Rogues Gallery Kennel Blog

Well, Fishcamp is finally over and it ended with a bang. After several pulls of anywhere from 2 to 12 salmon while the fishery warmed up, we finally got a huge haul of 39 salmon in one pull on the last day. Even as good as this was, people around us were pulling in 90 to 100 fish in one pull, but our net is old and a bit holey. Still we were happy with what we got. We ended up closing out our permit, as well as the permits of two other families, and still had a few other fish for friends too. We can rest easy now that we know we have food for ourselves and our dogs this winter. I guess cleaning more than 100 salmon at our place (see photos) was too much though, as the fishy scent drove in a brown bear last night around 2 a.m. Joseph heard the yard erupt into hysteria and looked out the window of the loft to see something big and brown charging Oaky, Seeker and Trucker. In the semi-darkness he thought it was a moose and feared a calf might have been seperated from the mom. Joseph went out in his underwear and slippers and was about half way through the dog yard, when about 10 yards from him, a big brown bear charged up to Ibn. Ibn dove into his box and without thinking Joseph started clapping and yelling “get bear!” The bear was totally startled and bolted back about 15 yards, then stood and looked one last time before running into the nextdoor neighbors and eventually moving off. It was the first time in 7 years we have had a bear in the yard and hopefully it will be the last. Luckily no one, dog or human, got injured.

O.K. the fishing got off to a bang. The fishery opened at 6 a.m. and we had our net ready and in the water by 6:01 a.m. We ended up getting 12 salmon in the first hour, and then a few here and there for several pulls after that. We’re still waiting for a big push of fish, but having fun while waiting. Here are some more photos. The first is Cole putting the final touches on a bouy harness the night before the opener. It’s easy to see how all these fishing knots help Cole make necklines, tug lines and ganglines during mushing season. The second photo is Cole pciking the net after our first pull, and the third photo is Buckwheat helping out.

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With fish for the dogs secure (see last post), it’s time to think about fish for ourselves. In these trying economic times, getting a lot of fish for the freezer can save us having to buy several meals from the grocery store throughout the year, so this week we went to fish camp. There are only about 100 sites to fish from and about 40,000 people that want to take part in the nine day fishery, but no regulations to manage it. It’s first come, first served, so we set up tents, fire wood and other supplies and began living on the beach about a week ago, staking our claim to the area in anticipation of the opener on Sunday. Then we’ll string out our set gillnet and hope for some sockeye salmon. Right now there’s not a lot to do until the fishing begins so it’s been mostly eating and drinking. We’re taking turns running home to feed and clean the bulk of the dogs left behind, and we bring two or three down with us each day, trying to switch them out so everyone gets a turn. Here are a few photos of the camp, the first is Joseph flavoring up some fresh clams for a campfire dinner, the second is our camp with with some friends of ours: Deb and Kevin Hayes. The third photos is Joseph and Colleen walking on the beach taken from in front of their tent. Not a bad view to wake up to, huh?

Well, its earlier than we would liked to have plugged in the freezers, but beggers can’t be choosers when it comes to free sled dog food. We’ve had calls from two local fish processors that were looking to get rid of last year’s catches. We were able to get around 1,000 pounds of king and sockeye salmon fillets for next training season. We also got a call on a horse that died recently, and so after many hours of butchering, we got several hundred pounds of red meat from that as well. As such, we are already looking pretty good in regard to training and racing snacks for next season. Thank goodness, becuase with the rising gasoline prices, getting dry dog food shipped to us is costing more than we ever dreamed, so all the free meat will really help out with kennel expenses.

Last weekend was our annual Memorial Day canoe trip down the Swanson River. This isn’t the most scenic waterway in Alaska, but at 24 miles long, it allows for a long, fun-filled day with family and friends. We would like to have had a dog in every boat, but this river can at times have some tricky rapids, so it was not too be. Only Shagoo came along. The cool weather this year really kept the bugs down, though, so we were able to have an extended lunch. Cole’s brother grilled up hotdogs, while Shagoo helped herself to a bag of Skittles when she thought no one was looking. Here are a few photos of the trip. The girl in the middle of our canoe is Madeline Michaud, she is the daughter of a good friend of ours named Mitch who came along in another boat with his son. Madeline’s extra paddling power really helped out when we would get hung up on rocks.

While the number of dogs we have has grown over the last few years, we never forget about the companions we had before we got into sled dogs. Tatika (the Shepherd) and Snickers (the Boston Terrier) we’re our first two dogs (not ever, but from the current dogs that live with us). They’re getting up there in age as these two girls will be 12 years old this year. Snickers has lost her voice, all her teeth, and the vision in one eye is starting to go, but she still has the spirit of an alpha dog. It’s not uncommon to see her dangling from the loose skin of the neck of one of the sled dogs that has made her angry — which isn’t tough to do these days. Tatika has lost her teeth too, but she is holding up well otherwise. She guards the house and yard the same way she has her whole life, and looks out for the yonger dogs when she sees someone getting picked on. All the puppies love her. Summer can be boring since we’re not doing as much with the sled dogs, but it is a nice opportunity to spend more time with our house dogs, giong for long beach walks, hikes in the mountains and a few light jogs on the mushing trails. We hope these two stick around for many more years because the house, kennel, and our lives wouldn’t be the same without them.

Nothing new to report. The yard is drying up, but trails are still a little too muddy to run on without risking blowing out a shoulder. Ice is off the onds, but the water temps is still too cold to swim. Dogs and humans alike are bored, so in the meantime we are still just letting different individuals in the house for fun, and we’ve been on a couple of play dates to our canine physical therapist’s.

This past weekend was Colleen’s birthday, so while she was in Seward competing in a triathalon (which she placed first in her division - the winning streak continues), Joseph snuck to out to finalize a purchase that had been weeks in the making. He had made secret plans with Colleen’s mom and dad, and brother and sister-in-law to get a collage made to celebrate Cole’s win in the Chatanika 200 back in March. Working with a local frame shop we were able to put together a picture with: her race bib, a photo of her crossing the finish line, some of the gold coins she recieved for the win, and an article from the paper about her accomplishment. It turned out really nice (see below), so nice in fact that now we’re not sure where to hang it where a dog can’t knock it down in our tiny 16′ x 16′ cabin.

Ugh! Break up is such a tough time of year for sled dogs. As the snow melts, sleds are no longer an option, but the ground hasn’t thawed yet, so there are just huge puddles of standing water and pockets of mud all around the yard and out on the trail. Every year at this time, for a few weeks, we have to get pretty creative to keep the dogs mentally and physically stimulated. Normally we would still be trucking to the Caribou Hills 2-3 times a week, but with diesel as more than $4 a gallon, we just can’t afford it this year. We can’t get down to the beach yet either because the road is still too icy, and the trails won’t be suitable for a fourwheeler for at least another week or two. Instead we have mostly been free running the dogs around the yard. We’ll let two or three off at a time and they’ll run around and play, making everyone jealous until its their turn. We also finally butchered a moose we got in fall that sat in the freezer all winter, so the dogs have been enjoying lots of fresh bones. We also bring several dogs in the house for a little bit of play afterwork, but often they do more loafing on the furniture than anything (see picture). Hopefully things will dry up soon, and we can get back to putting in some short puppy runs with the wheeler in the a.m. before work, splicing older dogs into the team just to keep them running a little as well. We’ll probably head back to our canine physical therapist for some underwater treadmill session too, just as soon as we pay off all these veterinary expenses we’ve accrued the last few weeks.