SPK Dog Log

Sunrise and heading home from a morning run.

Pausing in the creek with Jefe and McCaw in wheel.

SP Kennel is fielding three teams in the 2017 Copper Basin 300! Allen will run the Black Team, Aliy the Red Team and Chris will run a Red & Black Team of youngsters in his first 300 mile race.

As with last year, the CB300 committee allowed the top 10 finishers in the 2016 race the opportunity to sign-up before they opened registration to all other mushers. This was because for the last couple of years the race filled up almost immediately and they wanted to be sure their defending champs and place-getters secured an entry and didn’t have to sit on a waitlist hoping to get in.

Then it was a nervous wait for Chris to submit his entry once the race was opened to everyone else. We were really pleased to see his name amongst the 50 mushers that have entered!

SPK enjoys the CB300 and have enjoyed much success in this race. Allen and the SPK Black Team have won this race six times and finished in 3rd position last year behind Matt Hall and Ryne Olson. Aliy and the Red Team have finished in the top 10 on multiple occasions, including their best finish in 4th place last year. It is billed as “the toughest 300 miles in Alaska” and we would definitely agree. We’ve experienced extremes in terrain, in weather and in competition and it is a great test for musher, dogs and handler teams!

Last year’s top four: Matt Hall, Ryne Olson, Aliy and Allen (Photo credit: Mary-Beth Schreck who was volunteering for the race and is Nomex’s sponsor

So, look out for the all three SPK teams when the race starts on January 14th in Glennallen! We’re excited!!

Verizon Wireless has agreed to continue their annual sponsorship of Aliy, Allen and SP Kennel. The telecommunications company is relatively new to Alaska but has expanded even more this month with a brand new store at the Dimond Mall in Anchorage.

Here is a VIDEO NEWS STORY about Verizon’s continued support of SP Kennel.

The Grand Opening Store celebration is this Friday at 10:30AM with a ribbon cutting ceremony and rumors have it… Krispy Kreme Doughnuts available. As always, Verizon will have knowledgeable staff, technicians, and service plans to fit any need.

Aliy, Allen and Quito will be at the Grand Opening on October 7th from 4PM until 8PM. They would love to see all the Alaskans that have supported them throughout their mushing careers. If you don’t need a phone, come for a Krispy Kreme! You will have the chance to meet one of the very best Sled Dogs in the world. Quito has raced seven Iditarods and six Yukon Quests. She is 10 years old and still tells the entire team at SP Kennel what to do. She is flying down from Two Rivers just for the Meet & Greet event.

October 1st marks the day we “officially” open our supporter season. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in the past. We know the phrase “we couldn’t do it without you” is sometimes overused but in this instance it is absolutely true. And, it’s not just the monetary support you give us… it’s knowing you are all with us in spirit and cheering us on that helps us along the way. Never more has that been felt than last season – thank you all.

Today we open our “Join The Team” and “Support the Dog Log” supporter options. The “Dog Fan Club” will open soon, so watch this space.

This year our Red Team membership thank you packet has a brand new SP Kennel t-shirt. We hope you love it as much as we do. The Membership certificate is a fantastic photograph taken by Sebastian Schnuelle during the 2016 Iditarod. Thanks for letting us use it Sebastian!

As many of you already have an iconic red SPK beanie (or in some cases, MULTIPLE red beanies) we are not including one in our “standard” membership. If you would like one you can simply “Upgrade” your membership for an extra $15 and we will include the beanie. Note: beanies are not available on their own, you can only get one through the upgraded team membership.

Our Black Team membership thank you packet has a very cool cotton tote which is great for carrying all manner of things: dog treats, bones, harnesses and booties… or, a laptop, your lunch or some groceries. You can upgrade your membership of the Black Team also and receive a black SPK beanie.

We are grateful to have been given permission to use the amazing shot from Julien Schroder for our Membership certificate this year. It was taken during the 2016 Yukon Quest.

To become a team member you can hit the “Join the Team” button on the left at any time during the season, or you can hit this one now:

Our “Support the Dog Log” supporter option is available all year round. For anything from $5 to $50 you can support our website. Your name will appear on the site as a thank you!

You’ll notice we have cleared the rosters of supporters (on the RHS of the blog) ready for the new season and the Dog and Puppy pages have been updated a little. We will have new portraits taken later in the month and all the team cards will be properly updated then with new “blurbs” and photos. We’ll let you know when they are up.

Team membership packets will be sent out starting in November.

The Olympic Litter: Gold, Prata and Bronze have just turned 8 weeks old. They are sassy and fully of energy. They seem to be the perfect combination of Quito — with her quick wit and smarts — and Clyde — with his endless appetite and charging energy. They spend time rotating between pens and have found the “Plaza” (just outside the basement door) to be their current favorite. The pups have been exploring the forests and trails all around the neighborhood.

Here are some great photos that were taken by our good friend Donna Dewhurst. She has been taking awesome Alaska pictures for many years. She has had her work in Alaska Magazine and several other publications. Donna and her husband, Scott were in Denali National Park last week and were able to drive the 3 hours north and east to SP Kennel for an afternoon of dog fun.

Check these pictures out: Amazing!

HERE are more photos from Donna.

Back in April, Aliy and Moira attended a fundraiser in Fairbanks which annually raises money to advance the rights and needs of women, children and families in Alaska.

Aliy donated a kennel visit and sled ride for the outcry auction and, in turn, won an auction item herself. She won a wall Mural to be hand painted by local Alaskan artists, Barb and Bev. Last week the mural was completed! We now have quite the special “Map Feature” taking up an entire wall of our garage.

Barb (with Gold) and Bev start the project; Group selfie with Mural.

We spend a bit of time in the garage during the long winter months: packing drop bags, fixing sleds, weighing and vet checking dogs, sorting booties, etc, etc. So, it goes with out saying, this awesome additional is certainly going to brighten up the room and add some conversation!

Thanks so much Bev and Barb – we love it!!

See the cabin in the center of Alaska? That’s us!!!

After a summer season, working as a lead dog on a glacier tour team, Woody has come home.

We were very excited to see him and welcomed him with tasty treats (thank you Heidi!) and many pets. He will have a bit of time off between carting around tourists — with Chris at the helm — and jumping back into pre race training here at SP Kennel.

Woody looks GREAT!

Woody camping out with some “Summer Friends” in Juneau.

Each year the pups from the previous summer become our “yearlings”. This officially happened TODAY for the Coffee Pups who were born exactly one year ago. The “Goldies” will not turn a year old until October 11th.

One of the absolute best things about running a kennel is seeing the new generation start to find their feet and learn which way is forwards. At the end of last season we managed to get the Coffee Litter out in harness for the first time – check out this video of their first run. In the spring the Golden Harness litter was still a little small and immature to start so we waited until the fall to get them in harness.

Since training season has started we’ve had the babes out a number of times running amongst some more experienced team mates.

Hotshot and Cayenne in front, Bruno behind; Champ and Sanka in front, Outlaw and Creamer middle, Dancer in the rear.

We will post a more detailed account of their individual antics as the training progresses. You’ll see from this video (taken today, September 23rd) that the all have their “sled dog” legs under themselves.