Once upon a time there were two dogs that had to learn how to work together to achieve a common goal.  Jack and George were not born to the same litter; they weren’t even born into the same type of family.  In the beginning…

Jack was born to a wealthy land-owner; George was raised on a farm.  Neither one of them had ever known what it would be like to work or play together.  Then one day, they both lost their homes and had to go sit in the animal shelter until someone would come to adopt and love them.  After a few weeks of sitting around the shelter, a kind woman came and offered to give them a good home.

Now these two had never met before this day, not even in the shelter they were kept in different cages away from everyone.  All of a sudden they were put into the back of the car in animal crates.  Well, Jack, being of the wealthy lineage, was ignoring George. George was jumping around all excited for his new adventure.  Well, things did not go right on the way back to their new home.  George’s excitement caused the crate to bounce into Jack’s crate.  Jack was never confined and was feeling car sick.  Without warning, they started arguing.  The kind woman stopped the car and talked with the boys.  “You both need to work together and be good.  Soon we will be to your new home and can meet the rest of the team.”  Jack and George eyed each other through their crates, not knowing if they wanted to finish this journey together.

The kindly woman was very patient with both of the boys.  She knew that it would take time for them to work together.  Jack was interested in his surroundings but felt a little uneasy with the idea of sleeping outside with all these other dogs.  “Who were they?” he wondered.  George on the other hand was excited to meet new dogs and learn the rules of the kennels.  This is where Jack and George would learn what family, hard work and teamwork would mean to their new life.

Jack and George were now members of a fine sled dog racing kennel.  They both had hot dinners every night, fresh warm straw in their bed every night.  Jack was adjusting and George couldn’t have been happier.  But the boys still didn’t know what it meant to work together.  Then one day the woman came out and was talking with all the dogs in the kennel.  It was time to start training for the Iditarod.  “The WHAT?” asked Jack.  The other dogs said that this was The Last Great Race.  The Iditarod is a history of animals and humans working together to help save a community.

As the woman started the training, the teams were mixed up so Jack and George never had to be put together.  The days were getting colder and the boys were learning the trails.  Jack and George were starting to love life, but still did not see eye-to-eye.  Then one day, Jack and George were left in the kennel while the other team went for their training run.  George wanted to try out this wheel thing that was in the corner of the yard but he didn’t know how to get it going.  Jack had no interest in anything that George was doing.

As the day wore on, George was trying his hardest to get the contraption moving.  Jack, thinking that he was raised in a very wealthy family and was trained would show George a thing or two, so George hopped on.  It wouldn’t move!  George and Jack started taking turns to try to get it to move, nothing.  Then Jack had an idea, “Let’s watch the others and see what they do.”  They were getting on the wheel two at a time.  “Hey”, George exclaimed, “We can do that!”  Jack looked at George.  “We didn’t start off on the right paw when we met”, Jack said.  “Why don’t we get to know each other and try this together?”  George was thrilled.  As they started to talk, they found out that they both had a lot of interest in the new sport of racing and learning about the Iditarod.  They also learned that they wanted to be the new leaders for the kind ladies team.  Both agreed they had better start working together if they wanted the important position at the front of the team.  Jack and George looked at the wheel again, took a flying leap and started running.  The wheel began to turn.  Slowly, then it started to pick up speed.  They were doing it!  The training wheel was turning and they were having fun!

Put yourself in Jack or George’s position.  How would you have handled the situation of meeting someone new?  Have you ever been in a situation where had to work together with someone that you didn’t like or didn’t know?  What did you do?  What does teamwork mean to you?

Take a moment to think of how this story might end.  Now write your ending.

By Dawn Owens Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ Finalist