Our lead sled dog guide and musher, Elise Miller, tells the story of the start of our company. She always says you'll learn everything you need to know from an old lead dog.
The
Sun Dog Express
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.
 |
| Deoge. The only picture we have of our pioneering lead dog. It was dinner time and he was happy dinner was on it's way. |
 |
| Miler and Hunie (respectively). Yearlings that later became the leaders for many a Sun Dog Express Dog Team. |
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.
