Chco is Finally Home

So Choco is home for good. Sarah and Jeffy went out to the sled dog kennel and picked him up. There was a lot of preparation though. I sunk a heavy duty chain stake near the front door so we can let him out in the morning and not have to worry about him chasing seagulls---his new favorite hobby. Then, we had to get him a new collar, doggy bowls, etc. My arms are so sore from excavating his kennel that I can barely type. You ever try to dig a trench near Lake Michigan? Well, you can’t dig---you take the pick-Ax and inch by inch slowly chip away. I have piles of rocks. I finally got the treated lumber down horizontally about 10 inches so he can’t dig himself out. Then, I put the twelve inch treated lumber up vertically around the edge of the kennel and back filled the whole thing with pea-gravel on top of landscape fabric. I don’t remember bow many wheel-barrow loads of pea gravel I moved. I only know I am pleasantly sore and tired.

My Sarah is home for break and asked for shish-ka-bob for one of her meals. Thus, I trudged in after excavating and washed up and made an incredible meal. I had some filet of beef that is very tender and I cut it up in chunks enough to make a chef cry. However, I kept a few outside chunks for Choco. I never saw a dog eat raw beef quite that fast---but it’s ok, he had a ten-mile run with the team tonight before we picked him up. He is very happy in his new home with all the attention and the new digs.

I took him outside after dinner and ran him around the yard. I fell down on the grass and wrestled with him for a moment---but he didn’t stay with me. He kept going back to the door and wanted to go inside. I thought that is unusual for a sled dog---wanting to go back inside. In fact, he just always seems to want to be inside now. I guess that’s because Sarah and Lorhel and Jeffy just continually pet him. Not only that, the “She-Bear”, Queen of the Naubinway Nook has taken to him too—giving him little treats here and there and filling up his water bowl continually, etc. What the hell, can you blame him? He’s been sleeping outside for four years---tied to a chain and his only pleasure being to tow the sled and get a snack of chicken fat after. He must be in frickin’ doggy heaven right now. Yeah, he’s definitely adopted, he’s definitely home. He’s definitely aspiring to be an inside dog now.

In a way that’s a bit sad---taking this wild thing inside from the great outdoors and domesticating him. On the other hand, I think he’ll still want to run. We have Jeffy’s light-weight ATV available for him. We’ll get him a harness and let him tow the ATV up and down the road for the warm months. Come winter, I’ll share him with my other sled-dog loving buddies and team him up with other local sled dogs and run, run, run.

Choco had lightened up my life beyond belief. He’s a happy go lucky bundle of joy. He puts life into perspective---eat, drink, run, what else is there? I gotta teach him not to jump up on the dining room table though. You just haven’t lived until you see a 70 pound sled dog jump up onto your thousand dollar dining room table and smile a huge smile. I was laughing so hard I didn’t care about the scratches. It’s a damn good thing Jomay didn’t see that.

New Addition to the Family

We have a new addition to the family. His name is "Chocolate". You can find his pedigree and pertinent information at "natureskennel.com". He is affectionately called "Choco" for short and is winning the hearts and minds of many of us in Naubinway, MI. Choco is about 60 pounds or so of pure Northern Michigan Dog. He is a black and white bundle of solid muscle who loves every human being. Choco is a veteran of the Iditarod and ran to Nome in 2008 in the middle of the pack. I first met him in February when he helped pull our team through the Seney National Forest on a beautiful sunny day over piles and piles of snow. My guide joked that all the dogs and all the people love Choco, but he doesn't pull his weight. He'd rather stay in the middle, smile and hug and run in circles than tow the main weight of the musher and sled. Such is why he is being retired. Although he comes from a prestigous line of sled dogs, he's more into having fun than doing any work. Thus, he and I hit if off from the git go. I was immediately taken to him---as I too have run a few Iditarods but only did it because I had to. I too am looking to be in the portion of the line that has a lot of slack.

So, we took Choco home on a trial run for a couple days. He instantly acclimated to home life. He helped me find all the drafty places in my house because he sought out the coolest places in the house to sleep. Unlike most dogs who try to find a warm place to sleep---Choco was seeking the cool of the tile or a place near a window. Afterall, he's used to sleeping outside or running sled thru the minus 20 and digging himself a bed in a snowbank. However, he is very open to placing his head on your lap and getting petted for hours on end.

He also had many other character flaws. He doesn't bark much at the door knocks, is not territorial at all and loves everybody. Thus, as a watch dog he doesn't offer much up front. However, get up front and personal with somebody he loves and you are going to feel a lot of pain. He's like the Phantom he is so fast. You open the door and let him in, turn around again and go back to the door and he's already there. He's like a streak of lightning in speed. He doesn't go very far away from you---he's always looking to get harnessed and pull a sled. Thus, he's always within twenty feet of you when you are on the move.

Choco has lightened us all up. The kids love him and we can't wait to bring him home again. We had to go away for a few days and take him back to his outdoor home. He went right back to his house and perch when he went back and seemed very happy at first. However, when we started to walk away he put his head down and looked downright depressed. It's almost as if he said "what, aren't I good enough for you?" Didn't I acclimate to your home? Why are you leaving me here? I did all I could to make you love me, isn't it good enough? Well, yes, Choco, you are more than good enough. So good in fact that I have been to Wal-Mart and bought you a new collar, leash, yard chain, bones, treat, dog-food and am building you a great kennel with your own new dog house. I will probably be out there with you for a few nights---as we go through potty training together and my beautiful wife uses up all the carpet cleaner and deodarizer. Actually, considering you are an outdoor dog---piddling on the carpet only twice in three days is a pretty darn good start.

Can't wait to have you home again, helping to pull our team through the woods and Iditarod of life. Welcome home Choco, welcome home indeed.