Lot’s of things have happened at StinkyPup Kennel since our last posting, some good, some bad.
Bad: We are finally coming to the conclusion that Luke isn’t coming home and isn’t going to be found. On July 19, 2013 Luke escaped from the car on a trip to the emergency vet. He had a 104.6 temperature– we don’t know what was wrong with him. Normally when we take dogs to the emergency vet they are lethargic. Apparently Luke got an adrenaline rush on his way to the vet, and when the car door opened he burst forward. Greg chased him up and down College Road, and even got rides from people who spotted him. Finally Greg chased him to the woods near the Auto Museum, and lost his trail. I drove to the museum and we looked for him. We continued looking for him for weeks, but never saw him and didn’t receive any Luke sighting phone-calls. We miss him, as does his brothers and sisters.
Bad: Duke, the 14 year old dog who had many lives, died on Oct. 28th. He was somewhat confused several nights before he fell ill. Instead of sleeping inside he wanted to sleep outside, so I let him. It was 16 degrees. The next morning I dragged him inside and he was stumbling and lethargic. I gave him 5 liters of fluids sub q for a day and a half because he wouldn’t eat, drink, and couldn’t stand. The next day we brought him into be euthanized. The doc thought that his cancer spread to the lymph nodes. Duke was one of our first lead dogs– who could actually lead. He was a quiet and friendly boy and is missed.
Silly: Siren the puppy is a runty little girl who just turned 1 in Oct. Somehow the littlest dog in the yard learned how to climb the fence. She doesn’t jump over– just climbs it and supervises everyone while perched on top. Siren lives up to her name, as she is a chatty little whiner.
Good: Kraken is turning into a fine young sled dog. He’s Siren’s litter mate (along with Medusa). He likes to run, harnesses up without too much of a fight, and the best part is he knows how to poop and run! He’s learning the ropes quicker than his sisters who constantly unharness themselves before we run and when we stop the team while on the trail. Kraken’s only downfall is he is mouthy! He pulls my hair with his snout and climbs all over me.
Good: We’ve started fall training. We’ve had a late start due to the warm October weather, but we are running two teams of 10. Right now I’m only running 3 miles and hope to increase the mileage as soon as the trails freeze up. I just read on the SP (Skunks’ Place) blog that they are doing 3 hours runs! Oy vey– we really need to ramp up if were going to successfully run the Copper Basin 300 in January.