We don’t give enough thought to these connections, I don’t think.  To watch a bird pick at a dog’s bone without the dog try to stop them, that connection runs deep, in some way.  It is against what humans would believe as the dog’s primal instinct.  These connections are in the forest and in the human world all around us; we connect with some people in ways sometimes we don’t understand, we connect with our animals that don’t speak our language, but yet that connection runs deeper than with people we have known our whole lives.   For thousands of years humans have connected animal spirits with the world around them, giving those animals the deepest respect for essentially creating the earth.

There was a reason people saw these animal spirit worlds, for people to worship these natural connections, but it seems we have lost the ability to see that.  We seem to now only worship the animal kingdom we can somehow control; if we can dress them up, train them robotic or brag about their man-made pedigree, we consider them a part of us, but we compartmentalize the rest into food, annoyances and wild or dangerous.  If a person was to hit a Pomeranian on the road, it would be tragic, but we can run over a raccoon time and time again without thought.  We don’t want to shoot a deer in the woods because that would be cruel, but we can look at slabs of flesh packaged and put on display in stores without a blink of an eye.

I geuss this connection is what I strive to teach–the camp I have been working on with the OSPCA started this past week, and although a tough job to keep the program focus on this connection, as it is sometimes hard to get people’s head around really fostering kid’s connections to animals in a meaningful way,not just the “pet-the-dog warm and fuzzy way” , I think it will pay off for that one or two kids the “get it”.  You never know when you have another Temple Grandin or Jane Goodall in your group.

“A long time ago, the Raven looked down from the sky and saw that the people of the world were living in darkness.  The ball of light was kept hidden by a selfish old chief.  So the Raven turned itself into a spruce needle and floated on the river where the chief’s daughter came for water.  She drank the spruce needle.  She became pregnant and gave birth to a boy which was the raven in disguise.  The baby cried and cried until the chief gave him the ball of light to play with.  As soon as he had the light, the Raven turned back into himself and carried the light into the sky.  From then on, we no longer lived in darkness.” (From a Tlingit story)

Ara and Pota

Summer has started, which is nice, because that means the end is on it’s way (hehe).

Don’t get me wrong, I love the sun, but, it is an interesting time for dog sledders.  For many it is puppy time.  Not for us, yet–but soon. This year it has been a hard transistion from running, for me and the dogs.  The dogs started the spring/summer season exploring the back forests, deciding to make some major escapes.  At least the neighbours know what my dogs looks like now! (I had one person say to me “I thought there was a wolf pack on the road!”).  Then I seperated my shoulder on a cool day, taking the dogs for a run on a cart that is obviously WAY too small for their strength now, since they threw me off like a rag doll.  So, all in all, a great start (there is sarcasm in that statement). 

 I really do start to feel out of sorts after a long time not running them consistently, not being on the trail, so I started getting in some good running with one or two, just on foot.  Quite possibly some of the most relaxing mornings ever, running with my dogs.  We also have visits from some other husky friends (Emony and Ara) for some major running around the yard.  They usually end up laying there, tired, hot and sick of the bugs (which is what these pictures are of!)

This summer is proving to be productive in many ways, though. Many fences fixed, holes filled in (and then dug again, of course), gardens planted.  I am also working with the Ontario SPCA on their new humane education camp and school programs, which is what I love. Using animals , nature and their connections to create  programs for youth .  Kids are so disconnected, from their neighbours, nature, from eachother, animals and what can be taught with them goes a long way.   I have also had some great conversations with some other mushers about expanding their dog sled tours into more of an educational program, with the possiblitiy of some collaboration, which is amazing! 

And,  then there is still the draw north.  Despite all of this work, the solitude and life of the Yukon is on my mind, all the time.  It is a difficult balance, to want to share the dogs, share the life, re connect people using these beautiful animals,  and still have that life on the trail–on a long, never ending trail, with only the dogs to contend with. 

Stagger and Emony

I watched the ceremonial start to the Iditarod in downtown Anchorage, which a pretty big city, with  main roads closed so the mushers could make their way through town.  Busy really doesn’t describe it.  It was crazy.  People lining the streets, with so many tourists from the lower 48 states who travelled to see this, which really surprised me.  Token fur hats worn by women from Texas. Everywhere.

It showed me how unbelievably popular the Iditarod is in this state.  It is the equivalent of our hockey, really.  It just amazed me the amount of money people paid to be “Idita-riders”, to ride the sled over that start line with their favorite musher.  Thousands of dollars!  But really, what better people to be celebrities than mushers?

  So lining the main street are fans upon fans, and volunteers manning the fences to keep them off the “trail” (road), but I went down the side streets, and it was just like any other sled dog race parking lot, dirty dog trucks, dogs chained up and waiting to be put on the gang line and mushers waiting to go.  It was so..surreal.

I couldn’t handle the crowds for very long, so I left after taking some of these pictures.  I wish I was attending the re-start in Willow Sunday to watch them actually head out on the trail, watch the dogs in something other than a city setting, and how the mushers really prepare for the challenge, but I will be gone. 

I did head up to Willow, though,after the chaos in the city.  For my last adventure I headed north of the city to visit a fellow Siberian/Seppala kennel owner Peter Duncan, at Gealach Mor Kennel.  Willow turned out to be a musher’s paradise–really.  Miles upon miles of trail, for dog sledding!  Not snowmobiles!  Musher’s feed stores–unbelievable.  Dog sledder associations, and kennels everywhere.  

 Peter’s home is beautiful,and the dog yard,more beautiful, and the dogs–stunning.  We had an amazing afternoon in the sunshine, in the quiet of  Willow,surrounded by many dogs running free, talking dogs, trails and eating chocolate cake (thank you again for that!).

With the Iditarod just around the corner, I can’t help but think about some of the amazing women that have a place in the history of the north, and this race; Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod, and Susan Butcher, a woman to win 4 times, Elizabeth Ricker, a partner of Leonard Seppala, to name a few. 

But more than winning, these woman took the driving dogs to another level.  Mushing was thought of as a man’s sport,but after an amazing meeting with a woman today, who told stories of some of the impactful women that escaped to the north in the seventies, women proved that not only could they mush, compete and win, but our softer way, but still being tough on those trails, focusing on the dogs and their care and health, like Susan Butcher did back in the eighties, showed a different way to live and work with animals.

Shelly Gill, who I had the pleasure of meeting, started out her journey reading White Fang when she was young in the late sixties, where she said living in California, the only choice for women then was  ”to be a barbie doll” or get the hell out of there!  So she did.  She drove her VW bus to Alaska.  Living in tents with women like Susan Butcher, running dogs,living on nothing,and fishing for their dog’s food, eating jars of frozen peanut butter to survive. She had such a spirited way of describing the early days of the Iditarod; living with the dogs and surviving together.

Shelly’s mushing and living in remote Alaska led her to such an amazing life  where she now studies and lives the northern environment.  She spoke about so many of her children’s books, because like many up here,  touched by animals and nature around them,they want to share it with youth.  Her books are about so much, like the bears in Alaska,and how some are evolving, changing, different species breeding together because of the climate bringing them closer, and some are going extinct, like the Blue Bear, a strange coloured bear found in the arctic regions.  She talked about the Picas, little meat eating rabbits that like to chow down on the frozen birds that fall from the sky.  Yep–at some point in the year there are winds that whip birds up many, many feet in the air,so high they freeze, and then, they fall.  The skies rain frozen birds!  Then,these little Picas, these meat eating critters, snatch them up and eat them!!  She has stories about salmon trees, trees that are on the edge of rivers that eat from the decomposing salmon at the bed of the river, because salmon up here spawn, then die.  Her stories from the trail intrigued me the most, of course, and we had a great, long discussion on salmon head stew for running dogs (I know, shocking I would want to talk dog grub!), and she told me about a time when wildlife and her team mixed;  one day on the trail 3 wolves came out of the bush , and charged her team, or so she thought.  Asleep at the “wheel”, she woke and fumbled for her gun, but it wasn’t there.  All the while the wolves were now running along side, not at her team. She eventually gave up fighting it,and went back to riding the sled, and they ran off on their own.  Pretty spectacular.  Her dog mushing days are over, but her relationship with her sled dogs, which she says ” the highest relationship you can have is the relationship with your sled dog” was the beginning of a life full of education and knowledge about the environment and natural world around her–a pretty amazing woman.

Another woman that I have to mention is another woman named Carmen,who lives in Homer,Alaska.  She is passionate about getting kids outside, and has really caught on that dog sledding, and children,and getting them outside, and active, can be connected so easily.  Her idea, Idita Nature, which is obviously a play on the Iditarod race, is her way of getting through to parents and teachers that we need to get kids outside,more connected!  She is challenging kids to get outside 1 minute for every mile run in the race.

A great concept. The Iditarod folks loved the idea, and I will be helping with more dog sledding outdoor programming to put on the sight.  Pretty exciting.

And, I can’t forget the amazing women at my confrence.  Teachers, all women, from Tennesse,Florida, Missippi, (I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “oh,you have your own dog team?!” in southern drawl this week!) so many states, that have taken the intiative to bring subjects like the Iditarod,sled dogs, mushing, different climates, native cultures, team work and outdoor activities into their classrooms.  They have brought such eye opening subjects to their lucky, lucky students.  Finney, my favorite lady of the bunch.  She was the pioneer of the education program, and was the very first teacher on the trail (every year a teacher goes out on the trail to each checkpoint of the race, crashing on floors with the mushers and volunteers and teaching the world,and all the different village kids,about what is happening) and the pioneer of a great concept.  She is an inspiration!

His dogs are alaskans, and really well taken care of.  He has his sled all packed and ready for the trail (starts this weekend!) and shared many stories from years gone by.

After about 13 hours of travel,stop overs in Detroit and Utah, we arrived in Alaska about 1 am Monday.

My reason for the trip is to take part is The Iditerod Educators Conference (more about the conference).  The chance to collaborate with other educators that see the undoubtable benefits of using animals and dog mushing  in the classroom, and really, any children’s or youth group.  It can teach history, empathy, get children and adults outside,active,curious and excited. 

I also knew I would be exposed to other mushers,and the “Iditarod life”, which is something I know nothing about,and am curious about.  It is the race based on an event that a man,Leonard Seppala, took part in so long ago (the race),and the more I know about sled dogs,the more important to me his history becomes.

The first days have been amazing.  Meeting teachers that have followed the Iditarod trail, that have brought their passion for dogs into the classroom–brought mushing into very lesson they could.  And mushers who really get it.  Big kennels that do so much for the education department–concentrate on literacy, help with physical education classes, create special events or things for teachers to use in their classroom.  Pretty neat.

 We met an amazing couple, Jon and Jona Van Zyle (www.jonvanzyle.com) ,beautiful artists and dogsledders from Alaska, who invited us into their home and dog yard.  They showed us their pride in their Sibrians,and told us stories of the Iditerod in the seventies and eighties. Jon Van Zyle and I began to talk about dogs,and the fact that we see so little Siberians in races anymore–and how we become more than annoyed when we hear the term “slow-berians”!  If you go back far enough,the Russian dogs Leonard Seppala brought over,the dogs that were the foundation of huskies we know today, you would have seen these dogs were hearty, easy keeping,working animals that have a bond with their drivers like non other.  Unfortuneately some of these lines of  dogs have lost so much of their working ability because there was a choice made to breed for beauty; but that is not  the rule!  Working lines are still around, and it was intresting to tell him about my own dogs, the Seppala Siberian Sled Dog, and their lineage, and our interest in going further back to original Russian sled dogs and integrating that into our kennel.

Jon went on to tell me abut the Hope Race he organized in the late eighties,where him and some other invited mushers raced from Nome, Alaska to Siberia.  He showed me pictures of cultural gatherings and Native people from Siberia, and most importantly, the native dogs that Seppala himself would have picked to come over in the early 1900’s,if he was there. Jon and Jona were excited and knowlegable bout the rich history of sleddogs and the Iditerod,how the race came to be and how important people like Eizabeth Ricker, Leonard Seppala and ther old time mushers were to what we know today, in the dogs and the races .

Their stories really brought home the importance of history on the trail and especially in programs that involves sleddogs.  Even if it is not in the classroom,if we have people for a tour, an outdoor program, anything that involves sled dogs, we must not forget to bring it back to where it all started; there wasn’t always kennels just based on speed, or beauty–people had dogs because the needed them–they worked together to survive.  The Iditarod started based on a run that happened to save a village, and dogs were brought over from Siberia to perform better in everyday life, not just to win, or take part in a sport.  This original relationship with people needs to be highlighted to teach that we don’t race, and have dogs for just winning-they are an important part of our life,and have been for a long time.

These two brothers, along with their six malamute siblings, were bottle fed by us and raised for the next 10 weeks.  They were adopted,  then these two brothers were unfortuneately surrendered back to the Alaskan Malamute Help League one year later.  They are still in foster homes,and need a good home–they are lovely,lovely dogs!  They are loving, affectionate and gentle.  I think the only reason they are not adopted is because they need to be adopted together. Here is the link to the rescue they are with and their details: http://www.malamuterescue.com/Adoption/090328_boscoandbruizer/new-adopt.html

E-mail us or the rescue for any more information!