Monday 23 April 2001

April 23, 2001

…And I thought things were supposed to SLOW DOWN after Iditarod….

There are all sorts of things going on around here. First off, we are expecting a couple litters of puppies. A few weeks back we bred Grover to Visa – she is due around June 7th. Then this past weekend we bred Jetti (Mannie’s Mom) to Spud. As Spud will be turning 10 this August, this will probably be his last litter, so we are especially looking forward to little ‘Tater Tots’ running around the house!

Last Friday we spent the day with a reporter from our local CTV station, CFRN. Chester, Camilla and I did a brief spot on their Noon news after which one of the producers made arrangements for them to do a piece on us for the evening news. The reporter came out and we hooked the entire 16 dog Iditarod team up to the 4 wheeler and went for a run. What a hoot that was. Most of the dogs hadn’t run since getting back from Alaska and they were KEEN to go!! 

The screaming as we were hooking up was ear piercing! Partway through the run we stopped so they could ask some questions on camera. We didn’t get too far into the talk when the team took off with the Quad – all the brakes were locked up and it still took me a long way to get them stopped again. It wasn’t quite as amusing the 2nd and 3rd time the dogs did it! After getting everyone put away, we packed up Chester and headed off to the Rochester School to do a visit. Rochester School has always been very supportive of us and I have spoken to the kids there on a couple of occasions, so it was an obvious choice of kids to include on air with us! 

On Saturday I ran a bunch of dogs into the city to get some eye testing done. Due to some hereditary problems that Siberian Huskies are prone to, it is the wise and responsible thing to do to get a Specialist to check them out before they are bred. We are happy to report that all 7 we took tested normal. 

Saturday evening was a hectic one. The community of Perryvale hosted a potluck dinner for Mark and I in honor of our Iditarod run. I did a presentation and slide show for everyone. In addition to lots of local folks, my Mom, my brother, and Mark’s parents all showed up from Calgary for the weekend – what a treat! The community presented Mark and I with a gift certificate for an evening in Edmonton at a Dinner Theater! They said that after all the time that we had spent apart this winter, they wanted to make sure we spent some quality time together. What a thoughtful and appreciated gift! We are so grateful to live in such a supportive community! A special thanks to Barb, Patti, and Phyllis for organizing the evening! 

Sunday I ran back into the city to drop Raptor off with his new Mom and Dad. I stuck around to watch some of the Edmonton Kennel Club Dog Show and to have dinner with a friend from Grande Prairie who was down for the show. 

This week is looking to be busy too. Tomorrow night Fly (my Australian Shepherd) and I start obedience classes. I’ve competed in the obedience ring with a few of our Siberian Huskies and I miss the being there. Hopefully, Fly will progress well in classes and I can get him out in the ring before winter rolls around! Contrary to what many think – he is already quite a well mannered fellow!
Later in the week, I’m heading off to Calgary for a few days to do a school visit and an on-air interview with CFCN. 

….I’m so grateful for all this SLOW TIME….

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