I have to admit, this is my favorite time of year. I love the lights. I love the short week leading up to the long weekend of Thanksgiving. I love the richness of the foods, the music, and the table. I love the emotional holiday commercials. But more than anything I love the feeling of anticipation.
And nobody does anticipation as well as a sled dog. Just a hint of action near the harnesses or the sled can raise excitement so strong you can nearly taste it.
We have had magical weather conditions. The snows falls regularly like a snowglobe. Flakes float by my window in the night, illuminated by the indoor lights standing out against the black night. By day, they fall creating stacks of fluffy powder, exaggerating and rounding out shapes and coating the branches of trees. The temperatures have continued to be warmer than what Alaska experienced ten years ago. No longer do I peer out through windows frosted over on the inside. No longer do the gas pumps fail to work because the LCD screens are frozen.
The conditions are perfect for the dogs. The snow provides a cushion, making everything softer. When going farther than 10 miles the dogs wear booties to protect their feet, but this type of snow is less abrasive than the very cold crystals. While the wind has blown gently, causing some drifts, we have not experienced the brutal, steady wind that unforgivingly pushes its way inside your clothing and intimidates you with is sound.
Several dogs have been standing out on training runs. Ice Cream is coming into her prime. While she is probably no more than 40 pounds, she is all fire. Happy and full of energy, she is standing out as a leader and as a dog who will always eat one more scoop of food. Rivet and Quebec are both one year old, but they are regularly found on the varsity squad, keeping pace with the more experienced crew. Carhartt is the master of drive and desire. Since he was a puppy he has known the hunger of wanting to know is around the next corner. He leads the team on 100 mile treks and then takes Max for a spin on his dog sled.
The dog care is non-stop. Each day starts before daylight with chores to care for the dogs, to keep the buildings warm and the vehicles running. While many things are dog powered, it seems to take an unending amount of machinery to make it all possible. Even when the dogs are pulling a sled, they often travel by truck or are escorted by a snowmobile carrying additional supplies. Mike’s favorite new support vehicle is the “monster truck.” A 4 Runner mounted on big tracks, it makes it possible for Max to stay warm while going on long runs. It also makes it easier for Mike to speak with our apprentices while running the dogs. He can articulate his thinking and model his actions on the trail.
A big part of Mike’s work is not only coaching the dogs, but coaching the young folks who have chosen to give up the comforts experienced by so many millennials to come and work day in and day out to learn about the dogs. Amanda’s first race will be in early January. She needs to learn how to camp with the dogs. What do you do before and after your arrival at camp? How can you efficiently get the dogs the food, care, and rest they need to prepare for the next run? Mike and Amanda travel back and forth at all hours of the day and night, melting snow to feed the dogs, checking nails and rubbing muscles. Mike preaches efficiency, routine, and anticipation. You can see growth as handlers move from focusing on outfitting themselves with more and more fancy gear to focusing on how their actions and preparation maximize the dogs’ performance.
It would be impossible to do everything to care for and train all the dogs without the help of dreamers like Amanda. It would also be impossible without all of you who have supported us by visiting our home and kennel. We appreciate your patronage and your recommendations. A big thank you also to those of you who have sponsored one of the dogs on the team. It is so fun to connect people with the dogs individually. I have matched people with dogs by personality and interests sometimes directly and sometimes in secret. Dog sponsorship is certainly a unique gift for the person who has everything. Speaking of gifts, I have finally added our DogGoneIt merchandise to our website, so if you are looking to shop on Small Business Saturday, check us out!
This is a traditional time to reach out with “Thank You” messages that range from the impersonal thank you from a website to the heartfelt gratitude shared with family. There are things that are conventional to be grateful for: health, family, food, warmth, opportunity. There are things that are conventional to say thank you for: a favor, a gift. I coach my son to follow these conventions, ensuring that he says thank you when someone helps him, modeling for him appreciation for the world we live in and the comforts we experience.
Gratitude comes to me in different ways. It can be spontaneous like the flush of relief I feel when I make through a situation I feared. It can be thoughtful when I take the time to reflect on what I have, that I used to go without or when I reflect on what I have, that will not last.
I wonder about the feelings of dogs versus people. Are dogs grateful? Does gratitude require an understanding that it could have been different? Dogs live so much in the moment. They love the treat, the walk, the kind touch, but are they grateful? Of course I can’t help but look this up and there have been scientists who have asked this question. They reflect on the idea that gratitude indicates some sort of repayment. Such as the chimp who shares food with the individual who groomed him earlier in the day. They talk about the ability to remember who has helped you as differentiating between gratitude and simple symbiotic reciprocity.
It feels good when someone recognizes your efforts, but it feels even better when they respond with a subconscious reaction of pleasure, the expressions of gratitude that are not intentional: a spontaneous laugh, eyes that light up, the change in how someone’s voice sounds when filled with emotion. Perhaps this is not gratitude according to the scientists who want to ensure that it involves memory and reflection. But when my dog wags his tail, when he stands next to me, when I watch him run and play with joy, it is the greatest thank you.
I hope that all of you have a moment to be grateful this Thanksgiving. But more than that I hope that you give and receive unintentional gratitude with all those who surround you. Look and listen for the ways we wag our tails as you join with friends and family around the table.
Until next time, I hope you are all having as much fun with your dogs as we are with ours. Mike, Caitlin, and Max