Life with Siberian Huskies

Poland Springs Elvira

This girl from our “E” litter will be 3 months old on June 6. She’s a Seppala and she knows it. You can see it in her eyes. She’s staying in Maine while her two sisters have moved to Alaska. All of them will carry on the heritage of Leonhard Seppala’s great dogs to the best of their ability.

Of this I have no doubts.

Patience

Patience is one of those lessons you learn when you live with huskies. The Siberians are a proud group and share similar traits with us. Each one of them is self-aware and very confident. This trait bred into them, allowed them, and those they served to survive in the harshest environments on earth.

They think, they scheme, and they want to climb the pack ladder as much as a fresh college graduate does in the corporate world. I will say they keep this to themselves and it is a husky thing not intended for us humans. Never have I observed any animosity towards me or the family. It’s a husky thing.

18 months ago, my two females had a disagreement over a treat. It seemed that way at first but it was much more than that. It was about who ruled the pack. The old girl Sammie or the young upstart Nikki?

Neither one would back down over this treat that Sammie snatched from my young one. This resulted in her receiving pierced ears as Nikki demanded respect. The deposed queen went on an 18-month hiatus from the pack.

Slowly, ever so slowly they have mended their fences. Tonight, the pack is one again. It’s a fragile peace but my young Nikki has showered the old queen with kisses even though she holds back from returning the affection. The older Sam has not forgotten her loss of power. But she longs to be included once again in the pack.

Her self-imposed banishment lasted all this time, but you see the pack is family to them. In time she has forgotten her hate and is slowly putting it aside. The young queen Nikki has tried for months to mend the fence only to be shunned. But the isolation finally got the best of Sammie and she is working on being re-integrated into the new order.

My male Cooper is a big boy. Capable of defeating either one of them if he wanted. But he is the lowest private in my husky Army. He doesn’t mind at all his station. He’s learned to let the leaders lead and he is quite content to follow. He is a pacifist first with a good heart and loves on me all the time. Us males have to stick together as the females battle it out for supremacy.

Maybe in the human world the males have always had the power. That is changing these days and I hold no grudge because maybe I’ve learned from Cooper. Leadership is a skill that can’t be learned for the most part. You either have what it takes or you don’t.

In my experience the Siberian females rule for the most part. They seem to be a cut above in the brain department. They are fierce when challenged, they bring new life to the pack, and they think on a higher level.

The males have their place. When brute strength is needed, and large size to push through deep snow. That is when the males shine. They seem to be happy with this stress free environment. Let the females battle it out!

The males seem to be quite content to let the females lead and make the decisions. It appears to be a combination that has worked for thousands of years. Who am I to argue with success?

The Siberian Husky:

I’ve expounded on the virtues of the Siberian many times. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this picture speaks volumes.

Siberians for the most part have two speeds. Wide-open and sleeping are the most noticeable for most folks. You have to pay attention to those few moments when the husky is not a blur of motion, or intensely focusing on doing husky stuff.

If you pay attention, once in a while they will give you a look. You will get a glimpse of what a husky really is when you see it for the first time. This occasional gaze from a husky will attempt to see inside your soul. To see what kind of being you really are. There is no hiding it from them, for they can sense what kind of person you really are inside.

There is no arrogance about them. They know what they are, and they don’t crave to be anything else. The husky is quite happy with what he is. Confident, Intelligent, and a world-class athlete that others only wish they could be.

They understand more about us than we do about them. Even so, they choose to be partners with us if we treat them with respect. If leaders lead by example, then we could learn a thing or two from the huskies.

Drive, Problem Solving, Unconditional Love and understanding. Love of each new day above ground and the adventures just waiting to be experienced.

To squander one minute of life’s journey is a sin. That my friends are the lessons being shown to us in the only way they can. These leaders teach us about life’s journey with their actions, we only have to open our eyes and look.

North by Northwest of Nome: A Poem

4 and 20 miles ago she fell upon the trail,
it didn’t matter all the times that she’d performed without fail.
You see the lives of dogs and men are subject to the wind,
They live, they love, they give their all, until they meet their end.

He left her buried in the snow, because he couldn’t stop,
that magnificent girl who gave her all, without a second thought.
Frozen tears upon his face as he drove the team on home,
Just a mere 100 miles… North by Northwest of Nome.

The meat they packed was life itself, for those huddled at home,
they kept on moving down the trail, North by Northwest of Nome.
Her sacrifice was not forgotten, by those that did survive,
when that team of huskies minus one… finally arrived.

She’d made their world a better place, with one step at a time,
men and dogs were all she’d known as she pulled upon that line.
Together they’d made a life, family and  some friends,
with no regrets she’d done her best, her trail had met its ends.

Life goes on because of her, and those who pull the sleds,
you can hear it in their songs at night, before they take their beds.
In a little village with no name, the people sing with dogs,
of life and death and sacrifice, by those furry demagogues.

Just North by Northwest of Nome.

My first painting using spray paint cans. I learned a lot from this practice work. This futuristic painting is named “After the Gold Rush” for no other reason than I like Neil Young.

Rainy Days and Sundays:

Did you know that huskies don’t care much for rain? At least mine don’t, and when its raining they prefer to come inside and pout. Oh, they certainly can take getting a little wet but that doesn’t mean they have to like it.

The Siberian is made for the frozen north. To a husky water is something you drink not get soaked with. The only way you would get soaked in the land of his birth was if he fell through the ice. And at those temperatures a quick death would soon follow.

To a husky If it’s not drinking water it should be frozen solid as God intended… in the form of ice or snow. Now God knew when he created them that they would not enjoy his life-giving rain. So, to make up for that, he gave the husky something no other dogs I know of have.

When wet the husky does not smell like a wet dog. He doesn’t permeate the air around him with that horrible wet dog smell. His coat may be soaked but you won’t have to hold your nose until he’s dry.

I have never given one of my dogs a bath. They don’t need it or groomers. They don’t smell and they look great with a little bit of brushing. A lot of brushing during the coat blowing times but it’s well worth the effort.

Just another amazing fact about these unique dogs called Siberians.

This is unabashed promotion of my two new books. The first is non-fiction based on what I’ve learned over the years about Huskies. Some of the basics you can find anywhere but more about understanding the mind of these dogs…and why.

The second is a fiction work about a young girl’s adventures in Alaska. A high school graduation trip with her friends, sends her to Alaska where she finds adventure, love, pain, gold, and wolves. Alaska has many hard lessons to teach her, and she will learn or die in the process of being transformed into something she never thought possible.

If you have Kindle unlimited its free to read. Thank You!

Legacy:

Did you know that you will reach a certain age or spot in the trail of life that makes you stop and think about everything that you’ve been through? Some things remain at the forefront of your memories. Like the first kiss or first time you were dumped.

People live relatively long lives compared to our animal friends. For the most part we have years to fix what ails us and learn better ways. Not always…some are destined to die young by accident, disease, or bad choices.

Some folks never get to the point in life where they can look back and wonder why they did certain things. How they would have done them different if they’d only had the knowledge or wisdom to know better.

I don’t think the animals have this ability to think so deeply. They are for the most part creatures of their DNA and instincts. I doubt they contemplate what legacy they will leave behind in such a few short years.

If they do, I’m sure they think about the good times they remember. I doubt they dwell on the bad as much as we do. They live in the moment and once that moment has passed its forgotten for the most part.

Unfortunately, we think a lot. Sometimes too much and that makes our moments sometimes full of pain, guilt, regrets, and dreams never attained. We dream much more than we actually do something about achieving it. We wish on the lottery, a rich spouse, a big house, a new sports car…and the list goes on and on.

And so, I sit here and wonder what my own legacy will be. What will I be remembered for? For being a cruel and mean person who only thinks of themselves…or someone who loved his life and did all he could to get the most out of what he was given.

The choice is easy to make but hard to actually do. Its easy to dream and take the wrong path hoping that you won’t have to work hard and suffer to achieve those dreams. Fear of failing stops most folks from even trying.

I think my dogs have taught me to take the good and the bad, and to never give up no matter what. Rewards are not measured in gold, but in little slices of love. Those little times amid the storms of life when you know you are loved and give it back just as much.

Our pets don’t have any choice on the life they were given. They might have a great life full of love or one of abuse and pain depending on who owns them. We do have choices… and nobody owns us unless we allow it.

Our legacy depends on us for the most part. We can shape our lives and change it to be better if we try. The legacy of my dogs is that they taught me this, and many other lessons. Lessons from those with much less choice on how life enfolds than I have.

They leave us with a legacy of love, and the hope that we will do the same in our own lives. Everyone’s life is different, different goals, dreams, and hopes. We all weather different types of storms in our lives. The point is to try and leave your legacy of “A life well-lived.”

“To do what you wanna do, to leave a mark – in a way that you think is important and lasting – that’s a life well-lived.”

~Laurene Powell Jobs

My third book is a fiction work about a young girls adventures in Alaska. It will be a series if anyone buys the first copy.  It involves adventure, gold, and wolves. What more could you ask for?

Check it out if you’d like. Thanks!

Did you know that Siberian Huskies have hero’s too?

I’m not sure its something they often think about. Perhaps once in a while when they raise their snouts to the skies and howl the songs of their people. It’s a mournful song of past triumphs and tragedies that befell them during their long history on earth.

A song of freezing cold nights, little food, and maybe a raging storm. It’s a song of lost brothers and sisters along desolate trails. Their bones left behind to the earth as their spirits traveled to the rainbow bridge.

Stories of sacrifice and courage run strong in this line, as do stories of their love for mankind. If you own huskies long enough you will have your own stories to tell. They might not be as amazing as the stories of Leonhard Seppala & Togo. But they will forever be etched upon your mind and in your heart.

In every Siberian husky you can see the past from time to time. The unquestioned confidence and problem-solving abilities they possess. Friendly to all but not to be trifled with, for behind that happy face is a warrior kept in check. Only released when there is no other way out. Whoa be to the one that earns the wrath of the savage husky fighting for his own life or that of those he loves.

If you find yourself in NYC someday go to central park and gaze upon Baltos statue and read the plaque below him.

“Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice across treacherous waters through arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the winter of 1925. Endurance. Fidelity. Intelligence.”

I AM LEGEND