Congratulations to all of you who played “Name The Mystery Pups’ Parents!” The action was fast and furious in the comments to the previous post, and you all zeroed in on the answer very quickly. Thanks for the fun!

Now, with no further ado, it’s time to meet the parents!


Like many young lovers, Chica and Cutter had a brief but passionate summer romance. She gave him a wink and said the dog equivalent of “Hey there big boy!” and he replied with a beating heart, a wagging tail and an innocent “Who me?” The rest of the story you will have to make up for yourself.

The good news is that both parents are truly outstanding dogs and come from very, very good lineages. Cutter is the son of Pingo and Pepper — both exceptional SP Kennel dogs who are themselves parents of many of the Kennel’s past and present racing sled dogs. Chica is the daughter of SP Kennel legend Venus and Zorro, Lance Mackey’s main man to whom she was bred for purposes of bringing new blood lines into the close-knit family of SP Kennel dogs.

The bad news is that the breeding program at SP Kennel is very strict and carefully controlled by Aliy. SP Kennel is relatively small compared to the other premier kennels with which it competes. Unlike kennels which breed many more dogs than they need and pick only the best from many litters, Aliy only breeds for the dogs she wants. This year she wanted pups from Ranger and Pepper, and did not sanction a love-litter from Chica and Cutter.

The rest of the story is really not as mysterious as we have made it out to be. Because the “Mystery Pups” were not part of the Kennel’s breeding plan, Aliy had no intention of keeping them when they were born. That is the simple reason why they were not announced here in the Dog Log. But, as Aliy explained in the earlier video, not only has the entire kennel become very fond of the pups, their size and obvious enthusiasm makes them excellent candidates for future SP Kennel racing teams. So, Boris, Raffie and Mac have now officially been recognized by the boss as SP Kennel dogs, and we all look forward to sharing in their very bright futures.

The rest of this little drama has just been a bit of fun. We had to “catch you up” on the trio, and decided to do it in what we hope you have found to be an enjoyable way.

To Chica and Cutter, congratulations and thank you for three great pups. They’ll be the last for Cutter, since he had actually been neutered a few days BEFORE his summer romance. (There’s may be a lesson in that for some of you out there!) Chica’s future parenthood is undetermined, but if Boris, Raffie and Mac are an indication of what she can deliver… You go girl!

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