Skye.

Meet Skye, the newest addition to our rapidly expanding family.

She came to us last Friday after several weeks of 'umming' and 'ahhing' over whether we should take the plunge and adopt a four-legged friend. To be honest, it was slightly more rushed than it should have been but an opportunity landed in our lap that probably would not have arisen again.

She was living with a lady in Barrow after she rescued her from a family that were, let's say, not treating her too well. The lady had raised Huskies her whole life but after her last one died, she had no intention of homing any more. I guess Skye was the exception - she told us that she had to take her in as she would never have forgiven herself had she left her with the old owners. She looked after her over the past year, building her up, training her and getting her back to her ideal weight ready for rehoming. As luck would have it, Adam's hairdresser knew the lady and when Adam mentioned we were thinking about getting a dog, she put us in contact.

Needless to say we have spent a small fortune on dog-related paraphernalia and have had lots of stuff very kindly donated by family and friends. I've grown up always having a dog so the whole thing is kind of second nature to me but I can tell by some of the suggestions that Adam comes out with that it is all slightly alien to him.

She's a two-year-old Siberian Husky so as you can imagine she is obsessed with exercise - she will easily walk two hours a day. It can be quite difficult fitting this in but, to be honest, I'm really enjoying the new routine and exercise - there is something incredibly therapeutic about taking the dog for a stroll last thing at night and first thing in the morning before the regular hustle and bustle of the world takes hold. I'm 9-to-5 but Adam works shifts so she is never on her own long and has a huge kitchen/conservatory to wander around in - we aren't quite comfortable with leaving her in the garden on her own yet as we've been informed that this breed are the Houdinis of the dog world. When Adam is home in the day he takes her on huge walks around the local reserves so by the time I get home she has more or less passed out.

Her whining has been a slight issue and further reading suggests that this is a common trait in Huskies. They whine. A lot. She usually starts at around 5am when she is in the conservatory and it is impossible to sleep so, after a few nights of torture, we finally gave in and allowed her to sleep in the corner of the bedroom. We haven't had any issues since. As strict and condescending as most online Husky forums are, I was surprised to find that most of the owners on there allow their dogs to sleep by them. I guess this is a strange concept to me as all of my past pets have slept in conservatories.

She's a beautiful, kind-natured dog and it is comforting to have an animal around the house once again. The routine that I am falling into is something that is much needed - one of my weakest traits is that I lack motivation and Skye is definitely helping with that. After all, it is those little things that make up our lives and keep it interesting - even if it doesn't feel that way at the time.