August 19, 2002

All kinds of things happening around here last week (like what else is new?) 

First off, Lynn Alfino, who wrote that great article on me that appeared in Homemakers magazine showed up for a visit. Lynn is working on another project, which I let everyone in on at a later date, and wanted to do another interview with me. It was a lot of fun to do this one in person, rather then on the phone. Luckily, she stayed overnight, as we were chatting well into the evening – much past my usually 9:30 – 10 bedtime! 

NorthWapiti’s Alpha CD, SDX, TT (aka ‘Allie’) made a trip to the vet for surgery on Wednesday. Allie is almost 13 years old, so any surgery is worrisome at that age, but she has been having some coat problem that the vet thinks was hormonal and she had some mammary tumors that needed to go. Minus a few internal parts, she is back at home and doing well. Real well, in fact – I have lost my place on the couch, as she likes to hang out there with her Dad, who is her favorite person in the world. Oh well, she is entitled. For those of you that don’t know Allie, she was the last-born pup in our first litter. She was Mark’s obedience dog and finished her ‘Companion Dog’ title in only 4 tries. When we began doing longer races she and her half brother, Buddy were my main leaders (if any of you have seen our business cards or letterhead, Allie and Buddy are the dogs in that artwork). Allie was key in my 1994 Quesnel, B.C Gold Rush Trail win. She retired from the main string after the 1997 season, but for years after that helped train a number of the up and coming leaders in the kennel. We hope this surgery will allow us the pleasure of her company for, at least, a few more years. 

We were pretty excited; at least I was, to have the ‘Return of Psycho Coyote’ on Sunday. ‘Psycho Coyote’ is this brave, deranged, but entertaining coyote that lives on the ‘government land’ next to ours. Whenever we would go through what she perceived to be ‘her’ territory, she would charge down the trail after us barking and yipping. We didn’t see her at all last season and I was worried that she had moved on to torment someone else or that something had happened to her. On Sunday we were coming down a road a mile from home, when all of the sudden their was a bunch of barking, yipping and complaining from alongside the road – ‘the Return of Psycho Coyote’. True to form, she caught up with us and ran in the trees parallel to my team for a bit, taking short breaks to bark in her strange ‘psycho’ way. When we turned onto another trail, she fell in behind us. She followed for about 1/2 mile, even impatiently waiting 30 or so feet behind my 4-wheeler when I got off to undo a tangle. Then, I guess as we crossed out of her area, she vanished silently into the woods. I’ll be taking my camera on the next few runs to see if I can’t snap a picture of my favorite little weirdo of the woodlands.

The pups are growing like weeds – big, fat weeds actually. All three are wonderfully playful and cute - definitely my favorite age. As I’ve been leaving the yard with the dog teams the last few mornings, there has been a little line up of faces peering out from their house – learning by example, I hope! 

That’s all for now!!

Karen