SPK Dog Log

Aliy and Allen were in Huntington Beach, southern California this past week for a Verizon Wireless Conference. The WOW ~ Women of Wireless ~ gathering was a two day event that brought together 350 of the best, brightest and most enthusiast women Verizon employees from California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Alaska. (Photo on left: Allen, Pepsi LaMar, Aliy and Irwin Siongco.)

The conference was headlined by Tami Erwin, the Executive Vice President for Verizon Operations and one incredible person. Tami had the stage just before Aliy. She centered her talk on the concept that women must often break the mold that we are cast into, yet simultaneously retain our personal strengths and beliefs. There is no position a woman can not reach – but expect to work hard, stumble and get right back up again!

Aliy sharing who exactly she is.

Aliy got on the stage next. First and foremost she explained WHY she was there? A Dog Musher? In California? At a business conference? Seriously? So, after a few “icebreaker” minutes, Aliy opened up and told her very authentic story of how she became one of the most talented, successful women in the state of Alaska. “…work hard, a few stumbles but get right back up again!” Sound familiar?

The topic of Aliy’s talk was: Personal Branding ~ What’s makes your Brand?
Aliy first needed 45 minutes to share WHO exactly she is before sharing her thoughts about maintaining her brand. The final 10 minutes of Aliy’s presentation focused on what she considered most important in maintaining her image and brand.
So… if you don’t know WHO ALIY IS … here you go.
This is directly from Aliy’s presentation:

– Authentic, Strong and Honorable: The concept of ‘being true to yourself’ should go hand and hand with being true to your community and fans. I am truthful about who I am. I can imagine nothing worse than living a lie. I know that not everyone will appreciate me or my dog mushing lifestyle. But – take me or leave me – I am incredibly proud of who I am.

– Positive and Inspirational: I try to be positive. Absolutely everyone has problems and hurdles in their life. There is no reason I need to add to the negative when a positive view can be so much more helpful. In my life (as with all of us), I have many challenges. I find that I can more easily overcome these obstacles when I smile. So, when in doubt… smile!

– Stay relevant and current. Yet always be ready to evolve: This is the most challenging concept for me. Our society expects instant gratification and constant communication. The fact that I try to retain my personal touch in my brand makes it nearly impossible for me to to correspond with everyone. The SPK Dog Log is a helpful tool but it even has its challenges.

– I am personally responsible to maintain my image and brand: This statement is by far the most important part of who I am. I determine my future by my actions today. I take this seriously. I am fortunate that I believe in who I am. I enjoy upholding my values, my brand and thus, my self.
But, I also need to remember that EVERYTHING MATTERS! Whenever I forget this concept, some small force will remind me. Just prior to leaving for California I received this letter (below) from a young fan who ironically, lives in California. Once again, EVERYTHING MATTERS.

This is the letter:

Now that school is out or winding down in many parts of the world, we are receiving less correspondence from children. Over the last few months we have received many excellent drawings, cards and posters. Thank you for every single one! As a season finale, we decided to have an Art Show. So, here are five selected drawings from the talented students at Del Mar Pines Elementary School in San Diego California:

Allen’s favorite.

Aliy’s favorite.

Wendy’s favorite.

Wes’ favorite.

Moira’s favourite.

Aliy and Allen are back onboard the Denali Wilderness Express Railroad adventure ride. Cruise ships guests board the luxury train at the Port in Whittier. Then they travel 10 hours north – through Turnagain Arm, across the Susitna Valley, and into the Alaska Range Mountains. The ride ends at the Denali National Park Railroad Depot.

The Mushers jump onboard just prior to Hurricane Gultch – a small flag stop depot southeast of the Alaska Range – and ride for approximately 2 1/2 hours. The train carries anywhere between 450 and 600 passengers. Aliy and Allen entertain all of the guests with their personal mushing stories. They also pass out postcard handouts (Schmoe and Chemo are the SuperStars on the handout this season.) Plus, a dozen lucky passengers receive SP Kennel souvenir t-shirts.

This train route only runs a couple days of the week from mid May until mid September.

All ABOARD!!

Here is the front of the handout postcard that we are giving about 15,000 Princess and Holland America guests.

We are enjoying the beginnings of summer in Two Rivers. We are rotating the dogs through our three ‘Play Pens’. Today Decaf and Creamer were in Pen #1 and Rodney and Ginger in Pen #2. Scruggs and Sandy spent the afternoon in Pen #3.
Here is a fun video:

Spring and summer are excellent seasons to be a husky in Alaska. Granted, we are not going on thousand mile adventure trips across the state… BUT we are exploring the trails and forests in our own neighborhood. And sometimes, as people say, sticking around home is kinda fun. Right, dogs?

Yesterday, the morning group of dogs on the walk was: Mismo, Izzy, Champ, Chipper, Willie, Tig and Aliy. There was a minor miscommunication between Chipper, Izzy and Aliy. Chipper antagonized Izzy in the last 200 yards and the two rushed off together in a “huff”. Aliy assumed they LEFT HER and ran the mile home to the kennel. The dogs know the way home. So, Aliy took the rest of the dogs home. But she was wrong! Chipper and Izzy only went around the curve in the trail. When they came back they realized Aliy had LEFT THEM!.

No one panicked. Well… Chipper is so high strung it would be hard to tell what her ‘panic state’ might be. But, we all met up 10 minutes later at the same spot we had “lost” each other. There were a few glares, eye rolls and ‘what the heck did you do that for’ moments. But then Izzy and Aliy both decided it was all Chipper’s fault and the three trotted home.

The afternoon group was: QT, Amber, Commando, Felix, Olivia, Aliy and Wendy. After the first 5 minutes of Commando strutting his stuff and Felix coming out of his shell, the hour long walk went great. We even have photos!

The slough still has a little ice. The afternoon was beautiful.

Olivi and her kids; Commando and Amber smell the only green around.

L – R: That is Amber NOT a beaver; QT stares at the camera!

Happy Mothers’ Day to you all, whether your children are human or not!

To celebrate let’s take a quick look back at some of our mothers being mothers.

Chica and her Five puppies

Five minutes with Five puppies

Olivia and her Fire Litter

Big O and the Fire Litter at three weeks

Quito with her Golf Litter

Quito and her Latinos

Video of the Latinos at one week old

Quito and her Golden Harnesses

Quito and her Olympics

In the previous post, I mentioned that we now have a half dozen retired dogs at SP Kennel. I did not mention ChaCha or Rambler in the post. Quite a few SP fans took notice of their absence and have since asked about them. I guess, in life, we are told to accept the good with the bad. But, honesty… sometimes sadness prevails over logic. Anyhow, I just couldn’t get myself to write anything about the passing of these two great dogs. I will do that now.

ChaCha is no longer with us. Her life was amazingly full and she lived to be nearly 15 years old. She was an fantastic racing dog and a great ambassador for the sport. She lived out a full life at SP Kennel. Her favorite spot the last few months was snuggled in the coffee table crate that is in the center of the house. On top of the crate we would often set photos, fan mail or race paraphernalia. So she was the “center” of the kennel until her very last days.

HERE is a post that was published when ChaCha turned 14 years old. She was an exceptionally gifted sled dog, but she was also a sweet girl who loved everyone.

Most of all, we miss her generous kisses, her perky ears and her competitive bark. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t see her personality and physical traits as we look out at her offspring here at SP Kennel.

We were extremely fortunate to walk alongside such a phenomenal dog.

Rambler – Lamb chop – persevered for several years after being diagnosed with Cushings. This disease was not kind to him. He lost most of his hair and had to wear a long sleeved fleece jacket most of the time.

Rambler was able to travel with the team even in the end. He was present for the 2017 Iditarod Ceremonial Start in Anchorage and cheered loudly from the sidelines. He lived to be 9 1/2 years old and was a very happy soul despite his sickness.

HERE is a video of Rambler prior to Cushing’s disease and HERE is a post about him after his health issues sidelined him from racing.

Rambler’s legacy is a 2nd place finish in the Iditarod and a 1st place finish in the collection of dog toys. He absolutely loved his stuffed animal collection. Dr. Rose gave him his last stuffed animal just before he left us.

Rambler was most happy when he got a dog biscuit. He was our official biscuit “taste tester” and sampled every dog treat that came on the property.

Rambler reminded us that life is not always easy and can be short; but do your best to enjoy your biscuits while you can.