"Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really."
Agnes Sligh Turnbull, an American writer around the turn of the 19th century, is credited with that phrase. I suspect if she'd had a family of racing sled dogs, she might have uttered, 'Dogs' cannot run forever and their lives are too short...' And it's true. We love each and every one of our dogs, their unique personalities, quirks, and approaches to being a dog. But they can't race forever.
We keep our kennel population manageable and prevent unwanted litters by spaying or neutering any dog that we don't specifically intend to breed. We do not practice culling. But over the course of time, some dogs just don't mesh with our program. Occasionally someone sustains an injury that prevents competitive racing, and we have many dogs that have raced their whole lives with us, and finally are too old for long-distance runs (although they would argue this point vehemently). And we are trying to run a competitive racing kennel here.
So, what happens? To the dogs that don't mesh, or get hurt, or get old?!
We keep several retirees at the kennel, to accompany us as ambassadors on outings to local schools and to presentations, and to also help train puppies. Dogs that don't mesh with us are often of interest to another musher, and some dogs get sold to other mushers we know and trust. Finally, we find retirement homes for many other dogs. But - and this is KEY - any Seeing Double dog leaving our kennel comes with a promise both made and requested ~ if anything doesn't work out, always bring the dog back to us. No questions asked. We want all of our current and former racers to be safe and happy!
Meet some of our retirees! Former Iditarod Racer Bodie has a great new friend in Memphis (above, left). Duchess, whom many fans recall from Kristy's past Iditarod teams, is enjoying a loving new home and retirement with a family in Wisconsin. Little Bit (below), Munchkin (above, right) & Nicolas all have new homes with families in Alaska. Several dogs that were ready to step down from Iditarod racing but not ready to hang up their harnesses entirely went to recreational or touring kennels, and our friend GB Jones is always on the look out for good families wanting to adopt retiring racers.
When we race the Iditarod, the rules say we cannot leave a dog behind, except in good hands.
We just think that's how things should be done, period!
Agnes Sligh Turnbull, an American writer around the turn of the 19th century, is credited with that phrase. I suspect if she'd had a family of racing sled dogs, she might have uttered, 'Dogs' cannot run forever and their lives are too short...' And it's true. We love each and every one of our dogs, their unique personalities, quirks, and approaches to being a dog. But they can't race forever.
We keep our kennel population manageable and prevent unwanted litters by spaying or neutering any dog that we don't specifically intend to breed. We do not practice culling. But over the course of time, some dogs just don't mesh with our program. Occasionally someone sustains an injury that prevents competitive racing, and we have many dogs that have raced their whole lives with us, and finally are too old for long-distance runs (although they would argue this point vehemently). And we are trying to run a competitive racing kennel here.
So, what happens? To the dogs that don't mesh, or get hurt, or get old?!
We keep several retirees at the kennel, to accompany us as ambassadors on outings to local schools and to presentations, and to also help train puppies. Dogs that don't mesh with us are often of interest to another musher, and some dogs get sold to other mushers we know and trust. Finally, we find retirement homes for many other dogs. But - and this is KEY - any Seeing Double dog leaving our kennel comes with a promise both made and requested ~ if anything doesn't work out, always bring the dog back to us. No questions asked. We want all of our current and former racers to be safe and happy!
Meet some of our retirees! Former Iditarod Racer Bodie has a great new friend in Memphis (above, left). Duchess, whom many fans recall from Kristy's past Iditarod teams, is enjoying a loving new home and retirement with a family in Wisconsin. Little Bit (below), Munchkin (above, right) & Nicolas all have new homes with families in Alaska. Several dogs that were ready to step down from Iditarod racing but not ready to hang up their harnesses entirely went to recreational or touring kennels, and our friend GB Jones is always on the look out for good families wanting to adopt retiring racers.
When we race the Iditarod, the rules say we cannot leave a dog behind, except in good hands.
We just think that's how things should be done, period!
Little Bit, lovin' a little nappin' in her retired years.
