and Malamute , and all personality ! He ’ s just a beast , 65 pounds of solid brute-force yet so affectionate and sweet , so gentle with kids and he loves people .”
A road dog since day one , Yukon flips out when sees Rich ’ s tour bus . “ He associates it with his eight uncles on that bus waiting to see him ,” says Rich . “ Radio DJs hang with Yukon , fans bring him toys ; people couldn ’ t wait to see Abby but I retired her from the bus because it became too stressful for her . Yukon ’ s taken that spotlight , which Abby ’ s very happy about . Like most big dogs , Yukon has zero awareness of his size . I ’ ll be in the bus bunk wrapped up in a blanket and wake up in the pitch black and he ’ s on top of my entire body ! I get claustrophobia attacks ! ( Laughs .) Still under a year old , Yukon sometimes practices the art of chewing . “ If we leave that bus and don ’ t hide everything , he ’ ll eat something within one minute . Sabina visited her family in Poland , got stuck in Amsterdam and finally made it to Indianapolis for our show . She was super jet lagged and rolled into the bunk for a nap and passed out cold , and Yukon went in for a snack — he ate her knee-high boots on her feet like a corn on the cob ! He started at the top and worked down to the heel all the way to the toe and back . He had corn on the cob buffet !”
Rich has received his share of punishment over the years from Abby every time he ’ s hit the road . “ I ’ d come home and get side-eyed and sassed ,” laughs Rich . “ She ’ d get over it then howl , talk and chirp , then circle on the bed and sprint through the house for two hours straight — we call it ‘ wolf mode .’ We loved Abby so much my Mom adopted a bonded pair of Huskies . By the time I was 20 we had four Huskies so the whole ‘ wolf pack ’ thing came about ; friends called me Wolfman ! My house is the wolf den , our band ’ s got illustrated Husky / wolf head logos on guitar picks , drum heads , our tent we put up on the bus , which we call ‘ the cabin ’ cause of its old school cabin vibes , and sometimes the wolves are tied up outside it . We are through and through the wolf pack !” Pals now , Abby first deemed 3-month-old Yukon public enemy number one . “ Abby ’ ll be 17 in August and was like , ‘ What the hell is this !’” laughs Rich . “ I felt a new buddy might give her new life and hoped Yukon picked up her traits ; he has , and probably picked up her sass because she ’ s constantly yelling and swatting at him ! He ’ s so good with her now ; she hobbles
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