogs, all rescues.
Their oldest dog Storm was a rescue from England via Saints.
He was in a pitiful state, found living with an alcoholic drug addict in filthy conditions with nothing but an old bone to chew on.
Graham said: “The owner was taken into hospital and his neighbour contacted us as Storm was just left in the flat.
“When a couple of our volunteers went to the flat and saw the conditions, one of them stayed at the flat with Storm and the other one went to the hospital and got his owner to relinquish Storm to us immediately by signing a relinquish form which he was happy to do.
“Storm was taken to one of our emergency fosterers, where he stayed until he was fit for his forever home.
“He weighed less than 15kg when he was rescued which is very underweight.
“He now has a wonderful life with me and enjoys running with my other dogs and weighs a normal 21kg.”
Rescue missions to Egypt
SSDR has even sent volunteers to Egypt on rescue missions.
From indescribably horrific conditions, they brought back Amigo and Hawkey to forever homes in this country.
Graham said: “Hawkey can’t walk like an ordinary dog due to brain malformation as a puppy.
“When we got him, he was covered in sores and we were told he was blind.
“We took him to our eye specialist where we found his eye lashes were on the inside of his eyes so every time he blinked he was damaging his eyes.
Intense pain
“The pain he was in was intense but he never showed it, loving life to the max.
“We removed his eye lashes but sadly his sight was too far gone, he can see shadows but he can’t see clearly.
“He has no co-ordination and walks in circles.
“Despite this he is a super happy boy, he loves the water and is famous on TikTok with his impression of drowning because he likes to look below the water surface and has no idea how to swim!”
Amigo was abandoned by his owner chained to a balcony railing.
Graham said: “He had no shade or water, he was covered in mange, emaciated and with a popped knee cap.
“He was in pain and suffering, left to it for who knows how long until he came into our care.”
Full recovery
Once SSDR got him home, he was operated on, fed and rested well, and his mange was treated.
He went on to make a full, bouncy recovery.
Rescuing the dogs from Egypt cost £3,000, not to mention thousands in vet’s bills once home, so fund-raising is an important part of SSDR’s activities.
Promotion of the charity is a fun side of the job for Graham.
He recently took two of his dogs, Tikanni and Tulok out to meet special needs pupils at Nairn Academy.
Mass howling
It culminated in a therapeutic mass howling, led by one of the children.
“The dogs were lovely with the children and the children respected them,” Graham said. “Tulok immediately rolled on the ground for belly rubs.
“One of the children did a howl, and Tulok joined in, then it escalated and everyone was howling.”
Rules for a happy home with sled dogs
To protect the dogs, SSDR retains joint ownership and issues a contract to everyone who rehomes a sled dog.
Rules for a happy home include never letting the dog off the lead unless in a controlled area; garden fences at least 6ft high —”they’re escape artists,” Graham says, with feeling; understand that they suffer from separation anxiety and need constant companionship; understand their guarding issues over things life toys and food.
“Slow introduction into a home with other pets in it is vital, including keeping them apart for a while and feeding them apart.”
Graham adds that owners need to be aware of the dogs’ high prey drive, so they’re not for homes with birds, rabbits and cats.
Like any dog, they need regular exercise, but it doesn’t need to be excessive.
Exercise especially in winter
“The need for exercise particularly applies in winter, or you notice them going hyper, but in the summer they tend to laze around more,” Graham says.
There are many roles for anyone who wants to become a volunteer with SSDR, ranging from fostering dogs, to fund raising, transport and promotion.
“It’s helpful if you know something about dogs before fostering them, but there’s plenty of work for people with no experience of them.
“To make contact with us, go through the Saints Sled Dog Rescue website and your interest will be filtered out your local area.”
Conversation