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Dog Of The Week: Aldawin
As a puppy, Aldawin was brought down to the Seward boat harbor almost every day to meet new people and teach them about mushing — but you’d never guess that from his personality. Despite lots of early sociaization, Aldawin is a very reserved dog who enjoys being around his mushing family. He is a quirky dog who marches to his own drummer.
Aldawin spent most of the summer of 2015 running on Godwin Glacier. It was there that he developed his strong work ethic. We were so impressed with Aldawin this year in training. In the team, Aldawin is always happy to run. This year he completed the Northern Lights 300 and the Copper Basin 300. He ran on Travis’ team in the Iditarod before being dropped in Nulato due to illness. We were very impressed with Aladdin during this yearâs race and are expecting big things out of him in the future! His siblings, Bruce, Marlow, and Flo all raced with Travis too.
Go Aladawin!
Dog Of The Week: Kip
Kip was one of the best new additions to Travis’ race team this year. This young dog has really come out of his shell as a powerhouse for enthusiasm and excitement. Kip is just as hapy to run as he is to cuddle up on the couch. He has an infectious attitude and is a very bright, peppy dog.
This year, Kip finished the Northern Lights 300, The Copper Basin 300, and the Iditarod. Kip has a fun, playful attitude and is really just a very happy-go-lucky sort of dog. This summer, we will continue developing Kip’s natural talent and begin working with him up front.
Dog Of The Week: Thor
Thor is one of the biggest, happiest dogs in our kennel. He is a hard working athlete who completed the Northern Lights 300 and the Copper Basin 300 this year. Although he didn’t run Iditarod, Thor has tremendous potential and we are so excited to watch him continue to mature and grow into his big gangly legs. A work horse in wheel, his exuberance is always noticed by his teammates and is often infectious.
In the kennel, Thor is a gentle giant. He loves playing with his neighbors and is always keen to say hello to other dogs. Thor has been working over the last year on overcoming his shyness with visitors to our kennel and has made tremendous progress. Thor is still funny around strangers. He still isn’t sure whether or not he wants to hide in his dog house or come out and give them kisses, watching him try to figure out what to do is always fun. With a little coaxing, Thor is now confident around visitors to our kennel.
We are excited to see his wagging tail greet guests and help show them the joys of mushing!
Just Mush
This morning, things finally got real. As we sat throug meetings and trail reports, the Knots I hadn’t felt all season slowly started twisting in my stomach.
I have been so sure and confident with too much to get done to have time to worry. But here we are, in the final stretch and suddenly I’ve realized what it is I’ve signed up for. It’s not just a thousand mile race. This is the race. Growing up, whenever I faced what I thought was a gargantuan task or something that seemed near impossible I told myself this is your Iditarod training. Soccer pratices where we did wind sprints until some of the girls puked. Waking up at 3 in the morning to summit mountains. Overcoming my fear of heights to be a rock climber.
All my life.
This is the goal that has pushed me forward.
And now here I am, standing at the edge of the cliff waiting to jump in.
Anticipation is the worst kind of worry.
But for now, I’m telling myself to just breath deep. Travis has a mantra – Don’t sweat the small. It’s all small stuff. And I’ve been repeating it over and over.
Don’t worry.
Just mush.
It’s all just dog mushing.