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OUR
2008 DOG
SPONSORS
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"ROSEMARY"
Sponsored by
Rosemary Dunn
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"DiJon"
Sponsored by
Mary & Irving Horowitz |
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"ROM"
Sponsored
by
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"JEWELS"
Sponsored by
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"DUKAT"
Sponsored by
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"BASIL"
Sponsored by
Dale
& Patricia Keefe
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"DASH"
Sponsored by
Barbara &
Jerry Lake
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"SISCO"
Sponsored by
Kathy and Terry Weaver
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"KEIKO"
Sponsored by
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Journey Continues
September 12, 2007
“We didn't lose the game; we just
ran out of time.” – Vince Lombardi
R Northbound
Dogs 20 dog team training on
Ft Richardson. Some dogs up front are hidden,
but there really are 20 dogs here. Jewels and
Picard are in wheel with 7 of 9 and Java in
front of them. |
The dogs can be such characters. Rather
than scrape everyone’s teeth twice a year I buy the team large
smoked beef knuckle bones. The dogs love them and they keep the teeth
clean working on the bones. After a day some of the bones have mysteriously
vanished. I have a couple of dogs that bury them for later enjoyment.
They bring their bones out when everyone else has chewed theirs to
nothing with a “I’ve got a bone and you don’t”
look to their faces.
Dijon is very fond of his bone and likes to carry it around. When
I load him in the truck he has a real quandary because I won’t
let him take the bone with him. But that is nothing compared to the
situation when I come out to give him his thyroid pill. It must taste
great because he will jump on his house and salivate for this tiny
pill. But now he has the bone in his mouth. He really wants the pill,
but doesn’t want to put the bone down. What is a sled dog to
do? If I’m really fast I can take the bone, give him the pill,
and give him back the bone. Then he gets this silly relieved look
on his face. Dogs!
Thyme, in addition to carrying a rock, has started digging. I really
don’t mind because this is the rainy season. The dogs over compact
the soil by walking on it and the water will not drain. By digging
they loosen it back up, provide a place for the water to go and it
drains much quicker. The other day I was picking up dishes after feeding
and all I saw was Thyme’s tail sticking up in the air. The silly
dog had spilled her kibble and some of it landed in the bottom of
her latest hole. There she was, nose down, getting the kibble with
nothing but her tail above ground. These guys are more fun than a
circus.
Bonnie’s good friend Heidi and her husband Rolf were visiting
and wanted a sled dog ride. It was only a slight rearrangement of
the training schedule and off we went. Bonnie is moving and hasn’t
had the time to train as much as I have so we just took my dogs and
split them into two teams. Bonnie and Heidi were following Rolf and
I when I came around a blind corner and there was the biggest cow
moose I’ve ever seen in the trail just in front of my leaders.
Off to my right and slightly further back was her calf. Oops! Lycos
and Mocha were in lead and Lycos, my squirrel ( and porcupine) chasing
dog, wanted a piece of the moose. The moose’s eyes widen and
her nostrils flare. I start to holler when she charges the team. She
comes right for Lycos and Mocha. At the last minute she veers off
kicking at them. She moves just off the trail and looks at us –
I’m hollering, the dogs are barking, and Rolf is dumbfounded.
She changes her mind, gathers her calf, and moves down the trail.
Quickly I get off and check on Lycos and Mocha – I don’t
know about the adrenalin in their system, but externally they are
fine. I waited, then walked down the trail to avoid another surprise.
In 14 years that is only the second time I’ve had a moose come
into my team. If it takes another 14 years to happen again that is
just fine.
That was Wednesday, on Friday Pat Schue joined me for a training run
on the same trails. I told her I couldn’t promise the excitement
we had last Wednesday and she said that was fine. She wanted to share
the whole experience from loading the dogs to putting them back afterwards.
I appreciate the help, but had to want her that the last two ladies
to do that now had teams of their own (Bonnie and Leslie). Pat got
to see the 19 dog team in action (Dijon was ill and didn’t run)
and they put on quite a show. I love coming in off a long hard run
and Mocha, Thyme, Rosemary, and Dash are all standing there wagging
their tails. Rom, Worf, and 7 of 9 are in the back saying “where
did those girls come from”.
Fall training is going well and we are right on track for mileage.
It has been a little warm, temperatures in the low 50’s F, but
we’ve had enough rain to make substantial puddles. Running the
dogs through the puddles soaks them enough to keep them cool. I never
thought I’d be glad to play in the mud like this. I will have
to wait to see if running the larger team really pays off, but it
sure looks good now. We are running further and faster than ever before
for this early in the season. My goal is to be running 20’s
by October 1st and 40’s by November 1st. That gives me time
to work on speed and hills before Sheep Mountain. I’m pretty
excited.
Dash and Thyme have turned into a dynamite pair of leaders, driving
down the trail with great abandon and wagging tails whenever I stop.
They are always looking for more. But I have to be careful with Thyme
in lead that I don’t lose the team. Everyone knows that “Thyme
waits for no man”. ;-)
Blaze continues to do well. She only has 10 runs for 97 miles, while
the rest of the team has 24 runs for 167 miles. She is still playing
catch-up and probably will for the rest of the month. The fact that
she is holding her own speaks volumes about this little girl.
Keep ‘em Northbound
Eric
© 2007 All rights reserved
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OUR
2008 RACE
SPONSORS
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8025 Schoon Street
Anchorage, AK 99518 |
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Northern
Restaurant
Group, LLC
Dale & Patricia Keefe
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Mary
E Curtis
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| Knights
of Columbus |
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Have
you ever wanted to be part of the Iditarod adventure
but didn't
know how? Help support Eric Rogers Iditarod team
by joining the
2006-2007 season Rogers Rangers. Just $30 buys you
a bootie worn by the
team, a 2005-2006 Rookie season musher card, and
a signed certificate of
membership. All funds go to support Eric's 2007
Iditarod. For your
convenience we now take credit cards through PayPal.
All donations
gratefully accepted.
Thank
you for your support.
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| SPONSOR
INFO |
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OUR
2008 DOG
SPONSORS
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"THROTTLE"
Sponsored by
Bob & Connie
Hendershott
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"THYME"
Sponsored by
Penny, Dennis,
& Adam Sputh
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"PLATINUM"
Sponsored by
Pat Ford
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"MOCHA"
Sponsored by
Pat Schue
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"LYCOS"
Sponsored by
Muzzy's
Place
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"BALU"
Sponsored by
The Keiths
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"BASS"
sponsored by
William
& Gary Sanders
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"WORF"
sponsored
by
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"PICARD"
Sponsored
by
Kitty & Chuck
Jackson
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