Hi Boys and Girls,

First let me give you an update on Cousin Irving. Karen left for Alaska this week with 24 dogs. Unfortunately, Irving was not among the lucky 24. He is sad but doing well. His sister Bingo did make the top 24. While sad for himself, he is happy for Bingo. Irving will now rest a little and then start getting ready for next year.

Now for my big news. Saturday was a great day for my brother Slate and myself. My human told me we were going to go for our first run. The whole kennel got really excited and we weren’t sure why. Grandma Lyra told me to listen so that we could hear what the humans were doing. I heard some jingling and and realized they were very busy. They were getting the dog truck ready to go. Then the humans came and put collars on us and leashed us and started taking everyone to the truck. The dog truck only holds 6 dogs and there were 8 of us going. My human had put crates in her car and tried to put me in the crate. OH NO- I only ride in a crate in the car to go to the vet. I wasn’t going to go to the vet and I let her know that. She tried to put me in the crate but I stiffened my legs and spread them out so I wouldn’t fit. With the help of the other human, they got both Slate and I into the crates. We weren’t happy. We knew it was a trick.

We went for a really short ride and stopped at a new place. There were 6 dog trucks there and lots of dogs. But what a surprise, daddy Skor was there and cousin Bongo, Irvings other sister. I had heard she had moved to NH a few months ago but I hadn’t met her yet. My humans and Bongos humans took a few other dogs out first. When they came back it was our turn. Slate and I were taken out of the crates and put on a chain hooked to a truck. We tried to get away but couldn’t. My human told me that we had to be there to have our harnesses put on and to get ready to go. Bongo was next to us. She was so calm. She told us to relax because this would happen before each run. She also said that we’d get water and snacks while on the line. I still didn’t like it but I guess there’s not much I can do about it.

My human brought over the harnesses. I was hoping she had bought me that pretty blue harness I wanted. She put a red harness on Slate and a maroon one on me. She told me that maybe when I make the team, I can have the blue harness. The maroon one did fit me and it is kinda pretty but I think I’d look much prettier in blue.

There was so much going on. The sled was set up with ropes. My humans unleashed us from the truck and took us to the ropes and hooked us up again. Slate and I were so scared and we tried to get away again. My human got down with us and talked to us calmly. She explained that the line that was between us is called a gangline. She said to think about it as the gang’s all here. All the dogs, going on this run were hooked up to this line in two places. First the back of my harness was hooked to a line called the tugline. My human said that I needed to pull and keep this line tight- I was to tug on it. Then there was a line coming off my collar called a neck line. This line also hooked up to the gangline. Other dogs were brought to the gangline. I turned around and there was Bongo, behind me. I felt much better. Behind Slate was our half brother Brady. Brady and Bongo were the wheel dogs. Slate and I were the team dogs and Holly and Quest, who have lots of experience, were the lead dogs. The humans hooked up two sleds. One behind the other. The back sled is called a drag sled. This way Bongos human and my human could both go on the run and see how we did. It also meant there would be 2 humans in case there were any problems. I guess some times first time runners like Slate and I can have some difficulties.

I heard the words “Ready?” and “let’s go”. Quest and Holly started running, Bongo and Brady started running, Slate and I???? we had no choice, we started running. I heard my human laughing at us. We got our feet under us and we were off. What an incredible feeling. The humans were telling us how good we were doing. I tried to look at the beautiful scenery but I had to stay focused on what I was doing. We slowed down a little and what good smells there were. I smelled other dogs, and animals like moose and deer. I don’t know what a moose is, but it sure smells good. That’s when I learned the command of “on by”. That means no matter how good something smells or looks, I have to leave it and keep running. That’s really hard to do sometimes. Then there were sounds. One sound really scared me. It was loud and this big green thing was coming towards us. I wasn’t too sure about it. My human said it was a snowmobile and it was okay. The green thing passed us and something human looking on it waved at us. I was glad when it was gone even if it seemed friendly.

We ran about 3 miles and then we were back at the dog truck. I wasn’t ready to stop. I was having so much fun. My human came and told me we’d go again soon. She hugged me and gave me lots of human kisses on my nose. Then she said that I was now a real sled dog.

OH BOY, maybe I’ll get my blue harness now.

Till our trails meet again,

Gypsy