Hi Friends & Fans,We've been super, mega busy around here getting set for our summer season and there's not been an inch of extra time to write these past few weeks.
I've been running around in my mud kickers, painter faded blue jeans,
and dog yard get up while trying to keep up... ..
This time of year we're building, and creating a bigger and better tour for our summer guests.
We're literally up and going very early around 7 and in around 11 pm.
When our work is done, we go play in the kayak or cut a group of dogs loose for a fun free run down river. Summer is here in the Maclaren Valley with daytime temperature's ranging anywhere from low 40's to high 60's. Our tours have begun once again and we're having fun meeting fresh new faces everyday. There's always something happening and changing full speed ahead here at the kennel and we want to keep you as close and updated as we can. Read on from the dog.
Good Dogs!
Future Race Paws.
1st litter born May 24th! They are gorgeous, fat and happy!
The Drover/Zoya dog litter---2 boys and one girl. The pups are doing great and mom is very busy at the moment. Names and Pictures coming soon to a screen near you.
2nd litter due soon by Pheobe and Trapper.
Off To Dog Camp for the summer....
36 of our dogs left today for Skagway, AK---- Alaska Excursion tours through September. This large tour outfit caters to Princess Cruise Ship guests. Our dogs love going off to summer dog camp where they will run 5 days a week together on the same team giving land cart rides to visiting guests on a short 1 mile loop. It's a great deal for the dogs all the way around with loads of activity and social stimulation. I just have a tough time seeing them All go....these are my race dogs, dogs I have spent a great deal of time training and or racing, dogs I've raised and the dogs I feel have the most potential for my future racing goals. All the dogs are very important to me and I enjoy my time with them each day. There's a few dogs in that bunch that do not race and dig the tour thing more, like Polar, Stone, Drover and Gabby. The dogs left behind? Aw, it's not that bad! There's 14 home with me for the summer, 2 are having litters this spring, 4 are race dogs who I need here to show off and brag about in my tour 4 days a week (Chuckie, Sebe, Galen and Tokyo) and the rest are either old, retired and or have behavioral issues we are still working on. Hansel is just now pushing 14 and is leading my tours 4 days a week; he sure is fun to talk about and everyone adores this handsome boy with the striking blue eyes.
I've got some boarding dogs here, 14 total at this time kicking the numbers back up to 28.
Crazy Dog Calendar 2008 on it's way soon---the printing started this morning in CA. The folks we're working with are super. The calendar is GREAT---we promise you will love it. I saw the final proof this morning and it's slick. I'm telling everyone about 2 weeks from today for your order. Chuckie is the cover dog and other feature dogs inside are Sebe, Tokyo, Trapper, Eddie, Hunter and Henry. (picture above with Hunter is one of the featured pictures)
GIN GIN 120--the Women's Distance dog race is seeking a woman race manager to take my place this year 07. It's important that you are available to meet prior to the GIN GIN race for race meeting, available from start to finish of this years race and have some race/dog experience. Please email Zoya for more details if interested. Serious inquiries only please. zdenure@yahoo.com or jschandelmeier@starband.net
We have some awesome announcements to make shortly for exciting changes to this race---
Be sure to watch for them in June here on this site, dogsled.com and sleddogcentral.com
Living in the Wild outdoors
We've been out and about in the early mornings/ later evenings playing & seeing lots of wild life/big game on the highway. John and I love to explore the country when we get a free moment. Driving back in from Paxon a week ago-----we pulled over in a hurry as soon as we caught a glimpse of a brown bear sitting in the middle of a frozen lake chewing on an old Caribou leg. He was about 400 yards away. We walked to the edge of the tundra overlooking the lake and gave a good whistle. He finally looked up and then walked a few feet away from us and then turned again and sat back down. He was content with his bone. That was very cool. Moose, Caribou, Fox and LOTS of birds all returning to all corners of the Maclaren and Paxson area. This is a wonderful time of year in Alaska to relax, take a hike and watch earth explode with life and awe inspiring beauty. I am so grateful to call this amazing place and state--home.
It's been cool enough to run the dogs these past 5 days, but both of our ATV's need work, like a real overhaul. They are both old and when they work, they work great. We've been tinkering with them far too long. If anyone out there wants to sponsor us or donate a nice ATV, like a Polaris Ranger 4x4, we'll be glad to take it off your hands. And we'll be happy to bring you up this winter for a week's worth of sledding fun in back country AK and Iditarod madness during the big race. We need a new ATV for the dogs-- it's just not funny as in "ha, ha" funny anymore. At first these things are kind of funny and then they become annoying, pretty soon you're swearing at the ATV to start as you get grease all over your jeans then you wonder why you are talking at all to this machine! It's a hunk of metal with an engine---that's it, right? Wrong. Not if you're a dog musher! When you have 45 dogs and they are all looking at you with their big lovely eyes and tails wagging heavy and fast ---back and forth all saying "can we Please go for a run today Mom? You need that thing with an engine roaring to go right now.
We'll work on getting a newsletter out mid summer- right now we'll do our best right here.
Summer time means tours with dogs now through September, sharing our life and dreams with others from far corners of the world right here from home in AK, planting more flowers, taking more time to write, longer daylight hours, the possibility of a farmers tan, morning walks with the dogs down river or up tundra, getting out in the canoe and kayak, hiking back country trails, raising puppies, taking small trips with friends around AK and fishing with my husband for Salmon and Halibut in Bristol Bay and Valdez. Whatever your plans may be this summer we hope you have fun and stay in touch, we love hearing from you.
Thank you for checking in,
your friends,
Zoya, John and all the crazy dogs
