SPK Dog Log

Allen and the Black team will be heading out from Fairbanks in with bib number 8!

Last night at the start draw and banquet at the Westmark Hotel, Allen drew number 8 out of 18 starting mushers. This means the team will start at 11.21am on Saturday morning.

As you may have seen on the Yukon Quest website, this year the teams are taking a “tag sled” (a second sled attached to the back of the main sled) for the first mile or two. Sharon Johnston won the auction to ride in Allen’s sled – thank you Sharon!

Aliy will draw her bib number at this afternoon’s YQ300 mushers meeting so we will let you know later today when she will be leaving the start chute. Also later today we will post the team rosters so keep an eye out for that!

L-R: Sharon Johnston and Allen at the banquet; dog tags for the Black Team

Wednesday evening a big crowd turned up at the Alpine Lodge in Fairbanks to “meet the mushers”.

It was a chance for public, friends, fans and supporters to chat to and get a signature from all the Yukon Quest 1000 mushers. By the end of the evening the mushers had signed their names hundreds of times on posters, race guides, postcards and T-shirts and smiled for many pictures.

This is one of a few events and meetings the mushers and teams attend before the start of the race on Saturday. As you will see from the schedule posted earlier today, Thursday sees the teams in meetings most of the day and the start draw and banquet is Thursday evening. This is where the mushers will draw their starting positions and we will learn what time Allen will leave the start chute.

Thanks to the Alpine Lodge in Fairbanks for hosting the “meet the mushers”!

L-R: Allen with some young fans; the “meet the mushers” board

SP Kennel Crew is at the peak of the Yukon Quest packed schedule. The whole Crew ~ friends and family is coming together for this race!

WEDNESDAY

• 4 PM – 6 PM …….YQ 1000 Mushers Meeting
• 7 PM – 10 PM …… YQ “Meet the Mushers” Event

THURSDAY

• 10 AM ………….YQ 1000 Handlers Meeting 
• 11:30 AM ………YQ 1000 “Rider” Luncheon
• 1 PM – 4 PM …….YQ 1000 Mushers Meeting
• 5 PM – 10 PM …… YQ Banquet / Starting Draw

• 11 AM ………….YQ 1000 START
• 3 PM – 6 PM …….YQ 300 START

We don’t get a lot of sun here in Two Rivers during January but we sure make the most of it!

Aliy and her team leave the yard

Congratulations to BELLA SHAMES who has won our first Yukon Quest themed Dog Fan Club Draw. Bella is a fan of SCOOTER.

Because we have all been occupied with drop bags for both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod and have been folding thousands of booties, Bella wins a set of booties! She also wins a Yukon Quest Race Guide signed by both Allen and Aliy along with a patch and some other goodies.

The next draw is due on Sunday, February 9th which is right in the middle of the race. We’ll still make the draw that day but the post may be a little later. The names of everyone who hasn’t already won and all new members will be in the draw for another Yukon Quest related prize.

Click the button below for instructions on how to join:

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

On Tuesday, veterinarian and long time SP Kennel sponsor, Dr. Tamara Rose carried out thorough vet checks on 19 “possibles” for Allen’s Yukon Quest Black team.

Vet checks are a vital part of the Yukon Quest to ensure every dog starting the race is in good health. Their importance can’t be underestimated.

Tamara checked a number of things including weight, body condition, heart rate and lungs, teeth and temperature and she checked for any sore muscles and other “abnormalities” (see vet check sheet – right). We’re very happy to say that all 19 dogs passed the vet check with flying colors so now Allen just needs to narrow down the squad to 14!

Aliy will take her Red Team squad to the YQ veterinary team for their checks on the Friday before the race.

L-R: Puppet has her teeth checked; Nacho has his feet checked

L-R: TRose feels Schmoe’s wrist; Say “cheese” Mac

Here is a mid-season musher’s rambling… by Aliy

This SP Kennel Dog Log is often filled with videos and photos of our dogs, our mushers and their combined adventures. The training, the racing as well as all of the other antics at SP Kennel. As it appears through the eyes of this website, my entire life is consumed in one way or another with dogs. That is the truth. When I first wake up in the morning, I usually roll over and acknowledge the dog hogging my bed. The very last thing I do in the evening is let dogs out and pass out biscuits. Honestly, there are very few moments in between when I am not in some form or fashion thinking about dogs.

Every once in a while, I wonder… just how did I get here?

I wasn’t born into a dog mushing family. Mushing was not my family’s business. I wasn’t even raised in Alaska. I never even saw a dog sled until I was an adult. But, I am a girl who has always had an absolute love and respect for dogs.

Some of my best childhood memories involve a huge furry husky/shepherd mix named Cleo. She was my pal and my sister and I loved her. I also somewhat remember a huge Rhodesian Ridgeback hound but he left the family kinda quick after eating a birthday cake. My family always had dogs.

“My” first dog was named Puppy Love. I was probably 8 or 9 years old when that stray dog showed up in my life. My parents didn’t feel threatened by the little dog because we were headed on a week long vacation. There was no way a stray would stick around that long no matter how cute their daughter was. But, on the sly, I had convinced a neighbor to fed that little terrier at our house while we were gone. When she was sitting on our door step a week later, she was allowed to stay. I taught Puppy Love to do tricks and we would entertain anyone who paused near our house. She was a fun dog.

“My” second dog was Carmel. I was probably 10 years old when he just happened to show up at the door step. He wasn’t a big fellah and he didn’t have the knack for learning tricks. But he loved to run. That’s when I started mushing. I didn’t know it was mushing, but I see now that it was. I would put a leash on Carmel, sit on my skateboard or balance on my roller skates and he would GO! We raced up and down the concrete streets and I earned more than my fair share of few skinned knees and elbows. Even my best friends had similar mushing dogs. Our dogs pulled us all over the neighborhood. That was some of the best fun a kid could have.

I realize that many years and much distance lay between my first dog mushing miles and the thousands and thousands of dog mushing miles I do today. The dogs are different and the land is different, but the musher is the same. At heart, I am still that little girl who believes that there is nothing better than the awesome camaraderie and the amazing adventures I can have with a dog.

I was meant to be a dog musher.