The Alaskan huskies were seized by the Valley County Sheriff’s Office in February and brought to the MCPAWS Regional Animal Shelter for rehabilitation, and their former owner, Kevin Daugherty, of McCall, was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty.
Allegations include allowing two of his dogs to die of malnourishment and five counts of “knowing or intending” for an animal to be maliciously deprived of necessary food, water or shelter.
Daugherty is set to stand trial for the allegations and was charged with seven misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. His next hearing in the case is at 9 a.m. July 16 at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.
“The dogs were extremely hungry upon arrival, one even tried to eat a cellphone during the intake exam,” MCPAWS Executive Director Cortney Bayuk.
The MCPAWS team slowly fed the dogs prescription food to bring their weights up, and provided exercise and enrichment. Rehabilitation costs for the dogs were close to $20,000 — 50% of that cost was covered through a partnership with VCSO and MCPAWS.
The dogs were also vaccinated, spayed or neutered and microchipped.
While the dogs were recovering, MCPAWS worked with the Idaho Sled Dog community to locate an adopter. When Van Langendon heard about the five dogs, he was immediately interested.
“Many mushers get into the sport of driving dog teams because we fall in love with Alaskan huskies and then realize they love to run long distances,” said Van Langendon, 36.
“In other words, my passion for the dogs came first and then I discovered the joy and thrill of standing on the runners of a dog sled,” he said.
Van Langendon met Daugherty briefly and did not know much about Daugherty’s struggles, but the dogs’ situation was very uncommon and neglect is rare with dog mushers, he said.
“I’m sure he never envisioned this outcome for his dogs,” Van Langendon said.
“Our dogs are a matter of personal pride and the vast majority of mushers spend countless hours raising, training and caring for our dogs,” he said. “And when we do hear about these rare cases, we work together to try and create healthy outcomes for the dogs.”
Van Langendon met the five dogs at MCPAWS, and hit it off from the start with a few of them. The dogs, Toska, Zuma, Reggie, Sterling and Socks, eagerly climbed into his dog truck and quickly bedded down, he said.
“Toska greeted me by leaning into me with all her weight and demanding that I pet her,” he said. “Unsurprisingly, she’s gotten more and more persistent as our bond has grown.”
Van Langendon was worried the dogs might have lost some of their spark or would take a long time to trust him, but the dogs have bonded with him and now greet him with excitement instead of caution.
“Each dog still has that glow in their eyes, which shows their love for life,” he said. “They seem so happy now and you’d never guess what they endured — truly tough and loving dogs.”
Van Langendon plans to rebuild the dog’s muscles to restore them as sled dogs. He wants to include the five dogs in winter mid-distance races, including the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge.
“We have a shared future and shared goals,” he said.
— Sierra Christie, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday