Sled dog, deck dog

Howdy! Meghan here. Thought I’d take a minute to say hello and give everyone an update on our favorite blonde barker, Ranger.

After many seasons as an SP Kennel superstar, Ranger (“Ranger Danger”) is enjoying the easy life of being a “deck dog” with me at my cabin in Two Rivers this summer. Ranger and I ran several races together over the past two winters, and have spent countless hours together on training runs and in the dog yard. His inspirational leadership, big brown eyes and hilarious vocal tendencies have earned him a solid place in my heart. How fitting that I now get to spend every day with him!

Danger joins the other members of my little team, two female sled dogs, Tina Turner and Charlet. The girls and I love having Danger’s enthusiastic energy around. And I think he, in turn, loves his role as the man of the house. He has some big responsibilities, too: remembering where all the bones in the yard are hidden, “pruning” the violas on the deck (maybe it’s just a language barrier… I call it “eating,” he insists it’s merely pruning), lounging in my lap to relax me after a long day of work, and singing. Singing CONSTANTLY. Ranger sings for his dinner when I get home, he sings all evening for entertainment, he sings me to sleep from his bed downstairs, he sings to wake me up. Even when this boy isn’t singing, he’s often just on the cusp, making little, throaty pre-singing whines. I encourage him to go ahead and let it out, at which point he generally erupts into song again.

I couldn’t be more delighted to welcome Ranger into my life. Fortunately, we are living only a mile or so from the kennel, so we both get lots of time with Aliy, Allen, and all of our SP buddies. Ranger and I plan on being involved with Team SP as much as possible this winter and, of course, supporting the kennel in any way that we can.

Meghan and Danger in Willow for Iditarod 2014