My dog sledding story begins in 1985, I was living in downtown Anchorage attending the University of Alaska, Anchorage. I was bored one Saturday morning in March and decided to walk a few blocks over from my little house to the corner of 15th and Cordova. I watched as large teams of up to twenty dogs roared down the street at top speed starting out on their 1049 mile journey to Nome.
I watched as Susan Butcher went by, yelling things to her handler that stood on the sled she towed behind her. They were working to control many dogs on grainy snow. I didn't know then what I know now - that her snow hook didn't stand a chance of holding in the unpacked snow atop asphalt streets. She was basically out of control and hanging on with as much dignity as she could muster.
Libby Riddles went by, her brake making the snow arch up as she descended the steep Cordova hill into Mulcahey Park. She wore fur and looked ready to spend a few weeks out on a trap line in the remote wilderness. Her dogs ran smooth and strong but the thousands of people lining the street made them nervous.
I didn't know it at the time but I was watching two women that would turn the male dominated sport of mushing on its ear. I caught their spirit that year as they passed me standing on that street corner. I thought to myself, I've been born and raised in Alaska and if they can do it, so can I. Thus began my passion for dogs and what we mushers affectionately call "the sickness".
The next year found me back in my home-town of Fairbanks attending the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. I lived in a remote cabin on the outskirts of town with no running water and an outhouse. Out my back door was hundreds of acres of undeveloped state land with miles upon miles of trail. I acquired three young pups. A husky-malamute mix named Miler, a Chesapeake-lab-husky mix named Hunie and a pure bred Siberian Husky named Royal Hawaiian Kahuna.
I hooked this group of young energetic dogs together on a home made sled of two by fours and plywood. I figured with age comes wisdom, so naturally I decided that my leader would be the oldest dog, Hunie, who was a little over one year of age. Miler would run lead with Hunie because he was the second oldest and Kahuna would run wheel because he was the youngest of the bunch at seven months.
After several attempts to put the harnesses on my young team of wiggling, enthusiastic dogs I got them hooked together for their first run. Climbing on the back of the sled I took tight hold of the drive bar, in anticipation of the jolt the dogs would give me as they left the dog yard at top speed, and yelled, "Mush!"
My loud command startled Miler, he turned around to stare at me, tail tucked and ears back as if I was mad at him. Hunie wasn't as affected, he found an interesting pile of yellow snow within reach to sniff. Kahuna had the best idea of them all, as would be characteristic of him throughout his life, he stood still insulted and bored, if he had been human he would have been rolling his eyes and sighing at how stupid I was.
Frustrated that my team wouldn't leave the dog yard I huffed back inside my cabin. I read the newspaper to try to calm myself. My eyes went straight to the mushing column in the want ads.
Old Sled Dog
Runs Lead
$50.00
I looked out my window at the three young dogs chained in front of their dog houses. "We definitely could use some help!" I decided.
I made a call and that afternoon went to meet the lead dog with no name. He was mostly black with some brown markings. A black wolf looking sort of dog. "He's somewhere around twelve years old and he used to run in Denali Park for a Yukon Quest musher." Was all the rotund lady could tell me. "He has a little bit of arthritis, nothing that an aspirin, now and then, won't cure. He don't got a name but we've been calling him D.O.G. (Deoge). Get it? Dog?" I nodded politely, gave her fifty dollars and loaded him up in my "dog truck" which was my Honda civic.
Doege seemed happy to move from a dog yard filled with fifty plus dogs to a dog yard of four. He was a quite and thoughtful dog. When I would play hide and seek with all four dogs, the three young pups would run around wildly looking for any sign of me while Deoge wouldn't break a walk as he calmly and methodically followed my scent to my hiding place.
I put him in front of my young team the next time I attempted to leave the dog yard by way of my make shift sled. I told him to go and he went, pulling the bewildered puppies with him. I asked a lot of the old dog that first mushing season and he came through without a complaint. He had those puppies pulling hard after only two lessons. But I have to say it took me much longer to learn the tricks of the trade. I have an old lead dog to thank for everything I know about dog mushing….. that is everything of real importance.
Many of the older dogs in the Sun Dog Express dog yard have learned from Miler, Hunie and Kahuna, who all ran lead for me in their older years. These older dogs in turn are in the process of training the younger generation in a never-ending cycle. Sadly Doege, Hunie, Miler and Kahuna are no longer with me but their legacy lives on in the Sun Dog Express dog yard.
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