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Zuma's Paw Prints
Dear Friends, The dog teams in the 2023 Iditarod have blasted onto the trail! Most of us picture a musher raising puppies, training them into sled dogs, feeding, scooping poop, and making them into a team. But, what if a person wants to race with dogs, yet cannot keep a full dog kennel of their …
Dear Friends, It is an exciting week in Alaska! The mushers and their sled dogs are getting ready for the big start of the race on Saturday and Sunday. Last minute packing and planning is going on in the kennels. Meanwhile, in Anchorage, a teachers’ conference is going on with three teachers who are super …
Dear Friends, Gypsy, canine reporter, here! Right now, mushers are beginning fall training runs with me and my sled dog friends. We need to keep in shape! Another task to begin is planning dog food and musher food for the Iditarod. Dog food is expensive, but easier to gather. We dogs need high performance, dry …
Libby here! As I get close to being one whole year old, I’ve been remembering all the changes that have happened in my life so far. A lot of what I remember are the rhythms and routines of my puppy year. The first rhythm I remember was my mother’s heartbeats. Thumpa thumpa thumpa! Our squirming …
Leaping Libby here, the puppy who dreams of being a real sled dog someday. Now that the snow is flying, it’s getting more serious around here. The team gets howling when it’s time to hook up to the sleds. They focus on pulling-pulling-pulling. They slam into their harnesses, trying to get the sled to go …
Greetings, Teachers! Spring is in the air and temperatures are rising. While basking in the sun and taking an afternoon nap the other day on the front porch, my buddy, Topaz, and I overheard sweet music coming from the house. Capturing our attention and echoing dreamily in our ears was a set of lyrics from …
Dear Friends, The race is done for this year! What an exciting time it was for everyone! Many of the mushers and us dogs are already thinking about next year…”What can we do better?” “Will the weather be better or worse?” Two things happen at the end of the race. The Widow’s Lamp that has …
Dear Friends, It’s been tough for those still on the trail. Some of you may have wondered what was taking so long to go 77 miles from White Mountain to Nome. Three mushers have scratched due to a severe ground storm with high winds past White Mountain. That region has wind tunnels which have affected …
Dear Friends, Some of you may ask, “Why do teams stop for so long in the White Mountain checkpoint?” The rules of the Iditarod race require all teams to stop for an 8- hour rest. This slows everyone down before the final 77 miles to Nome. What happens there? A hole in the river ice …
Hello friends, Usually I get mail from students or classrooms, but today in my doghouse I had a question from Pastor Rob. He wrote “I realize the racers have to sleep. But the fact that they seem to stop and sleep at the same place at the same time is confusing to me. This would …