Alaska is certainly the world of fish and wildlife. One of the tastiest snack that we give to our sled dogs is salmon. In some parts of the world, salmon is actually toxic to dogs, but luckily, not here.
SP Kennel acquires salmon through various means. Often we will drive 80 miles south to a native village, Nenana, and buy Dog Salmon from villagers who operate fish wheels. These fish wheels are huge wooden structures that sit in the current of the river and literally, scoop up fish, as they swim past. We have also driven to state run fish hatcheries. At the hatchery, young salmon smelt are grown and released into the wild, only to return to the hatchery years later to breed. There is no where for these returning fish to actually do their “business” in the wild, so they are mechanically processed and the carcasses are available to purchase. In years past, we have driven back from Valdez with literally tons of fish in tow.
This year one of our good friends, Dave, (who is a summertime commercial fisherman and a wintertime snowmachine/dog musher guide ) found us some Pink Salmon. There were 10,400 pounds of fish stored in a freezer unit in Anchorage – only trouble was retrieving it. If any of you have followed SP Kennel for a length of time you know that the mantra here is “Nothing is easy!”
Dave brought us the fish this past week after a lengthy ordeal of: driving, trailer issues, driving, truck issues, driving …. So, “Thanks Dave!” The dogs will love it!
