For many years, Aliy raced the Red Team and Allen raced the Black Team. The goals and strategies for each team varied from race to race, so that any dog could race on either team, at any time. The mushers strived to be the best they could be by having complete dedication to their canine teammates and to their sport. Aliy and Allen were also committed to the Alaskan and Worldwide mushing and dog fan community. Aliy and Allen received unwavering support and incredible encouragement for over 20 years from family, friends and fans around the world. THANK YOU!

SP Kennel was obviously a “dog first” Kennel. The care and safety of all dogs was above everything else, including competition results. Aliy and Allen became interested in Dog Mushing because they LOVED dogs… they always have, and always will.

During the 20 years of SP Kennel’s mushing successes, the kennel’s breeding program was highly selective. For that reason, over half of the dog population was spayed or neutered and all breeding was carefully controlled. Aliy and Allen bred very specifically – always considering both genetics and performance. Prior to planning a mating, Aliy and Allen would determine the overall kennel goals then decide if and when a litter of puppies was needed to fill out future teams. That way, SP Kennel produced a limited number of puppies. Raising, bonding with and training husky puppies was tremendously enjoyable, yet incredibly time consuming.

Puppies were bred for SP Kennel’s future not for sale to other kennels. Most puppies were born and raised in Two Rivers and stayed at SPK for their entire competitive racing career. Occasionally, a large litter was whelped and thus, more pups were born at SPK than would comfortably fit into the program. When this happened, the best homes for these pups were selected and these puppies left the kennel at 7 to 8 weeks of age. Other than these few pups, all other puppies were raised and stayed at SPK.

After a racing career – whether it be long or short – an SPK dog would officially “retire”. At retirement, the dog would either stayed at SP Kennel forever or it was placed in a carefully screened and selected home around the world.

Obviously the goal was for all retirees to live out the rest of their lives in homes that were best suited to their individual personalities and traits. Some of the more active dogs who still needed to run — but not the number of miles involved in our championship racing program — were placed with highly qualified “dog first” recreational mushers world wide. These retired Iditarod and Yukon Quest veterans spend the rest of their lives doing what their genetics have taught them in a relaxed, enjoyable “pet home” atmosphere. Many of our retirees transitioned to more of a “couch life”. The dogs were raised in an ‘indoor/outdoor’ lifestyle and coming indoors at SPK was always fun and rewarding, so their adjustment to a “cush pet life” was not that extreme of a transition. The SP Kennel husky loves to run the wilderness trails of Alaska… but he or she also loves to cuddle on the couch!

Some of the SP Kennel retirees relax around the world. Ginger in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Chemo, Chena and Outlaw in Upstate, New York.

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BACK TO THE TOP   HISTORY    KENNEL SET UP    LIFESTYLE

 

The HISTORY of SP Kennel
Aliy adopted a 9 year old Alaskan Husky named Skunk just prior to her first winter living above the Arctic Circle. She wanted to share the cold nights with a dog – a husky seemed a natural choice. Skunk was recently retired from a dog team that worked a trap line in northwestern Alaska. Before meeting Aliy, Skunk had known no luxuries. She sewed him a harness and built her first sled. Skunk became her lead dog. While Skunk taught Aliy the basics of dog mushing, in return, Aliy taught Skunk about the luxuries of life. The duo spent some fantastic years together and traveled in and around Alaska by dog sled. They also traveled to the Lower 48 one summer in a small Chevy truck visiting friends and family.

Skunk, Aliy, and a growing team of primarily adopted Alaskan huskies, lived in the small village of Bettles for four years before moving to Two Rivers. Upon entering her first distance race, Aliy was asked for the name of her kennel. She had none. Since it had all started for her with one very special, big furry black and white companion she wrote “Skunk’s Place” on the race application. It has been many years since Skunk has passed on, but he will always be the kennel’s namesake. Now the name has been abbreviated to SP Kennel.

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The KENNEL SET UP
SP Kennel is tucked away on the southern border of the community of Two Rivers which is 25 miles east of Fairbanks. The neighborhood is sled dog friendly with many dog teams for recreation, sport, and racing. The Two Rivers community center is Pleasant Valley Store and Trailside Mail Post Office. There is also a laundromat, coffee shop, restaurant and hair salon. Two Rivers School has 90 students, grades kindergarten to 8th grade.

Aliy built the main house at SP Kennel using start up funds from her mother and father and all of her race winnings from the Yukon Quest. She manually built all parts of the original house including: laying the concrete block basement, wood framing, insulation, local spruce siding, drywall, roofing, and building the septic system. The house has a small footprint but is three stories and over looks the yard full of huskies. The only house projects that she choose to hire out by professionals were drilling the well, building the stairs and painting the interior of the house. A local Two Rivers plumber, Paul, donated his time to plumb the house as a kudos for winning the Quest.

Since Aliy built the house, both Aliy and Allen have improved and expanded upon their property ten-fold. Allen has added onto the main house and included some luxuries that were not there in the beginning. (Like a nice kitchen!)

There are other kennel facilities and outbuildings on the 10 acre property. There is a garage with an attached dog room. This houses a whelping space, indoor puppy pen, feed area and an exam room. There is also a ‘human’ fitness center in the garage with a treadmill, Bowflex, elliptical and pull up bar. There are an additional two outbuildings for visitors, helpers, or guests: Moira’s Mansion (formally known as Randy’s Shed) and the Handler Cabin can house several more folks.

We currently are the home to just under 40 sled dogs. They all have individual houses. They know which house is theirs and return to that spot after house visits, training runs or dog walks. However, they do not stay at their house all of the time. We have larger Play Pens, a Heat Pen and a dog barn. The barn has individual indoor pens with outdoor runs that are accessed by dog doors. The dog barn can be heated during the cooler months or as a relaxation area after a team completes a race.

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The LIFESTYLE at SP Kennel

 

SP Kennel dog mushing lifestyle has three distinct seasons:

Pre Season
Racing Season
Off Season

There is a natural build up every year to the Racing Season. The Pre Season (September to November) is the time of the year to get everything organized. These months are packed full of training, chores, and a “to do” list a thousand points long.

SP Kennel dogs are put back into harness training and conditioning after the summer Off Season. This physical and mental build up for an SP Kennel canine athlete is slow and consistent. The day temperatures can still be warm during the autumn months, so training time starts well before sunrise: prior to 6AM. All puppies, yearlings, and mature adults are back in the hustle and bustle of a working sled dog’s life. Along with this fitness routine, the dogs are again weighed and examined regularly. Notes and databases are kept up to date daily.

Along with training the dogs, the mushers need to get back in shape. Even though the summer Off Season was busy, maintaining a musher’s peak fitness is not always a priority. The kennel workout room is put back into regular use by both Aliy and Allen.

The Pre Season “to do” list is seemingly endless: fixing ATVs and vehicles, building sleds, hauling dog food, fish, and meat, and sorting all the dog supplies. Just before freeze up every year, all the dogs and houses are moved out of the yard and the area is bulldozed. The houses are pressure washed, painted and prepared for another winter. Straw bedding is also an important autumn acquisition – it will be cold again soon.

Sponsorship starts in earnest every year on October 1st. This is an exciting time of the year when fans and friends can “Get Involved” and show their support on the SP Kennel website. The SPK Dog Log is a year round blog but it ramps up in October with fun new productions, Join the Team programs and everybody’s favorite: the Dog Fan Club.

Each year we have a photographer come to SP Kennel to take individual candid dog face shots and full body portraits. The garage is set up like a portrait studio, with a background and props, and every dog is spiffed up for their seasonal profile picture. The idea is to take formal full body shots and contrast then with candid, informal head shots. This gives the fans a true sense of what these amazing dogs really look like.

The Pre Season is the time when Aliy and Allen plan the season’s racing schedule as well as the logistics involved for these competitions. How exactly will they pull it off this year? The SPK Crew is a constantly evolving and growing family. They are incredibly important when it comes to planning ahead and actually getting it all accomplished.

The Racing Season (December to April) is the culmination of everything: a year of constant brainstorming and thought, acting and reacting on plans and ideas, constantly revising and improving everything. All with complete and utter dedication.

The saving grace is that by the time the Racing Season has arrived – when all the brainstorming, planning, acting, reacting and “go, go, go” has come to an end – there is only one thing left: Competition.

While racing the Copper Basin 300, Yukon Quest, or the Iditarod nothing else matters. It all comes down to one thing. Only one priority. One thing to worry about: the dog team and its speedy journey down the race route. No phone calls or emails. No thoughts about the kennel. No family, sponsors, fans, puppies, geriatric dogs, vet bills, fixing sleds, broken dog trucks, dog food deliveries, train rides… none of that. Only one thing. Racing becomes the center of both of our mushers’ worlds. That is why they can live and enjoy the lifestyle they do. And that is why they are successful.

During the Off Season summer months (May to August) in interior Alaska the daytime temperatures can be quite warm. Since Alaskan huskies overheat easily, the dogs are not run in harness during this time. Summer time is “downtime” for SP Kennel sled dogs. All of the SP Kennel dogs do stay on the Two Rivers property for these months.

In the summer time, SP Kennel sled dogs act like “normal” dogs. Groups of 5 to 8 go on unleashed dog walks with one or more people. These one to two hour long dog walks are adventures to unpopulated trails nearby – often to a pond or river. The dogs are also rotated through designated Play Pens at the kennel. These various sized fenced in yards have bones, Kongs, tires, and more bones. Each day, two or three individuals rotate through the pens. The dogs play, chew ones, dig holes, chase their tails and generally act like dogs. SP Kennel keeps a dog walk and Play Pen schedule, so that every dog gets enough summertime exercise.

Public outreach and sponsorships opportunities are a focus during this time of year. During the summer, the mushers also attend Meet & Greet events, Alaskan summer celebrations, and community fundraisers. SP Kennel’s primary sponsors Matson will schedule events and opportunities for Aliy and Allen to stay in touch with their company employees. A dog musher is often difficult to track down in the winter – so summer is when many appearances happen.

During the summer months, Aliy and Allen also travel. Staying in touch with family that live in the Lower 48 is, of course, important. They also travel worldwide to dog mushing seminars and visit kennels. They have traveled throughout the US, Europe, and Scandinavia speaking about sled dog sports.

The new adventure that Aliy, Allen and a couple dogs began in 2019 involves a live-aboard boat and the amazing waters of Prince William Sound in south-central Alaska.

Off season can be as full as a person can make it.

 

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