On the Starting Line: Sled Dog Racing

A report by my older daughter, from her last year of high school:

Back in January 2008, my dad's office made a donation to the 2008 Fur Rendezvous (Fur Rondy).  The size of the donation just happened to be the amount the Rondy folks were asking for, to get people to volunteer to be a pit crew with the sled dog races.

Although Dad's boss didn't want to participate, the donation was already paid, so the "crew" went over his head, or behind his back, or however you want to put it.

On Sunday, February 24, the three of us checked in, got our jackets and pit crew passes, and went down the street where the team was.

We helped Heather Hardy (on the right, above) to get her hyper-active pooches hitched up to the sled.  You'll notice they're not the typical sled dogs.  Short-hairs German pointers, every last one of them.  I thought they looked cold.

Heather and her family breed the dogs here, and run a kennel year-round.  Her mother had been a racer in previous years, so I guess it's a family affair.

We got the dogs into the traces, and held them down.  They want to run so bad that if you don't keep them on the ground, they could injure themselves or get tangled, leaping about, and trying to run.

They stayed pretty calm until we got within eyesight of the starting line.  Then, they started running faster, to get in line.  When they heard the announcer counting down for the team in front, they got really excited!  Then it got a lot harder to hold them down.

They told us, when we were getting the dogs in place at the starting line, "When you hear the announcer start with "Five…" just let go, and back away."

They weren't kidding!

That was that, and Heather was the first racer back, so I hope we helped her.  It was fun, and I might never get to do that again.  But I have the jacket and the memory!