SPK Dog Log

Just yesterday I was chatting with a good friend and she asked “What Checkpoint are you at?” I thought , “Gez… Linda are you off your rocker? It’s summer and the Iditarod is over.” She soon explained her question: If you consider your foot surgery a sled dog race, how many miles do you have left to go?

Hummmmm. I had never thought about my predicament that way. Strange, considering I am currently writing my 2016 Iditarod Trail Notes. I should have thought that way from the start. So, I looked through my current writings and made a few comparisons. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not sure where “I’m at” in the Foot Recovery. But, I’ve just left Nikolai in my Trail Notes. So… let’s say Mile 263 of 975!

Preparation
The Iditarod: For me, the Iditarod is the culmination of so much. A year of constant brainstorming and thought, acting and reacting on plans and ideas, constantly revising and improving on everything I do. All with with complete and utter dedication.
I look forward to the Iditarod because nothing else matters. It all comes down to one thing. Only one priority. One thing to act on. One thing to worry about: my dog team and our speedy journey down the 1,000 mile race route. No phone calls or emails. No thoughts about the kennel. No family, sponsors, puppies, geriatric dogs, vet bills, fixing sleds, broken dog trucks, dog food deliveries… none of that. Only one thing. It is the center of my world for 8 to 10 days and I love it!

The Foot: It took some research and planning. First I had to find a “real Doctor” – you know one that you can go to regularly, get a check up, phone if you feel sick and generally “have in your back pocket for future issues”. I haven’t had a “real Doctor” my entire adulthood. For the past 20 plus years, when I needed stitches, I did them. But, being in my mid 40’s it seemed about time. Both of my step daughters are nurses and they found me the perfect Doc in Fairbanks (honestly, they were probably just sick of me asking them for doctorly health advice!) Once I was deemed ‘healthy enough’ to have surgery, I just needed to 1) plan the time and 2) find the money. These two significant factors pointed to ‘soon after Iditarod’ because 1) downtime would be possible in April and May and 2) we would have the $10,000 insurance deductible needed from Iditarod race winnings (hopefully!)

The Start
The Iditarod: It is was exciting to be starting the Iditarod… again. I was anxious, but not nervous. There were many miles and many adventures that lay ahead. We would take it one mile at a time. What mistakes would we make and what successes would we have?
As I walked in front of my team to the starting line, I had at least a dozen dog handlers holding back the team. The dogs were very well behaved but, understandably very excited to start their upcoming adventure. Under the start banner, I was busy checking in with my dogs. I was also saying thank you to family and friends when the starter got to “3 – 2 – 1 GO!” Although we left the start line a tiny bit late, we still shot out like a rocket.

The Foot: Despite the pleasant surroundings of the Surgery Center, I was nervous and I told Allen “If the Doc doesn’t show up soon, I’m outta here.” It was 6AM and if I was actually going to do this, we needed to start now. At 6:05AM a nurse came to lead me away. So … 3 – 2 – 1 – Go!

2016 Iditarod Race Start. 3 – 2 – 1 – GO!

The Beginning
The Iditarod: By the time that I arrived at Rainy Pass Lodge, it was late afternoon of the second day. Over half the teams in the race were there. I stopped well before the parking area and checked in with the Race Judge and the Veterinarian. Our food drop bags were piled off to the side of the trail. Well, our food drops were a little farther off to the side since they were sorted alphabetically. “Z”!!!! I asked the Race Judge to stand on my sled brake and anchor hook while I hustled over to get my bags. I knew that another dog team was only minutes behind us, because I had passed it only a few miles back so I hurried. I didn’t want to cause any more chaos than was already apparent with 40 dog teams, 40 airplanes and way more than 40 spectators at the checkpoint.
My team happily followed me over to look through my bags as the Race Judge tried to command my team. “Bad dogs!” They were supposed to stay lined out straight ahead on the trail, but the crinkle of a bag full of salmon snacks was an irresistible temptation for Waylon and Mismo. I grabbed a few more snacks, some other gear and we collectively walked back over to the trail before the next dog team arrived. I signed my Vet book just below the line where the Vet had signed and we were okay to continue. We were off.
We literally threaded a needle of 40 parked dog teams, 20 on each side, as they lay resting on enticing beds of straw with tasty piles of dog snacks and kibble scattered everywhere. I never took my focus off our destination on the far side of all these temptations. I spoke in a strong, yet compassionate voice: “Straight ahead.” As I mentioned, our dogs are not tethered by a leash to their collars. So, if the entire team, or any one member, decides that he or she would really rather stay and camp alongside Ray Reddington’s team (for instance), than they have every opportunity to do so. This requires mental control of the dogs rather than physical control. The complete dedication and obedience of my team not only impressed me, but also several hundred spectators who stopped to watch me pass through. “Good dogs”.

The Foot: Surgery went well. I came home and started to heal. Physically this was all up to my body. Mentally I had to ‘not screw up’. That meant don’t make any mistakes! The better I took care of the incision, the more I would ice it and elevate it, then the quicker it would heal. I needed to be cautious and forward thinking. It was simple actually, just do what you are supposed to do and see what pans out down the trail.
Navigating my surroundings with crutches was my first challenge. It’s not especially hard, it’s just time-consuming and requires concentration. Don’t rush, be careful on the stairs and try to stay on the “main trail”. I did made a few mistakes, now and then, but started to learn how to manage one-legged.
The biggest challenge was the mental hurdle: “Don’t put weight your right foot.” In order for my bones to fuse, I can’t stress them. That’s not normal. My natural tendency is to lead with my right foot. My immediate response to any problem is to jump up a “GO!” Obviously defying my Doctors orders. “Bad dog!” The Doc wrapped my foot in a large, rigid boot and ordered me to wear it “24/7”, so I do. I am convinced that this boot protects my toe only a little. Mostly it is a 5 pound ankle weight that constantly reminds me “Don’t put weight your right foot.” Maybe I’m the kind of dog that needs a neck line?!?
I am thankful to all the ‘spectators’ from who I’ve received: cards, notes, messages, gifts, comments, thoughts and prayers. I do feel like you are cheering me on. Friends have visited, chauffeured me around and been encouraging. So, I’ve gotten quite a few “Good dog!” praises and each one feels great!

Thanks for the signs at the Anchorage Start; Thanks for the Cards!

The Race Continues
The Iditarod: I sat directly in front of a campfire that I kept stoked with small pile brush and twigs that I had gathered from nearby. My dog food cooker was set up just to my left so I could remain seated and just swivel in order to replenished it with snow. It took quite a while to chip the ice off my shoe laces, untie them and thaw the leather uppers enough to retract my feet. I pulled out the soaking wet foam liners. I then held each boot carefully above the fire so as not to burn it, but thaw it as much as possible. The ice melting off my boots was actually dripping into the fire. All the while, I was lucky that one of the few camp luxuries that I bring along is a pair of goose down slippers. It took a long time to get my boots to the point I was satisfied. I chastised myself profusely for forgetting my overboots. If I had them then I wouldn’t have to spend this extra time drying my boots. This rest period was flying by and I hadn’t even shut my eyes for a moment. Each one of my rests are scheduled for the benefit of both the dogs and myself – skipping a sleep was a poor idea. So, I decided that I would stay longer at this spot than I had originally intended. It’s worrisome to add more rest than your plan stipulates this early in the race because you feel like you are “falling behind”. But, I felt I needed to do it for the long term goal.
I stood up and did the remainder of my chores – sorting and repacking. I had made a large meal for the dogs. I had already eaten my meal. When I stood up to adjust my sleeping cocoon, the dogs looked at me with curiosity. I looked at my watch. We had rested so long that they were already hungry. So, I changed my plan again and fed them before I took my nap. This took more time, and again I cursed myself for forgetting my overboots. Finally, after all my chores were compete, I laid down to get a quick nap. I used my now damp boots as my pillow so that they didn’t sit out in the slightly below freezing temperatures and turn into icicles.
We left our camp spot soon after my alarm woke me from my short nap. Next stop Nikolai. The team was a bit sluggish as daylight came over the horizon. We passed Hugh Neff along the way and Pete Kaiser passed us. It was a game of leap frog.
We pulled into the checkpoint about 10 in the morning the second day of the race. We were about an hour behind the first teams that had arrived. Ironically, the same amount of time I had added to our rest schedule.

The Foot: Passing the third week of healing was a milestone. The incision looked great and the swelling had reduced. Doc gave me the go ahead to do a little more activity. I switched from ‘normal’ crutches to an iWalk Crutch. It changed my attitude completely. I could now use my hands and could start helping around the house.
Allen and I made an agreement that I could visit the outside dogs but only after he fed and did chores. Some of the dogs were frightened of the crutch. I could bond with all my dogs again. They were very excited (as was I) but they quickly learned that I was quite serious when I said, “Don’t jump on me.”
I was really trying not to make any mistakes. I did have one fall – I stepped this way and the crutch went that way. That proves that Doc really knew what he was doing by making me wear that heavy boot all the times, because there was no damage done. But, it was a reality check to slow down. I didn’t, literally, need to take any steps backward. It was hard enough to step forward!

The iCrutch — I do have two legs still!; I can hang out with the dogs again! Nacho!

So here I am at Mile 263 of 975. That is certainly a a chunk of time behind me, but still a large amount lay ahead. Of course, I’ll continue to stay positive and keep my head up. You never know what’s gonna happen, right?!

Throwback Thursday

We thought you might enjoy this short video from mid-October 2012 featuring a tiny Lydia and her almost-as-small sister, Junior. Nowadays they are confident and accomplished soon-to-be four year olds. Both dogs raced the Iditarod on the Black Team this season. Junior lead the squad for 500 miles and came across the line in that position. Lydia is no slouch and dug in halfway through the race to prove that she was one of the most enthusiastic members of the team.

In this video they were just 10 weeks old and experiencing snow for the first time.

How time flies!

Here are my Foot Physical Therapy buddies for the last two days.
They seem to help a lot!

Queen Quito rests; Sissy and Mac are quite content.

Boondocks settles in for a short rest.

From our mothers to yours!

Let’s talk about the gals who are the most recent Mothers here at SP Kennel. These four dogs have produced all of the dogs under the age of 4 years and 75% of the 5 year olds. Next season, these dogs’ puppies will make up over 80% of our racing dogs and all of our yearlings.

Of course, there’s SuperMom Olivia (below left). She will turn 9 years old this summer. Olivia currently has the largest number of offspring at SP Kennel: a ridiculous 21 from three litters! This is actually a huge percentage of our racing dogs for next season. We could literally, have a team consisting of only Olivia’s pups! Visually, nearly 50% of Olivia’s pups resemble her with a tri-colored coat and bright blue eyes. They are also very talented sled dogs – eleven of them raced in the Iditarod 2016.

Olivia is a patient Mom. Who wouldn’t be patient after raising so many puppies? She has always been very caring and happy to be with her pups. After weaning, she still liked to visit her puppies throughout their puppyhood. She still enjoys checking in with her youngest litter: the now 7 1/2 month old Coffee Litter. Olivia is spending the summer next to her boyfriend of many years, Nacho, and her son and daughter; Decaf and Creamer. She should have plenty of time in the next few months to bond with her offspring while on dog walks (and hopefully whisper racing secrets in their ears.) Olivia is still intact and could have more puppies.

Quito (above right) is a Mom of three litters as well and a total of 17 offspring here at SP Kennel. Quito turns 10 years old in June. Her first two litters were fathered by Biscuit and do not resemble their Mother whatsoever. So much so that people forget that Quito is actually their mother. Her only pup, who even slightly resembles her, is Chevie (P.C.) who is from her 7 month old litter fathered by Kosak. Every other pup either looks like “Dad” or some mysterious Milkman. Quito is still intact and could have more puppies.

Quito is Quito. She is the Boss of the yard, the house, any racing team that she is on and any other situation she finds herself in at the time. She is a good mother but isn’t overly sensitive. She enjoyed ‘harassing’ her youngest litter throughout this past winter and wandered over to visit her pups after every training run. These days, when she is running around loose, she doesn’t make a point to visit anyone anymore. I guess she feels that at 7 months old her pups should be ‘on their own’.

Chica (below left) is sweet and sensitive. She is the Mom of two litters and 6 offspring here at SP Kennel. Chica turns 10 years old in June. Mac is the only pup left at the kennel from her first litter. He was an “oops” breeding, but we sure are happy to have him. He resembles his Momma with his exuberance (when it’s time) and mellow (when it’s not time) attitude. This ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ division of personalities is amazing to watch – when they are in harness racing you wouldn’t imagine them sleeping soundly indoors on the oriental rug. But, when they are dozing indoors visitors will ask “does this dog ever race?” Chica is spayed and will not have any more puppies. Chica’s second litter has a difficult start to life with a major health scare. But now the Five litter is a group of amazingly happy, tough and talented almost 2 year old dogs.

Nutmeg (above right) is a ‘go getter’ even at age 12 years. She is the Mom of one litter and two offspring here at SP Kennel. She is one of the few retired dogs at SP Kennel who has not graduated to a spot on the couch or throw rug indoors. She is a tough, hardy dog who is opinionated and loud. She has always believed that she’s simply the BEST.

Nutmeg is a good Momma. Her two puppies were born later in the summer. Cayenne takes after her Mom as far as ‘cocky’ personality so she picked on her brother Champ constantly. So, her first winter she shared a pen with her older, bigger half brother, Torch, whereas Champ is truly a Momma’s boy and spent the entire winter sharing a pen and a dog house. Sweet!

FYI — We have no expectant Mothers as of yet this year.
But… we’ll keep you informed should “anything” happen.

Thanks to all who have suggested various solutions to my one-legged predicament. I sincerely appreciate the thoughts and suggestions. I now see that many of you have experienced some of the same dilemmas as I am now. I have a few new transportation “options” and will start to use them as soon as the Doctor “okays” them. Right now I am supposed to ice and elevate for a while longer. To those of you who just laughed… I appreciate that too. Heck, if I can’t laugh as well, then it’s gonna be a long 6 weeks. Right?!?

But… my ‘dog entertainment’ has continued.

As well as the Alaskan Husky population here at SP Kennel, we also have one “odd dog”, Tig. She is a Lab. We got her almost 8 years ago when we were “in between” retired sled dogs. I thought it would be fun to get involved with retriever training. For the first few years Tig and I did quite a bit of training and even competed in some Hunt Test and Field Trials. She is a pretty talented dog and I am a reasonable dog trainer. Tig absolutely loved the events and we actually traveled to quite a few competitions in and around Alaska. But, I started to get rather competitive… can you imagine that?!?! And it was apparent that I was going to spend a significant bit of time, money and effort on training, hunt tests and trials. I was getting up at 5AM to train Tig in our field before driving and hour for a Hunt Test that started early in the morning and lasted all day long.

It occurred to me that I already had one waaaaayyyyyy over the top dog related addiction that consumed every minute of my life from September through early May… did I really need a second one to take up the remainder of the year? Yeah… probably not, right?

So, Tig and I backed away from the competitive aspect of retriever life. We still have fun with training and retrieving. She carries stuff around the kennel and brings notes to Allen in the garage or me in the office upstairs. She’ll carry harnesses to the harness rack, leashes to the truck or lug around basically anything she can fit in her mouth. She doesn’t tear things up and even carries my phone upstairs at night. Having a retriever around is actually extremely useful!

When I was teaching Tig to fetch, Sam decided he wanted to learn; Tig and Rambler.

Tig still gets to be a “real retriever” every Fall. She’s gone on some kind of hunting adventure since she was a yearling. The first few years we went to Nome when Bridgett and Scotty still lived there. The last few years, Scotty and Tig have flown to Saskatchewan, Canada with to hunt one of the most productive waterfowl flyways in the world.
Setting up before dawn (Excited Tig eyes!); Scotty and Tig after the day’s hunt.

Before I had surgery, Allen and I thought about what I’d need for my soon to be “one-legged” lifestyle. The primary thing that came to mind was: crutches. Both of us remembered seeing a used set of crutches in the outhouse – along with some old hardcover novels, some maps and lots of spiders. So, we rescued the crutches and by golly, they looked useable. We brought them down to Anchorage, into the surgery center and bing-bang-boom… I was ready to go.

Now, one week post surgery as well as “one-legged”, I’ll have to admit that crutches are an enormous help but are also an amazing hinderance. What I didn’t realize is that a person on crutches isn’t just “one-legged” they are also “zero-handed”. That’s right… I can get where I need to go, but don’t expect me to bring anything to the Potluck!

It’s a challenge every morning (after navigating downstairs) to simply transport my coffee cup and milk the 10 feet over to my coffee maker. Heaven forbid if I need water or have to empty the used coffee beans. Much of these tasks are performed while hopping (instead of crutching) and usually leads to stains of water and coffee all over the floor.

The next task on hand is to feed the ‘indoor dogs’. Sometimes Allen feeds them but other times he has already headed out to start his day: working out, feeding the outdoor dogs, doing kennel chores and such (it’s like his life hasn’t changed at all post surgery… Grrrrrr!)

The number of indoor dogs is a variable number – let’s just say there are always at least three (and up to six) dogs standing at attention as I try to lean over, both crutches in one hand, to clean up the spilled coffee beans.

How hard can feeding a few dogs be? Well…

Each dog has a “spot” in the house for their bowl. The “spots” are spread out so each dog has privacy. We have always thought that his is great way to control the dog feeding chaos factor. Now I realize that, no, this is simply a torture technique for a person on crutches. On my first feeding attempt, I tried to bring all the bowls to a central area, by putting the empty bowls on a place mat and dragging them across the floor with the foot of my crutch. I filled them with food and water then returned them individually (by kicking them along the floor with my good foot) to their “spots”. Ten minutes later, after each dog had nearly died of dehydration from drool, the dogs were fed.

On the second attempt, I put the crutches to the side and hopped. I filled a measuring cup with both dog chow and water and proceeded to hop from bowl to refill area to bowl to refill area, etc. I scared most of the dogs with that “aggressive, jumpy movement” and only about half the kibble made it into each dog bowl. The rest of the kibble was scattered on the floor in lines from bowl to bowl to bowl. Kind of a “follow the bread crumbs” kinda morning.

The third attempt (you gotta keep trying, right?), I used my office chair that has rollers on the bottom. I can rest the knee of my bad leg on the chair’s seat and scoot it with my good foot across the room. I can also set dog food, dishes and other stuff on the seat as I motor around. Our house is not large. There is probably less than 300 square feet to maneuver in the living area floor. This “enormous” space is punctuated with a couch, some chairs and a table, dog kennels, dog beds and quite a few throw rugs. The throw rugs are scattered here and there because the wood flooring can be slippery and scary to some dogs (Note: Scout can navigate 5 miles of treacherous glare ice on the windy Bering Sea coast but don’t ask him to cross the 4 foot span from throw rug to throw rug. Yikes!)

Anyhow… back to my third attempt at feeding… throw rugs do not help while scooting my office chair here and there. Inevitable the chair gets stuck on a rug corner, stops suddenly and, you guessed it… the dog chow once again goes flying across the room in every direction.

The bottom line is the entire SP Kennel dog population is now even more excited for their chance to be a “house dog” for the day simply because they get Aliy entertainment and most likely, lots of dog chow to clean up.

I had foot surgery on Friday. It’s been necessary for a while and honestly, a steroid shot enabled me to be two-legged throughout this last Iditarod. But, if I wanted to walk, much less run, on two legs without severe pain, I needed a big toe fusion. So, Allen and I thought seriously about the timing for such a major “inconvenience” and decided it would be best to have surgery immediately after Iditarod.

Well, “immediately after Iditarod” came and went. Being physically and emotionally drained, on top of surgery seemed like a bad idea… plus we had the two **FREE** Alaska Airlines award tickets from the Vet Care Award. So, we went to Mexico for 6 days. Mexico versus surgery – difficult choice?!?

I’m sure many of you have wondered why we have so many dogs with Spanish names. Well… Viva Mexico!

But, when we arrived home, got off the I.V. guacamole, quesadillas and margaritas, we became responsible again and scheduled the surgery for late April.

If you don’t think that everything in Alaska revolves around dogs… you’re wrong!

My Veterinarian, Dr T. Rose, originally examined my toe and her diagnosis went something like this:
“How do you walk on this? If you were a dog, I wouldn’t let you walk on this!”
With that information, I started to think that I should perhaps see some human medical specialists.

I had two P.T.s look at my toe — thanks Nicole and Claire — Nicole has met Allen and I at the finish lines of both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod for several years now (she knows what it takes to get there.) And Claire made about 15 pounds of sugar free protein bars that sustained me on the Iditarod.

Then, Leslie Dean, a hand surgeon in Anchorage, and her husband Don Hopwood, who have been Chica’s Dog Sponsors for many years told me the best foot surgeon to see in Anchorage is Ken Swayman.

During my appointment with Ken, I was greeted by his office dog, Jade, an Alaskan Husky from Iditarod Champ Dean Osmar’ kennel. Jade’s father is Dean’s neighbor’s dog, Lieutenant. Both my dogs, Clyde and Outlaw, were sired by Lieutenant. So, Jade is my dog niece… kinda, sort of…

The surgery went well — according to Ken — who drew husky faces on my now bionic right foot and showed us the X-rays on which you can see the hardware. The surgery basically removed the big toe joint (which was a mess) and then screwed the two bones together. Now they must fuse – like a broken bone would do. So, that means it will be 4 to 6 weeks of non weight bearing on my right foot.

Allen and I stayed in Anchorage for the surgery and post op appointment. Midnight, the wanna-be-sled-dog, and Linda Steiner got us a two-room suite at Extended Stay Downtown. It was perfect! Me, my crutches, 4 pillows and pill containers would rotate from the bed to the couch every few hours with a lot of help from my husband and nurse (same guy for both positions.)

The last day in town, we got out of the hotel, got an “OK” from the Doc (and Jade) and drove home.

Jade, Dr. Ken Swayman and Aliy Post Surgery; Allen is a very diligent third crutch!

The prognosis for full recovery is great. Basically it’s all up to my body now because the bones must fuse together as one. This will honestly take 4 to 6 weeks. No rushing the body’s mending process. I will check in with the Doc every week and send him photos of the incision. I will need X-rays at 4 week and 6 weeks.

As everyone can imagine, this will limit my physical activity substantially. I am, of course, planning on being very proficient on crutches very soon. (I will admit that going downstairs last night was a bit scary.) But, after “the OK” from the Doc, I hope to at least crutch up and down the driveway and out into the field.

After the Doc says so, then I’ll be able to work on my upper body strength… which is so desperately needed (HA!) Perhaps I can also work on a “summer 6 pack”… no, not beer! Maybe Allen and I will continue the SP Kennel’s Pull-up Protocol: this winter we asked most kennel visitors to do at least one pull-up before the left the premises. Who knows maybe I can beat Ryne in a pull-up competition this Fall?!?! I can dream.

Allen will not only be my nurse, but also take over all physical duties at the kennel. We have plenty of friends who have volunteered to help out. I can talk to all the dogs from my house porch, my living room window and my bedroom balcony. Plus, Allen will rotate my indoor canine companions daily. Only one rule… No lifting legs on my crutches.

At the end of the mushing season there is one chore that is best to get done right away! That’s the sorting, laundering and packing up of all the gear.

While we send a LOT of gear out on the trail it is possible to return non-perishable items home in “return bags”. The Iditarod Airforce brought them all back to Iditarod HQ for mushers to pick up and once we got them home we all set to and sorted into piles of booties, dog jackets, fleece throws, human clothing, gloves and socks, vet supplies, hand warmer packets etc etc.

We have many, many dog jackets of different types that go out on the trial. Aliy and Allen carry wind jackets and insulated jackets with them but there are also fleece jackets and spare wind jackets at various checkpoints. All the dog jackets and fleece blankets were laundered, repaired if necessary and packed.

ALL the booties had to be sorted, one-by-one, and strung up to dry. We check every single bootie for holes, as they will not be reusable, and we set them aside for giveaways at specific events. We then sort the “good used” booties into their different sizes then we hang them to dry. As you can imagine, the garage is rather fragrant currently! Once dry we’ll put into sets of four and we use them for training next season. Booties can have a life of one wearing or up to perhaps even three or four depending on how long they were used for, the trail conditions and the dog.

Booties, booties everywhere…

Bags full of clean and dry gloves and socks to be packed and sent out in drop bags next season; We found the Yukon Quest fundraiser booties each with individual messages from supporters.


Fleece throws, jackets, booties… all ready to be packed away for the summer.

It’s a nice feeling to get it all done and we feel like we are ready to start the season on September 1st! That’s not far away!