Catch up News

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.

I just got great news tonight! My friend, Brooke Bohannon, is going to be able to come to the Quest with me to be my handler. This is a very important job as she will be driving the truck from start to finishe, checkpoint to checkpoint. She will be able to help me only at the halfway point at Dawson City, but she will be taking care of any dogs that don't make the final team and any dogs that are "dropped" along the way. If, for any reason, a dog needs to stop and not continue the race, I can "drop" them to the care of my handler. This system is set up to protect the health and livelihood of all the dogs. This is a great system to have in place for a younger dog on a more mature team. I will have at least one yearling to fill out my team. He or she will be going with no expectation but for the learning experience. If at some point s/he needs to stop, I can leave the dog with Brooke and know that it will get the best care possible and be well fed, rested, and loved when I see them again at the finishline. Knowing that Brooke will be there to care for my dogs not on the trail with me will give me great peace of mind and let me better focus on the dogs that are still racing with me.

I first met Brooke in Juneau, AK in the summer of 2005 when we were working for competing glacier dog sled tour companies. We met on a day off in the upstairs of the Alaskan bar in downtown Juneau on a day off. Little did we know then that we would end up living in Whitefish, MT and training our teams together. Brooke and her husband, Sean, have had sled dogs for more than a dozen years, starting in New Hampshire. They have done some racing and had a lot of fun but are slowly phasing out of sled dogs and on to the next thing.

Brooke, Sean, and I started a dog race, Flathead Sled Dog Days, here in NW Montana. 2010 will be our 3rd year and it's been a great event and has been nice to give something back to the sport. We have been neighbors for the last 2 1/2 years. Without Brooke and Sean, I would never get to go away without worrying about my dogs. We swap dog sitting and thus we all get a chance to have a little vacation here and there. I wish Sean could come along too. Then I wouldn't have to worry about a thing. Thank you, Sean, for letting me borrow your wife for a few weeks.

Sled Dogs are Tough

If you don't believe that sled dogs are tough, you will now. We got back from a 16 mile training run today and I noticed that Jersey had a cut on her hind leg about and inch and a half long. I brought her home with me and put four sutures in it with no anesthetic. She only squeaked once on the first stitch but hardly moved. When I finished, she got a cookie, a car ride, and a walk at Round Meadows. She is good as new and doesn't even know that she got hurt.

They Grow Up Fast!

GROUP PHOTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait, where did everybody go? Puppies at 8 weeks old don't stay still long enough for a group photo. You think you have them all together, but by the time the camera clicks, they are gone. I did do a few more shots, 135 to be exact, to get some better pictures of the newest additions to the kennel.

Feeding time is the most important time of the day. And it apparently doesn't come often enough. This pup wants to make sure she won't miss dinner!

Sled dog pups are often named with themes for the litter. I am at a loss for a theme for these guys. I only plan on keeping 2 and am looking for home for the rest. I have 2 names in mind for the 2 who are staying. But I am thinking that they need names pretty soon. If you have ideas for names, send me an email, eveningstarkennel@gmail.com.

Fully weaned for a week now, the pups are excited for new adventures!

Evening Star Kennel: Origins

I was in North Carolina last weekend in the area where I grew up for my brother Jamie's wedding. It was a nice wedding that completely represented Jamie and my new sister, Sarah Jane. I got to see lots of friends and family as well as several people from the distant past. As I was handing out Evening Star Kennel business cards, I got one question from almost everyone, "How did you come up with the name 'Evening Star'?" I guess it is time to tell the story.

My first sled dog job was as a tour guide in Jackson, WY. One of my main leaders was a little freight train of a dog named Venus. She always wanted to go and made it quite clear that she was not happy to be left behind. Once February and March roll around, most tour dogs know the routine and don't get excited about going until the harness are actually being worn. Venus, on the other hand, would bark incessantly as soon as the sled came out of the barn to get set up and ready for the day. In order to stop the noise, I often let her loose to hang out by the sleds where she immediately quieted down and found a good spot to take a snooze near her spot in lead. Needless to say, I got a little attached. At the end of the season party, I asked my boss, Frank, if I could have her. He said yes and the rest became history.

Venus went everywhere with me for 6 years. She was my constant companion. We made at least 3 road trips across the country. We hiked 500 miles on the Colorado Trail in 5 weeks one summer. She went to Alaska to do glacier tours. Venus saw more states than a lot of people. She was the only thing I didn't lose in my cabin fire the year I ran Iditarod. She wasn't just my dog but my best friend.

Venus lost her hearing as she got older and gave me a scare a few times when I would come home and see her stretched out in the sunshine but never moving until I slammed the car door. In March of 2008, I left Venus at a friend's house while we went out for dinner. While we were gone, the roommate came home and Venus bolted out the door. She just wanted to go do something fun. She wouldn't come to him and ended up taking off towards town. Despite postering the town, going door to door, and driving many hours looking for her, I never found her.

I still miss her everyday and wanted a way to keep her with me as I go down the trail. I was struggling with a name for the kennel when someone told me that Venus is the Evening Star. I knew instantly that it was perfect. So, the kennel is named for Venus, in her honor and in her memory.

The Pups are getting Personality...

The puppies are growing fast and becoming little individuals. When they first opened their eyes and could see the world, they were terrified of me. But they are coming around and most of them are getting very social. No one has a name yet because I can't keep them all. But they aren't an amorphous mass anymore either. One of the black females is super sweet and is definitely vying for one of the spots in the kennel. Everyone is looking healthy and eating real food. Etna is still being a good mom, even though the pups now have teeth and tend to use them. I wish they could stay this size and then become dogs overnight. The totally obnoxious stage isn't too far away.

Puppy update

The pups have opened their eyes and had their first meal last night. I notice the 2 brown girls in Etna's dish last night while she was eating. So I soaked a little bit for the pups. I had to put them all by the pan, but they seemed to know what to do. Until half of them fell asleep in the dish. This morning they did a little better and everyone had a bit before heading back to mom to nurse. They are getting more mobile by the day and can hear now. They are all a little shocked by my voice and handling now that they can see and hear me. But I am sure they will soon get over that and know me as the other mother to them. Everyone is healthy and the size discrepancy is not so noticeable any more.

On another note, the big dogs have now had 3 runs and are all doing very well. I have run different leaders each time getting 3 dogs some lead time in each run. My goal is to have at least 10 solid leaders in my Quest team. It's looking very achievable right now. It seems that summer is already winding down here in Montana and the mornings have been quite cool. Makes me want to go everyday. More later....