SPK Dog Log

While Allen was on his final leg of the Yukon Quest, Aliy was at home turning in the Iditarod Drop Bags for both teams.

We had mostly completed the bags prior to the Quest but we needed to bring home the dog jackets, fleece blankets and gloves etc from the first half of the Quest to send ahead for the Iditarod.

Once again, it took a small village to complete these bags and we sincerely thank everyone that helped us!

Our special thanks to the Earle Family: Brian, Tami, Madi and Mykena for the use of their trailer and man/woman power to load, unload and stack the bags in Fairbanks. Thanks team, we really appreciate your help!!

These bags went by road down to Anchorage then will get flown into the Iditarod checkpoints by the ‘Iditarod Airforce’ where they will be waiting for our mushers as they move through the trail.

Thanks Team!

Mykena and Madi stack the pallets

Tami wraps the pallet

This year food drops were partly subsidised by the Iditarod and we pay for the rest. We are required to ship out 1,100 pounds (50 pounds of dog food and supplies to every checkpoint) then we send out as much extra as we need out in bags weighing up to 50 pounds. This year we shipped 1,771 pounds for Aliy and 1,692 pounds for Allen, including supplies sent to Nome that mostly went in Aliy’s name.

Monday was a busy day for all the potential Iditarod dogs at SP Kennel!

We loaded up 44 dogs into two trucks and headed to town. First stop was to get blood drawn by the volunteer vet tech team for the Iditarod veterinarian team to run several tests to ascertain if the dogs are fit to race.

Lydia has blood drawn; Iron’s heart rhythms are recorded

Next, each dog got an Electrocardiogram (ECG) that measures electrical function and heart rhythms and can alert the doctors to any anomalies that might rule the dog out of racing.

Allen gives Lydia some love as she’s on the ECG table

Thanks to the Iditarod volunteer vet tech team of Charlotte Talbert, Samantha Freeborn and Tabitha Jones on the ECG, Sabrina Pennington and Kate Brumbaugh doing the blood draws and Harmony Frazier doing the essential computer data inputting ensuring the correct microchip number is recorded against the right dog. This is important as the microchips are scanned at the start line and all the way down the trail, and if it doesn’t match with the recorded results the dog cannot run.

Next we loaded everyone back into the trucks and headed to T Rose Veterinarian Services for the thorough external vet check. Dr Rose checked weight, coat and skin; eyes, ears and nose. She checked everyones teeth and listened for the heart rate and respiration function. Next she checked range of motion on limbs and looked for any issues in “private areas”. Not EVERYTHING was external, however, we did take temperatures…

Along with all that, we also declare the vaccination status for distemper, hepatitis, para-influenza, parvo, kennel cough, lepto and rabies. All dogs are also de-wormed prior to the race and drug tested during the race to ensure no banned performance enhancers or medications are used.

Thanks to Dr Tamara Rose; we appreciate your support for SP Kennel and the care and attention you pay our dogs.

T Rose checks out Willie’s range of motion

All dogs that run the Iditarod have to pass every test and be declared fit to run. As for the musher… there is no medical involved but they are drug tested in the White Mountain checkpoint for banned substances. Also, rookie mushers must have qualified to run the race by being ‘signed-off’ by officials in a number of shorter qualifying races. This is to ensure the musher has the skills to take care of not only him or herself, but the 16 canine athletes in their charge.

EDIT: The blood draw and ECG is part of the entry fee and if we were to do the vet checks in Anchorage on one of the Iditarod organised ‘vet check days’ that would be covered also. Because we choose to have T Rose do our vet checks locally we pay for that ourselves.

Just a reminder that during the Iditarod weekend in Anchorage the entire SP Kennel Crew of dogs and humans will be staying at the Extended Stay Anchorage – Downtown.

Come stay with us and you might get to meet the dogs and the crew! We will let you know the schedule for when we “drop the dogs” (actually: lift them down very carefully) from the truck during Friday, Saturday and Sunday for feeding and walking, so come and visit with us. We would love to see you!

Please email Linda Steiner at: lsteiner@extendedstay.com for bookings, pricing and availability.

We will keep this button in the ‘fan zone’ (left hand side) of the blog that links you to more information and contact details.

We currently have a few surplus tickets for sale for the Start Banquet and Bib Draw on Thursday, March 3rd at 6pm in the Dena’ina Center. If you would like to attend the banquet and sit at an SP Kennel table please email Moira at spkdoglog@gmail.com. Tickets are $82 and this will be on a first come, first served basis. Let me know how many tickets you need.

NOTE: There are no plans for a Meet-and-Greet with Aliy and Allen this year.

As the final act in this year’s Yukon Quest I have put together a “journey” video for the Black team on this year’s race.

Go make a cup of coffee (or tea), put your feet up and, hopefully, enjoy!

It was a full house in Whitehorse tonight as the Yukon Quest was celebrated through music, stories and fellowship.

A full house with Commando and Willie in the background

The Canadian Rangers lead all the mushers into the hall during the flag procession then we were all welcomed by Chief Doris Bill, Kwanlin Dun First Nation and Michele Telep, Ta’an Kwach’an First Nation, both speaking about how the Yukon Quest is important to their communities. After the national anthems of Canada and USA, representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the local Yukon MP and the Whitehorse Mayor also spoke about the Quest and it’s impact on the Yukon.

All the finishing mushers

We chose our table well as we were the first to be drawn to go to the buffet! Yum. During dinner we enjoyed a performance by the Air North Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Can-Can Dancers – including some moves from the Red Lantern winner Gaetan Pierrard.

Scott Chesney and his photography/videography team of Julien Schroder and Whitney McKaren put together an amazing montage of stills and videos from the race. We’ve all enjoyed their beautiful work during the race and the montage was really quite moving. Check it out on the “Quest Facebook page now.

Each musher came up to the stage to thank their dogs, handlers, families, sponsors and supporters. Most told stories about their time on the trail and referenced the “Quest Family”; something that brings mushers back year after year. After Hugh Neff’s champion’s speech we were all treated to a performance of the Wolf Dance from the Dakka Kwaan Dancers, a local first nation group, that was simply awesome.

The Flag Procession; Seal Fur mittens by MadMitters

Allen told the story of how he ended up in the water before Mile 101 checkpoint – he got his leg caught up in one of the lines on his sled and while trying to free it he and his sled flopped over into the water. He told the dogs “straight ahead” and they drug him through the water out the other side. Good dogs!

For coming in third place, Allen won a beautiful pair of seal skin mitts from “Matmitters” in Dawson City.

Congratulations to all the other prizewinners tonight – head over to the Yukon Quest Facebook page and website for more photos and further details.

There was another tremendous turn-out in Whitehorse last evening as hundreds and hundreds of fans, supporters, sponsors and family queued to get signatures, selfies and handshakes with their favorite mushers.

It was the first time many of the mushers had seen each other so there was time for them to catch up with each other and share stories of the trail.

It was appropriate that the Verizon promotional signature cards that Allen was signing featured a picture of Scout, seems Scout was the MVD of this race!

It was a fun evening! Thanks to the sponsors: Inukshuk Dog Food.

Delicious celebration cakes

Congratulations to Carol Olcott who has won this week’s draw. Carol is a fan of MISMO.

Mismo has just found his stride. He is now an extremely confident and dedicated dog. He enjoys running in lead and his best partner lead dog is Waylon. Physically they are opposites but mentally the pair up quite well. We are VERY excited to watch Mismo come into his own this season.

As we are still in Quest mode, Carol wins a 2016 Yukon Quest poster signed by both Aliy and Allen, some maple sweets from Whitehorse, along with some other kennel goodies.

Our next draw is next Friday, March 4th. If you haven’t already won this season or if you are a new member your name will be in the next draw.

NOTE: you can win more than once if you are a fan of more than one dog!

Click the button below for instructions on how to join:

Click this button below to take you directly to the Dog Fan Page.