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  Foster Follies: Diary of an AAHI foster dog

Mush For A Cure                                       February 14, 2012

Now that I've helped Necker, I want to help several volunteers with Adopt A Husky that are participating in Mush For A Cure this year. As you may remember, FM ran me on her team for that event last year (scroll down the blog to reread). I had a blast and I'm told if I am still with FM I will be on the team again. AWESOME!!     AND........former Foster Larry will be on the team too. Imagine all the looks we will get with me all done up and a Shiba Inu/Siberian running next to me. You don't see that every day.

This year's honoree is Adopt A Husky MN's own Ana Genz-Wall, a 15 year breast cancer survivor. Ana will be there with Don Deckert and Lynn Kissock also from the MN chapter. Don is actually the one that got the Illionois volunteers involved. He told FM that we had to be there and so we went and keep going back each year. The other Illinois volunteer mushers are FM Donna Jankowski, Mary Beth Kolb, Cynthia Ropers and Deb Rawailllot. If you would would like to donate to the cause (all proceeds go to the  National Breast Cancer Foundation), and help these mushers reach their pledge goal, you can go to Mushforacure.com  or just

 Click here to go to our 2012 participants bios and fundraising pages!!!

hit the search button to bring up all the mushers and click on who you would like to help reach their pledge goal. In the contribution box, enter your pledge and hit continue. It will let you enter in your plastic money card number. If you don't want to use your plastic card money, you can always send a check made out to MUSH FOR A CURE (not Adopt A Husky) to the Adopt A Husky PO Box and the mailman will make sure I get it to take with me. Be sure to mark it "For Cookie" so the mailman knows exactly where to take it.
Thanks for reading.

Talk to you soon

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More Advice Wanted...YEA!!                            February 14, 2012

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hope my fellow pups got something extra special today from their humans. FM had me run around the big yard with Larry. That's always a special treat. It looks like my two pieces of advice were so good that word is spreading and I've gotten another email.

Hi Cookie,

My name is Necker and I'm a 17 week old Siberian Husky pup!  I live in St. Louis with my humans and my "big sister" Siberian Husky, Saba.  She is an AAH alumni, she was adopted over 9 years ago by my humans.  Wow, that's a long time!  Here's a picture of the two of us from a couple weeks ago.  I'm bigger now!  

 It sounds like you like to play a lot.  So do I!  How I can get Saba to play with me more?  She plays with me sometimes but not nearly as much as I'd like to play.  She chases me and then I chase her.  I talk to her about playing more, but she gets growly with me and says no.

 I have another question.  Why shouldn't I eat mulch?  My mom and dad keep telling me not to eat it, but I like it.  I like to eat twigs and leaves, too.  I have lots of chew toys, including some antlers (way cool!), but I still like to eat those other things outside.

 Do you have any snow where you live?  We had some a while ago, but then it went away.  Here's a picture of us playing in it.  There was little snow on the ground this morning, but it's melting.  I wish it would snow a lot so I could play in it! 

Gotta go play!  Bye!  

Well Necker,  First off, you sure are cute. As you get older, you will learn more about something FM calls dog signals. Good for you that you recognize that the growly tone Saba takes with you means no. When I first came to FM, I wasn't dog signal smart and didn't pay attention to what the other dogs were telling me. I just kept going and going with them. Now, I recognize and understand more of what the other dogs are telling me, well, at least for the most part. These signals can be so subtle and can easily be missed so it's really important to pay attention. You also have to remember that Saba isn't as agile as you are and doesn't want to look inferior to the humans so cut her some slack.

Mulch huh? I guess that's understandable, there's probably a lot of it around the trees and bushes. Couple of reasons you might be wanting to do this, you still have your baby teeth and your grown up teeth may be wanting to come in so it makes you want to chew on stuff. Don't know why but they do. Could be because you are bored because Saba won't play with you. Could be you know your human will come running after you if you chew on this stuff. It's a guaranteed way to get the human off the couch and running around after you. Let your human know that if it is coco mulch to remove it immediately as it is toxic to you. The chew toys you have don't feel the same in your mouth, very hard with no give, hard to destroy but the mulch, twigs and leaves can all be shredded so very easily.  Just be careful, if you chew something up, don't eat it, it can get stuck in your tummy and that won't be a good thing.

Where I'm at there is very little snow, just enough to coat the grass but it will probably melt by the weekend. Surely not enough for a sled run. I'm not happy with this winter. 

Necker, I hope this helps.

Keep thinking snow everyone!!!!

Your Sugar Cookie

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A New Driver                                            January 22, 2012

Hey Everyone...Boy when Gurnee throws a Frosty Fest, they throw a FROSTY FEST. Six inches of snow fell that night. Thanks to everyone who came out in the snow storm to see me. Because of the new snow, FM could train the team on the sled but there is a problem. FM is having knee issues and doesn't want to take a chance of further injury with the team on the sled. Volunteer Denise was supposed to be at the Frosty Fest but because of the weather she wasn't able to make it. So FM invited her out training today to run the team. I thought it was a great idea since Denise calls approved homes in IL to meet fosters. What a better way to make points to find my forever home. She could see first hand all my charm and abilities. Here you can see that I make sure she knows how I am:

The next step was what FM calls 'getting dressed'.

Once Denise got the team dressed, FM told her just to stay on the sled while she brought the dogs to the line.

Once everyone was hooked to the line, off we went. Since this was the first time Denise was doing more than a loop at a demo, FM followed the team on the snowmobile. Denise was a natural, just like I am. Here we are on the first mile.

Then it was through the woods......

Denise took the next turn like a pro. Too bad Tyco's butt is blocking my face.

What is it about my face being blocked? Desi is in my way this time.

You can just tell she is smiling under her face mask. What? FM couldn't have snapped this picture sooner so that my whole body would be in the picture and not just my tail?

FM stood on the sled while Denise told us all what a great job we were doing.

Here we are breaking trail, slow but steady.

After 5 miles, it was time to head back to the truck.

Thanks for taking us for a run, Denise - you did great!!

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Did You Miss Me?                                        January 19, 2012

Happy New Year Everyone. I know that I have been away for a while but really nothing out of the ordinary has been going on with the exception of no snow. What’s that all about??? I thought for sure I’d be inundated with emails but I’d only gotten the one from Despereaux. Poor guy, since there’s been no snow he hasn’t be able to try out my advice about sledding. As promised though, I did get a picture of his brother “green boy” now known as Lakota (or La Ko Ta on days when he isn’t listening to his human) when we visited a little while back. His ears didn't stay up but he's still a looker. Guess I'm partial to the white coat.

Well a couple days ago, I got another email (yahoo!!) from foster sister Selena:

Dear Cookie,

 I am currently living with my FM, a two legged foster sister, and two other Siberians.  Life here is great and I really can't complain because there are tons of fun toys to play with, and the two-legs think it's fun to play fetch with me.  The young Siberian loves to play with me and never tells me no - even when I wake him up by tugging on his neck fur.  He says that's a crummy way to be woken up, but I know he secretly likes it.  The old lady Siberian is okay too, even though she refuses to play with me unless it's her idea.  The only bad thing is that she sometimes takes a toy and plays with it, but won't let me join in.  I tried once but she yelled at me, so now I just watch her and then sneak the toy away when she stops playing with it.  All in all, I like it here.

Now that it is finally starting to get cold outside and that shiny, slippery ice keeps showing up, my feet hurt sometimes when we are out on our walks.  FM says it is because of the salt, but I think she is confused because salt goes on food, not the road and sidewalk...  Either way, that crunchy stuff stings!  FM washes my paws off when we come inside, which me and the young Siberian are pretty okay with but the old lady absolutely hates.  (I try to go first because otherwise the old lady tends to step on my toes when she dances around to avoid the washing.)  So my question is, what can I do so that my paws don't hurt during our walks?

 Love,

Selena

P.S.  It's January.  Where is the snow?????

Well Selena, first off it sounds like you have it really good in your foster home. Do you think there is any possibility that you have convinced your FM that life without you just wouldn’t be the same and that Kiwi green looks good on her? If not, you might want to go back to “Suck Up” class and see if they are teaching any new techniques.  

As for the stinging feet, your FM is correct about the salt on the streets and sidewalks. Who knew that salt would melt snow and really, why would you want to do that? Those humans. There are a couple of things that FM can do, first to make sure that the hair on the underside of the paws is trimmed even with the pads. The hair tends to create ice balls that get stuck in that hair and then it is like walking with pebbles in your shoe. That doesn’t feel good. The other thing is to try dog booties. These are cloth slippers that slide over your paw and velcro around your wrist/ankle.  The bootie doesn’t cushion from the salt but it prevents the salt from getting on the paws and keeps ice balls from forming on your paw hair. Dogbooties.Com has a good supply of booties for dogs at a good price. One tip for the booties is that you can’t just bootie one paw, the other one next to it has to be bootied too otherwise you will try and shake the weird thing on one paw off. You will most likely walk a little funny too the first time you have them on but you’ll get used to it. Maybe FM could video tape it and it will go viral. Hope that helps.

Supposedly we are supposed to get a bunch of snow on Friday, just in time for the Frosty Fest in Gurnee, IL

 Be sure to come on out and watch me show off my sledding abilities and say Hi. I love to meet my fans.

Keep the emails coming!!

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It's Here!!!!!                                            November 22, 2011

Wow, that was fast!! I got my very first email and boy it's a good one.

Hi Cookie,

So happy you're out there to help us adoptees, and especially the clueless humans we have to live with. I'm a white husky too, and unfortunately my people thought it would be a good idea to get a herd dog (Puggle/Aussie) to balance me out. This guy is annoying! He barks at the backdoor (from the inside) and tries to get the people to FORCE me in! In November? Seriously, Things are just getting pleasant out here. Sometimes, ha, ha; for him, they shove him out. I try to play with him. I thought everyone liked being dragged around by their neck fur, but he seems to take offense. Anyway, my question is this: I got a new (lightweight) sled for Halloween, should I be in front, or should this impostor of a sleddog be in front. I.e. should I drag him, or push him? Thanks for your help, I do love my family, even the herd-dog.

Best,

Despereaux (one of the puppies from a couple of years ago, I think I was "Pink Boy") 

Well Despereaux, we have several things in common...1st off, we share an FM, my FM was your first FM, she helped your momma deliver you and bottle fed you when you didn't get enough milk. 2nd, we are both white and 3rd, we both think grabbing by the neck hair is an appropriate way to play. My advice to you is to tell the herd-dog to get a sense of fun, I mean, what the heck....then, when you get the herd-dog outside is to run side to side in the yard and tire him out by having him try and herd you. The side to side motion will confuse him and really wear him out as he tries to keep up with you. You know you are so much quicker than he is.

As for the sledding, why not both be up front? This way the humans will get to compare you side by side and see just how much better you instinctively are at this sport. If you can't convince the humans to do this, I'd be up front, can't push a rope but you sure can drag one...hehehe. Just kidding, if the herd-dog doesn't like to run like that, then he shouldn't be forced to. I personally like to run next to someone, it keeps me inspired, wanting to out do the dog next to me. At first I thought I wanted to play with the dog next to me but I found that it was hard to keep my footing so I decided to just focus on the trail ahead of me.

I hope this was helpful to you Despereaux. FM says if I am still here in a few weeks, I may get to meet your brother who's name is now Lakota or Green Boy to FM. His a sled dog too.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you all enjoyed my first piece of advice.

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I'm in the 21st Century Finally                         November 22, 2011

Hey Everyone, not a whole lot has been going on since we got back from vacation so I started reading some of the other blogs to see if I could find some inspiration for a topic. What I discovered was that all the other bloggers all had people and former fosters email them and comment. I asked FM what gives, how come no one has commented on my blog? FM let me know that I didn't have an email address so no one could email. OMG, why is that? FM didn't come up with a good answer so...........I can now be reached at cookie@adoptahusky.com. I will do my best to answer all that email me, if I can't keep up, I'll save the best few for the blog. I'd love to hear from former fosters or answer any questions sorta like " What would Cookie do in this situation?" Like what should I get my dog for Christmas or where is the best place to get truckload prices for pig ears?  I can't wait to read emails from all my fans. FM says I need to be aware of carpal funnel system, not sure what that is but I'm sure that the anti virus software will catch it.

So over the weekend, FM went training, naturally I was there but to my surprise, look who she put next to me....

Foster dog Larry. I know he doesn't look like the typical sled dog, but he does have some Siberian in him. For the first mile and a half I was body slammed and taunted by Larry. Did you ever see that episode of Friends where Phoebe goes jogging with Rachel and Rachel is embarrassed by the way Phoebe jogged, all arms and legs flailing around? Well, Larry is now being called Phoebe. He didn't catch on as quick as I did but he finally did get the hang of it.

Here we are at mile 4.....

We put in a good 5 miles that day  and Larry did well.

Well, that's all for now. I can't wait to check my email. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hey, why don't you email me what you are thankful for?

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Back Home from Vacation                                November 2, 2011

In case you were wondering why I haven't blogged in a while, I was off on a vacation with FM. I feel honored that I got to go along since the vacation was all about training. I know some of you are saying not this subject again but I really do like this pulling stuff and I got to do it for almost 2 weeks straight. 

We started off to Togo, MN to an invitation only training event called Button Box put on by Jamie Nelson (she has won the Beargrease Race the most times). There are teams of all different sizes, from as small as 4 dogs up to 16.

This is what our campsite looked like. The weather was great for training, unfortunately, the heater wasn't working in the FunMover and FM had to really layer on the blankets. We pups had no problem at all.

Button Box is really great fun, good scenery and nice trails to travel.

Here is the trail we found the first day there. At lead is Tyco on the left, Twister on the right, then me by myself, then Tag by his self, Billiken (see previous post on blog) on the left at wheel and Lexi next to him on the right. That's Cynthia's team ahead of us, you know the one that has previous blogger Twinkle on it.

So after almost a week of Button Box, FM packed us all up and we were off again, this time to Baldwin, MI where the SweetWater Challenge's are held. In order to get there though, we have to go across a big bridge called Mackinaw. It is no secret that Mary Beth is not fond of bridges so going over the Mackinac was going to be interesting.

We pulled up to the cashier to pay to cross the bridge. We were wondering why it was taking so long to get the change and it turns out the Ropers told the cashier we had dogs in our FunMover. She was trying to get enough treats for all of us to enjoy. I like bridge cashiers!!

The view from the bridge was pretty cool. FM had never been across the Mackinac before but had seen it from the tv show Dirty Jobs.

Once over the bridge, the rest of the trip was a piece of cake. We arrived in Baldwin in one piece. The weather wasn't as nice to us in Baldwin, lots of rain off and on but we managed to find time to run. In my down time, I thought I would hunt for the things that live in the dirt. I think it is some of my best work.

FM said it was ankle breaking quality. I will take that as a compliment.

On one of the runs, FM said it was time to see what I was made of. I wasn't sure what she meant but I knew I was up for it. Next thing I knew I was being switched out with Tyco in lead. Tyco wasn't all that happy but FM explained to him this was just a temporary switch. I was so excited, I got lead dog view, it was great not looking at someone's butt for a change. after about a mile, FM gave us some water and took a picture to prove I was in lead.

That's me getting a drink of water, Desi next to me, Tyco behind me, Billiken next to him, Lexi and Twister at wheel. Not sure when FM picked up an alien in the woods but he joined us for the rest of the run. FM said I did pretty good for my first time up front. Hope it's not the last time!!!

So while we were in Baldwin, it was Halloween and FM and her friends got a little silly. Here is a picture of them all.

Well, all in all, it was a great trip. The down fall now is I will be getting a bath. You see, there is an adoption event being held at Bark N Town on Saturday, November 5th. If you are a PREVIOUS ADOPTER or AN APPROVED ADOPTER, you can come out and meet the fosters all in one place. This might be my chance to find a forever home!!

Take care and I will talk to you soon.

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Thank You is Not Enough                                 October 9, 2011

A few weeks back, Adopt A Husky held a picnic for the volunteers at FM's house. It was great to see all the people that I had read about but never met and some of the fosters I call my friends. The weather wasn't very good but the humans and their companions still had fun. You can go to our FaceBook page and see a short video of the fun they were having. At the picnic FM and I found out that Dale N. (one of our volunteers) would be deployed to Afghanistan at the end of the month. FM gave Dale one of her favorite things, an Eskimo good luck charm called a Billiken. Here is a picture of one version of it. FM says she wants it back so Dale has to come home safe to give it to her. You can read more about the Billikens at http://www.churchofgoodluck.com/Billiken_Lore.html.

From all of us Dale, come home safe and thank you for doing your part in keeping America safe. 

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I'm Back                                               August 27,2011

 Hello everyone. Have you been wondering what I've been up to? I must apologize for not   keeping you up to date on my adventures but it has been quite the summer. First off, I had to find something to take my mind off my boyfriend, Jethro. If you are on the Adopt A Husky Facebook page, you saw that Jethro found his forever home. It took a couple of days for it to sink in for me that he just wasn't at an event but that he was able to find a family that wanted to make him their own. Even though I miss him, I am very happy for him.  FM caught on that I needed a diversion and introduced me to Rawson. After a few minutes of sniffing and getting to know one another, FM asked me if I thought he was as handsome as Jethro. I said Jethro who? We've been having a blast together on the cool mornings now.

As I've shown you in previous posts, FM breaks out the grooming bath tub at the drop of a hat. This time it was way over her abilities. A new foster named Indra came into the program. I really felt for her. You see, she was what is called a woolly coat and it hadn't been taken care of for a long time. Here are some pictures but let me warn you, they are gross.

 It didn't take FM long to figure out she was going to need help. So she called Amanda who works Saturdays at Bark N Town.

Amanda got her in the tub and it took several baths to get her even halfway clean.

FM & Amanda worked together to get Indra in good shape. After 4 hours they decided to give her a break and work on her again the following day.

After 7 hours total, here she is all done. While working on her FM thought she knew the perfect home for her, an Adopt A Husky volunteer who lost her companion not too long ago.

She emailed her and she came out the next day to meet Indra. It was obvious that Indra had won the heart of the volunteer and as long as she passed her vet exam, Indra had found a new home. Indra hadn't even been with Adopt A Husky for 24 hours and had a new home. 

One morning FM was woken up to find the front yard had been rearranged and the power off.

The top of the pine tree just missed FM's car but used the Funmover as a trampoline . Once the news had spread about how hard the area was hit, many calls came in to help. If you remember, the storm came during a heat wave and without power, everyone would be miserable. Mike R was our hero  that day. He came out and got a big generator going that plugged right into the house so that fans, water and phones could be used. All of the dogs and FM were truly appreciative. FM said the hardest part about being without the power was finding gas stations in the area that had power also to keep the generator going. Thank you again Mike!!

Then another round of troops came by and took care of all the trees down. Thank you Kelly, Jeff and Dan Ropers. After they left you couldn't even tell there were trees down. Great job.

After 4 days everything returned back to normal.

So that should get you all caught up the happenings with me. I will do my best to blog better.

Till next time....

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 Cover Girl                                              May 22, 2011

 So did everyone have a great time at the hike? I know I did. I'd like to thank everyone that came out and said hello. It was nice to meet you all. Also, thanks for letting FM know what a good girl I was. I got along with the pups, the kids and adults. What more could you ask for?

Here I am sitting very nicely getting a wonderful session of pets. Do you notice all 4 on the floor and the loose leash? 

 Not a whole bunch has been going on here lately. I got a bit bored and thought I would try out for America's Next Top Model. Even though I have such natural beauty, I would need a bit of make up to highlight my features. FM thought it was a bit silly for me to buy makeup so I was left to my resources at paw. The good thing about spring is that there are a bunch of things growing that leave color on my fur.

Now keep in mind I don't have thumbs and have never done this before. I think it was genius of me to strategically roll around in the dandylions to get the effect of eye shadow.

I think it makes a statement, don't you?

The grass was just cut and with all this rain tonight, it should leave a wonderful shade of green on my paws. Hey! then I would be green and gold, the official Frozen Tundra Siberian colors. Now I know some might be thinking that FM won't let me go, but she has assured me that she will. Not that she doesn't enjoy our time together but she thinks I desire a home that will just focus on me. And not that I wouldn't mind staying here but it sure would be nice to have a family to call my own.

talk to you soon.....Cookie Cutter (another favorite FM term for me)

A Side note from FM........I would like to let everyone know what a nice girl Cookie has grown into. She is doing so much better with getting along with other dogs and has a nice recall when she is in the big yard. BUT, it still does not change the type of family she will need. Consistency is key for Cookie along with clear rules for her to follow. When meeting other dogs, she can still give off the wrong signals and because of that she will not be a dog that will be able to go to a dog park. She does much better with the boys than the girls. She does well traveling in the car so if there is a family/person out there that is active and maybe travels a bit and would like a companion, Cookie might be the dog for you.

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 Was this really necessary?                             May 12, 2011

 Sorry for the delay in keeping you updated but FM has been hoggin' all the computer time. Whatever (insert eye roll here). No doubt you've all heard about the Lois Leonard Memorial Hike and hopefully you've all registered. I mean why wouldn't you, you would get a chance to meet me in person. Who will be the lucky person/persons to walk me?

This afternoon, FM comes and gets me with a leash and I'm thinking "Are we heading to the dog truck? Let's go for a run, so what if it's 85 degrees! I can do it" but NOOOOOOOO. We head to the basement and look what she did to me.....

Oh the humiliation. I had gathered and wore my trail dust proudly. Now FM is going crazy with the shampoo and hose.

FM said I did really well, but really, don't you think people would like to see the trail mud. Kinda like a photo album of where I've been and what I've been doing since Fall? A badge of honor if you will.

I gave FM the I'm ignoring you look to see if it would shame her into stopping but she's a tough cookie and didn't fall for it.

 So then I tried the cow eyes with the pout. No luck at all, REALLY, how could she not give in and stop? I didn't know what to do next so I let her finish. I really could have done without the water in my face but I will let it go for now. Finally the water stopped and she put the hose down and I was thrilled to know that this whole ordeal was done.  WRONG!!!

FM takes me outside and puts me on a table with this weird leash on it so I can't jump off. That's not so bad but then she turned on this orange thing that shoots warm air out really fast. Next thing I know air is coming at me and my fur is flying everywhere. Don't tell FM but it was kinda cool cause it looked like it was snowing. So that went on for a while and finally the orange thing was turned off and I thought FINALLY, I can go take my nap but NO. I will let you guess what happens next. The clues are on the table. If you guessed I was brushed, you'd be right. Was the air thing not enough? Really is this necessary? Then get this, FM thinks I need a pedicure on top of all of this. GEEZE. Don't you have to go to work?????? When she finished clipping my nails, I was going to be a smarty pants and say what color polish do I get but then I thought, she might just do it and no self respecting sled dog wears nail polish so I kept my muzzle shut. FM stepped back and told me I looked beautiful.......well, I hate to admit it but she is right.

Don't I look great????I could do that show dog thing. So what if my tail curls? The judges would no doubt look the other way because of my charm and charisma and my work in harness.

Finally, I get to take that nap but poor Pavlov. I feel your pain my friend. FM found him next.

Boy, he sure does not look like this was in his day planner and I don't think he is acting. Talk about the horror of it all. How could FM take a picture of this? I mean, really.

Well, he looks like he's gotten over it at this point. I heard FM say he did a good job too. Lots of fur came off of him too. FM also said he's gonna need another brushing before Saturday. He will be quite the looker. I wonder who will walk Pavlov? The suspense is starting to get to me.

So unlike the previous divas that have blogged, I will not be wearing anything special to draw attention to myself. My beautiful white coat and one blue eye and one brown eye will be enough. So if you come to the hike in Illinois, please be sure to find me and give me a butt scratch.

Oh, one last thing, if you can't come to the hike, please think about sending a donation in my name. You see, there is a new foster boy named Lawler, he is on the website, who is going to need surgery to remove cataracts from both of his eyes. Normally cataracts aren't a big issue but his are growing and he is losing his sight. Adopt A Husky feels it's in his best interest to try and restore his sight but it will be a costly surgery so if you can spare it, please make a donation and put a note that says Cookie sent you.

See you all soon!!

The Cookie Monster (FM's favorite term of endearment for me)

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What's all the fuss?                                   April 24, 2011

 So on the tv there is all this talk about the Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs and Easter Candy. Find the Easter Bunny, find the eggs, find the candy. I don't know what all the fuss is about, the Easter Bunny has been hanging out in the very same spot since I got here and hasn't moved once.

 Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all.

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A New Friend                                         April 12, 2011

 FM was trying to make up for the lack of sledding and introduced me to a new friend. Take a look at him on the website, his name is Cullen. FM told me to play nice (like I don't) and introduced me to Cullen. We hit it off right away. I taught him how to run the big yard and introduced him to my other friend Jethro. The 3 of us are having a great time. I guess this does make up for the sledding season being done. I'll get FM to get a picture of all us soon.

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Very Sad Day                                          April 1, 2011

 I know there are several of you who are tired of hearing me talk about sledding but I really do love it. Today was a sad day, FM took off my sledding collar and put my regular foster collar back on which means the season is done. My hope is that the person/family that adopts me, will work with me in harness and make me a happy camper. Doesn't have to be with a sled but maybe I could be one of those skijorer dogs or a scooter dog or even a runner's dog. I'm gonna go sulk now.

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Sorry it's been a while                                  March 25, 2011

I know, I know, I haven't been the best blogger but I've been occupied. So after the Sweetwater Challenge, FM was off to Grand Marais, MN for Mush for A Cure. Mush for a Cure is a 24 mile dog sled FUNdraiser for breast cancer. There was some attention brought to the event because the Susan G. Komen foundation put a protest up against the trademark application for Mush for a Cure. They have hundreds of trademarks that cover "for a cure" or "for the cure". The founders of Mush For A Cure were interviewed by the Huffington Post, MSNBC and several radio stations. Thank goodness for all the publicity because the Komen Foundation withdrew the protest and Mush For A Cure is now a trademark. YEA!! So back to the story....FM was going to handle for Mary Beth since FM's team wouldn't be able to go 24 miles but at the last minute, Mush For A Cure offered sled dog teams to run the skijor trail which is only 3.5 miles. FM signed right up. The next decision would be who would make up the team. FM decided to use some of her team that had been cut earlier in the season since it was only 3.5 miles and ME!! Wooo Whooooo, another road trip. Grand Marais is far away so it would take 2 days of travel.

One the first day, FM stopped at a rest area to let us all go potty and feed us. Since FM's truck dog passed away this year, Thelma has taken over that position. Since all the dog boxes were filled with dogs, Thelma needed to be hooked up to the truck during the stop.

She doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Just waiting patiently to go back in the truck.

The first night we stayed in a place called Two Harbors, MN. We were meeting up with other mushers at the hotel, the Ropers, the Frantz's and the Rawaillot's. Much to our surprise, Janine ( see blog about camping) and her family were there too. On a side note, Janine did adopt one of those boxerians, Signey.

Don't they look happy together? Her new name is Lilo.

 

So back to the story. Mary Beth got a call from the Rawaillot's saying to step outside and look at the sky. We all rushed out and saw some very intense Northern Lights activity going on. FM had never seen them and had traveled all the way to Alaska to try and catch a glimpse but never did. The sky was green and dancing, nothing else can compare. One of the people that lived in Two Harbors said it had been years since the "lights" were that strong. Great way to end the night.

So the next morning, we all caravanned to Grand Marais. We traveled along the route that the Beargrease Race follows. Here is the view from my dog box. Lake Superior was very pretty.

One of the road signs we came across was good to know. Anyone that knows FM, knows what a clutz she can be.

Then we arrived at Grand Marais, very pretty city on Lake Superior.

We decided that we all needed some lunch and thought pizza would be good. We asked some of the locals and they suggested this place.

Sven & Ole were nowhere to be found but they make a very good pizza pie!!

Walking back to the dog truck, I was minding my own business and all of a sudden, out of Lake Superior, this huge fish jumped out and tried to eat a little dog. REALLY, don't believe me, take a look for yourself.

It missed and went through the Beaver House sign. Lucky for that Yorkie otherwise I don't think it would have survived. Can you see the teeth on that fish? Well, I didn't stick around to find out what happened next but I can only imagine. 

So after lunch, we had another hour's drive to the place where we were staying.

We had to keep our eyes open for these orange flags. They showed where there were frost heaves in the road. To the layman, big bumps in the road. You had to really slow down when you went over them.

So we finally get to the Gun Flint Pines Lodge where we were staying. There were lots of humans staying in one cabin along with a few select dogs. Naturally, Thelma was one of them but not me this time. I'd like to say maybe next year but I'm hoping I will be adopted by then, at least one can hope.

The view from the cabin was interesting to me cause just the few hundred yards away and I would no longer be in the USA. How could that be? It looked like the USA but I was told it was Canada (hey?....lol)

Passports and all are needed to go across the lake. That kinda scared me, what if FM took a wrong turn? Would we all go to immigration court? She would sure have some explaining to do.

Once everyone got settled in, the humans came outside to hang with the dogs. Lots of AAHI alumni here, even from the MN chapter.

Later that night, everyone went to the Trail Center Lodge for the Mush For A Cure Masquerade Ball. Everyone was supposed to wear a pink mask. FM forgot her camera so she wasn't able to get a picture of everyone's great outfits. Mary Beth had a very clever mask to support the cause, literally.

So the next morning was the big event. FM's start would be at 10am and Mary Beth's start at noon. FM's starting line was down the road and finished where Mary Beth would start so once we were off, Mary Beth had to get in the truck and head to the finish. FM had a good cheering section at the start. Patty, a co-worker of Mary Beth's who is in remission of breast cancer, and her 2 sisters were there to cheer us on. 

So a question for you.....who do you think drives this snowmobile?

Well, Captain Mammogram of course. Here he is pictured with Patty.

For FM's start, she could have her sled ready, dogs harnessed and once the horn blew, dogs would be brought to the sled and off we'd go. Here we are waiting for the horn to go off.  

The anticipation was nerve racking.....but finally a LOUD big ole horn in a can went off and FM and Mary Beth sprang into action.

Tyco is letting everyone know that they are moving too slowly and let's get the show on the road. Finally, Tag, the last dog to be hooked up is next to Tyco and we can go.

Before FM had a chance to get going, a team of 4 took off and a skijorer with one dog took off. FM would never catch up to them... But we were finally ready to go. I don't think Tyco's paws touch the ground for the first 1/4 mile.

Look at me dig in, I can't help but brag. That's Trixie behind me and Twister next to her. That's  the Ropers getting ready to take off next to FM.

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