We regret to say that on September 5th, our beloved Antie passed away. Antie was 17 years old and had a fighting spirit until the bitter end. Those who visited our kennel this summer, saw her teetering around the dog yard and a privileged few actually got to see her run. No, we didn’t hook her up to the team but Antie got to run loose in our dog yard and when she was feeling spunky she would run out with the team. On one occasion, she even passed the team.
“She ran by the team,” Travis told me after one of his runs, “and then she slowed down and ran in front of the leaders, like she was leading the team in single lead just like she used to.”
When Travis first started running dogs, Antie along with a miniature cocker spaniel named Chewbacca led him around the neighborhood on a red flyer radio wagon. You can only imagine the adventures they had together.
Antie was the mama-dog of the yard and enjoyed “doing her rounds.” Often times we’d see her pacing the dog lot, visiting each dog. Her favorite was a large male named Pilot who seems to be the dog everyone else in the yard looks up to. In the winter, despite having her own house, Antie would crawl into Pilot’s house and they’d stay warm together. No matter how hard we tried to get her to come inside and be a house dog, she just wouldn’t do it. She was a true sled dog.
It’s been strange not seeing her face in the dog yard — Not having her follow us while we feed, not having her bark with the team pacing up and down the line like a coach or a cheerleader, not having her curious, independent spirit watch us as we move about the dog yard.
Rest in peace old lady! Your strength of spirit and will to live will never be forgotten. You were a great friend and a true inspiration.
