Embracing the Unexpected : The Ups and Downs (stressful few weeks)

Hello everyone,

It has been a very exhausting and stressful few weeks here at the kennel. As you saw in my last post our friends house burnt down and all 30 of their dogs moved to our kennel. We had 100 dogs here that needed to be cared for and most of them needed to be run and trained.
Our friends have gotten a conex which was turned into a cabin on their property and have moved their 13 dogs back to their place. The other 20ish dogs were DeeDee's to begin with that Jaimee was training for her Iditarod team, they will stay with us now for the remainder of the season since Jaimee can no longer run Iditarod.
The kindness of friends, family, and strangers has shown through the holidays and we were able to raise them over $19,000 on GoFundMe. They are recovering step by step.

Jaimee and I at a fundraiser a couple weeks before the fire

Their bulldog Mr. Collins

He had just gotten his new toy, but it was lost in the fire

Chickens that were recused and stayed with me for a week

Sydney their other house dog joining me for a night

Lucy enjoyed have 3 more Siberian huskies around, she found her kind and would not leave the area :)

Chickens in the house with dogs made for very entertaining moments

While out picking up a donation for Jaimee and Justin, I was able to meet 2 siblings of a dog we have here at the kennel. Very cool chance to see some of DeeDee's dogs that have gone to great homes

Dogs have moved back to Jaimee and Justin's! Such happy dogs!

Their 7, 7 month old puppies are home and are so happy about it :)

Justin with his pups on their new futon I helped them put together.

Jaimee playing with some Lincoln Logs at the Christmas party

The holidays went well, spent Christmas with DeeDee's friends and the evening with Jaimee and Justin and friends. Started the New Year off with good friends and going over all our best moments of the year :)
I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season!

Chase come with for Christmas

The Christmas atire

It's not much, but it made it feel more like Christmas :)

A couple gifts from Moose Mamas :)

Oliver got a new teddy bear to cuddle with for Christmas

Chase enjoying Christmas with all the great people and pups

All Mr. Collin's wanted for Christmas was a bowl of snow to eat :)

I feel completely spoiled, loved, and lucky to have gotten this fancy camera!!! So once I figure out the editing program stay tune for some awesome videos :)

I have gotten word many people were able to see the Dr. Oakley Yukon Vet show on Nat Geo Wild a couple weeks ago! Hope you enjoyed that, if you missed it, the episode can be gotten off iTunes now.

There would be a clip of my sleep on national TV. :)

We have been diligently preparing for the Kusko 300 which begins Friday evening in Bethel, AK. DeeDee and the other handler fly out Tuesday night with 12 dogs and all their gear and will return a week later. That leaves Mike and I to train the A team dogs and get them ready for the Knik 200 and for me to care for the remaining 60 some dogs for the week. It has been a stressful time training a whole new team for DeeDee, but they look amazing right now, I am so excited to see how they do next weekend. I forgot how much time and energy it takes just to get ready for races. So much gear to find and package along with food to cut and package. Luckily we should be all done by today.

Making up the bags for checkpoints again

Packaging extra nutrition for their food.

Lucy was a huge help while packaging up all the meat, always there to help clean up :)

Getting the dogs meds lined up for the week.

(right) During every race dogs are given preventative ulcer medication a couple weeks prior, during and a few days after the race. To help make it easy for DeeDee while on the trail I count out the needed amount for each day and put them in separate containers. I also sent along medication for any dogs that get dropped during the race in case of injury or illness.

Like to take a moment and celebrate Lucy! I adopted her two years ago around this time. Since then she has travel with me to college, layover at my moms, and all the way out to Alaska where she has fully accepted the role of Queen of the sled dogs. She free roams meaning no leash, no fence, no kennel, all around the lot and occasionally to our neighbors houses. She plays with the sled dogs, barks at them when they get out of line, and greets everyone that pulls into the kennel. She is greatly loved and spoiled here at the kennel always helping us clean up when we cut meat. Love this beautiful girl, brings a smile to my face every time I see her. She will be 14 in April! Here are just a few of our adventures this past year.

Have to actually walk her inside now a days since she hates coming in. She does not like to feel contained at all. such a free spirit!

My shotgun girl

She loves going on hikes

She fits right into my perfect little family. Love her so much!

Okay for some not so great news

I still have not heard back from vet school. All I know as of now is I made the waiting list :/ This is however one step better than the first time I applied and was completely rejected. It may take until April till I hear anything more about that. Which means I am now trying to determine summer work and possibly what I'll do if vet school doesn't work out again. Who knows there are so many opportunities out there for me.

I recently got confirmation that my #1, my main man, Chase has lymphoma. It is pretty far along and he is starting predinsone to help relieve some swelling and pain for now. This has been extremely hard news to take in. I will be spoiling him extra in the days and weeks to come. When his time comes I apologize now for any absents I may have from social media. As of right now he is defying all odds. Research shows that once lymphoma begins it usually is a 4-6 weeks life expectancy. Chase has had this for over 6 months now, so any prayers his way would be greatly appreciated while we try and fight this nasty thing and keep him comfortable. As of now he still follows me around the kennel while I do chores and still wants to play with Annabelle.

So much has been going on lately. I'm just trying to stay focused on the job and working extra hard to accomplish what needs to be done here. Please, as always, feel free to ask any questions about what I am doing or the doggies. I love to answer them. Thanks again for taking the time to catch up on life here at the kennel.

Ps GoPackGO!!!!

Here are some other photos of trail work, training runs, and the radio show I did which will air March 6th before Iditarod.

She discovered my bed....

Sometimes looking back is a beautiful view

Sunrise at the kennel

Last minute jump in the basket and help with a tour ride for me.. not the view I'm use to.

This girl is just too much sometimes

Jiggly Puff joined me inside for the day.

Love my man, he is so good about sharing his new Christmas present

Bridge before

After

Clearing trail

A little too much overflow to be on the river right now

They are so cute together

Out on my first long run with 6 girls

Running towards the sun

Amber got a new neighbor and they love each other already. Funny thing is she is wear one of his (Evan's) extra collars. (Mommy made a mistake and grabbed on with a name on it, opps)