It's been a while since I have posted an update. Life at Evening Star Kennel is busy as usual, and combine that with my personal life and job and all the other things I decided to overcommit myself to, things have been crazy. But, all in all, things are coming along nicely for our Quest starting in just over 14 weeks. Training is going very well and everyone is building great pulling muscle and enduring stamina. We are running approximately 20 miles each run now. There are still 21 dogs in training and all are healthy and happy. 19 of those are taking their turn in lead and several are showing great promise for leading this winter.
I sold 3 puppies to Lacey Hart in Livingston, MT a few weeks ago where they will go on to train and race with her and hopefully take her great places. I plan to keep 2 of the 4 remaining pups. They now have names. For those horse race followers, I have "Rachel Alexandra", "Bird" for Mind that Bird, "Summer" for Summer Bird, and "Calvin" for the jockey who almost won a Triple Crown riding different horses. They are getting big and now run faster than I can keep up. My long-time friend, David Toren, came to visit for a weekend and I saw something I thought I would never see...
My friend of over 12 years who always got annoyed with me for stopping to visit every dog I saw on our college campus was actually cuddling with the pups and talking about wanting a dog, a conversation that shocked both of us. Maybe next year.
Some of the stars of training right now are the 2 yearling sisters, Voodoo and Margarita. The more we go and the harder I push the dogs, the crazier Voodoo gets. She pulls harder than anyone in the team, despite being half the size of some of her brothers, and spends every rest break barking, well, actually screaming, to go. She is running in lead and has one heck of a motor on her. Margarita is very smart and loves being in front and is already starting to learn directional commands.
I have been running 20 dogs on each run which is a very long string of dogs. Fortunately, they have been learning some manners and only drag the ATV with front and rear brakes on a few times every run. My Border Collie pet dog, Wylie, goes on every run with us and comes home much more civilized than when he doesn't get to run.
katie, I loved looking at your blog. What a full life you lead there. I admire your independence and responsibility to the dogs and the life. I wish I could come there and see all that you do. In lieu of that, we have a blog. Have a great winter! Fran Davis
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