I finally got to pet my first sled dog of this trip!

Meet Tikanni.  Tikaani means “wolf” in Ahtna Athabascan.  She is a village sled dog from Aniak, Alaska who is living and working in Wasilla at the Dorothy G. Page Museum.  She is training to be a lead sled dog, but she is also getting her therapy dog training.  She has even been to dog obedience school and gotten lots of training! She is a pretty amazing dog!  The museum is hoping that by this summer she will be working at the museum to help teach visitors about sled dogs and mushing.   

We are spending the week in Wasilla, Alaska.  Wasilla was founded in 1917 as a railroad depot and a supply town for the gold mines in Hatcher Pass.  

This afternoon I got to visit Shaw Elementary – Home of the Sun Dogs!  I met with each grade from kindergarten through third grade and got to talk about my home state of Maryland, telling stories, and of course the Iditarod!  The kids were great and even gave their “howls” of appreciation at the end of the talks!