Breed: Alaskan Husky 
Nicknames: "Scaredy Cat" (because I'm so timid), "Button Baby"
(because I need so much encouragement), “Sunny Baby” (I love soaking up
those warm rays!), ” “Cutie” (because I am!), "Cuddle Puppy" (I like to
cuddle when I’m tired) & “Sweetheart” (no explanation needed for that one).
Birth date: September 2001 (at Plettner Kennels in Houston, Alaska)
Favorite dog to run with: My sister Ani, of course (especially when
she's pulling her fair share of the weight)!
Favorite toy: Mom only lets me play with a medium-sized "Good Cuz"
under her supervision because I destroy & then swallow everything else.
Every once in a while (& only when my Mom is closely watching me), I get to
play for a short time with a particular pink plastic PetSmart squeaky ball
that Ani & I love to play with. We have 3 seemingly “identical” pink balls
purchased from the same store, but there’s only this one particular ball
that we like.
Favorite food: Just about anything that fits into my mouth!! I love
all kinds of meat, cheese and peanut butter. Just beware of what you give
me, I don't chew – I just swallow as soon as it fits into my mouth.
Favorite pastime: Sunning myself in those wonderful Southern
California rays (I just love to "lay out" in the yard)! I know I’m supposed
to be a “snow dog,” but I just love the warmth of the sun!! Of course, I
also love sleeping on Mom's bed, running around the backyard with Ani,
running on sidewalks, trails or wherever I am with Mom & Ani and just
hanging around with my family/“pack”.
I’m best friends with: My sister Ani and my Mom. (I'm OK with my dad
& brother, Jiko, but I really prefer to hang out with “my girls”).
Pet-peeves: Not getting out to run more. Mom leaving us to go to work. When
my brother, Jiko, snaps at me. Dad teasing me. Being examined & getting
shots at the Vet.
If I could change anything in the world, it would be… To make the
world a less scary place and to make it a more dog-friendly place so I can
go everywhere Mom goes!
I love my parents because… They love me (almost as unconditionally as
I love them)! I know they’d do almost anything to keep me healthy & happy.
My bio: I am a female Alaskan Husky who was born September 2001
in Houston, Alaska at Plettner Kennels. I come from a long line of Iditarod
finishing lead dogs (and almost got the chance to run on a team in the 2004
Iditarod). I spent 3 years living the awesome life of an Alaskan sled dog
and training to run the Iditarod. Because I was too timid to fight for a
spot on the “A team,” my one shot at running the Iditarod was only if
someone leased a dog team from Plettner Kennels. I’m a great team dog that
trots up to 11mph, but I hadn’t developed the courage to be a lead or swing
dog.
I met my current Mom and sister (Ani) in late August of 2003 when they came
to Alaska to train with Iditarod musher Lynda Plettner. During the week-long
“mushing boot camp,” both Lynda & I (and all the other dogs at the kennel)
helped teach both my Mom-to-be & Ani all about the finer points of mushing.
Even though I was painfully shy, I got along instantly with Ani and was
happy to "show her the ropes."
Lynda saw the “good fit” and on the 2nd day of mushing training suggested I
would make an excellent addition to the "Greenacre Gang" (that's what my
Mom's family calls us). Although my potential new mom really wanted to take
me home with her at the end of training in August, she didn’t want to “ruin”
my chance at possibly running in the 2004 Iditarod. My Mom-to-be left saying
she’d take me only if I wasn’t going to run in the race. Well, after a few
weeks, Mom got an e-mail from Alaska saying the dog team lease agreement
didn’t happen and that I wasn't going to run in the race. So Mom began the
preparations to bring me to California. Barely one month after Mom & Ani had
returned back home, Mom took a Friday off from work to make a “turn-around
trip”: taking the first morning flight all the way back to Alaska to pick me
up & escort me to my new home in Southern California. We were on the Friday
night redeye flight into LAX & Mom spent the entire weekend at home with me
to make sure I had a “smooth adjustment” into my new home and family. My
life as a California “Sun Dog” began on September 26, 2003.
I took quickly to the relaxed Southern California lifestyle and adapted just
as quickly to becoming an indoor/outdoor dog. Because 2003 was a really hot
summer (I remember all the ash raining down from the sky from all the big
brush fires around us and Mom trying to keep us indoors as much as
possible), we didn’t get to run for quite a while. When we finally did, I
had to learn to run on weird concrete trails that everyone called
“sidewalk”. Before Mom found out about Fairview Park, we’d “sidewalk surf“
(using driveways and handicap access curb corner cutouts to cross streets),
because it was too dangerous to run in the streets. When she could, Mom
would drive us up to Big Bear for cooler morning/evening running weather.
And whenever Mom & Dad go to visit his parents in the Central Valley (out
towards Fresno), we get to go running with the cart out on the orchard’s
dirt rows. It is so much fun to run out among trees again and chase after
the birds & rabbits out there (it is almost like being back in Alaska)!
My older brother, Jiko, can really be a “cranky old man” at times (but he’s
15 years old – so it’s understandable), but he was Mom’s great lead dog.
When he took self-retirement 2 years ago, Mom had to turn Ani & me into her
co-lead dogs. With a lot of patience & time, Ani & I are now comfortably
sharing the leading together. |
