Meet The Dogs: Quito

Meet The Dogs: Chica

Suite Deal For Iditarod Start In Anchorage

There's nothing in the world like the start of Iditarod. Imagine 1,000 dogs barking and howling their heads off to get going down the trail to Nome. It's truly amazing.

For those of you who plan to be in Anchorage for the Idtiarod start on March 6th, our hotel sponsors have a "suite deal" for you.

The SP Kennel Teams will be parked at the Clarion Suites Downtown, where you will be welcome to meet the dogs in person, give a hug or a special pat to your favorite canine athlete and meet our mushers, handlers and other humans.

There will be a "Meet & Greet" again this year, a time when Aliy and Allen talk about mushing and the Iditarod, display their sleds and gear, answer questions and sign autographs. This is always a very popular event, available only at Clarion Suites.

Plus, of course, you get a great room and a comfy bed!

To get this "suite deal" call 907-929-6461 or send an email and book your rooms at the SP Kennel Team rate of just $89 per night!

If you haven't planned to be in Anchorage for the Iditarod start, you really should. It's not too late… Get after it!

Mushing In C-Sharp Minor

Here's a little music video for you to enjoy with your Sunday morning coffee, your pre- or post-Super Bowl festivities… or perhaps even your snowed-in snooze!

Girl Power!

We have a couple of very special fans, all the way over in New Zealand! Two young sisters, Chloe and Indigo Anderson-Melville have just become sponsors of two young SP Kennel sisters, Chica and Quito!

Their parents explain:

It was the story of Happy Dog during last year's Iditarod that first got us hooked. Our kids are adopted, after a very difficult first 3-4 years of their lives and spending a year in foster care. They still struggle with some of the effects of their early childhood experiences.

Happy Dog had a less than perfect start to her life and was also adopted. The great thing about Happy is that she hasn't let it spoil her life. She is still Happy, doing the best she can, having an exciting life, not worrying and making lots of friends. She is such a positive role model for our kids: "Would Happy Dog be feeling sorry for herself like that or would she just get on with it?" "Would Happy Dog worry about that or would she just do it anyway?"

Then we found the SP Kennel DogLog and Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore -- who, for some strange reason, we always refer to by both first and surname: never "Aliy" or "Allen", but always "Aliy Zirkle" or "Allen Moore".

We've followed your "virtual" lives ever since. Your enjoyment of your dogs, your lives and each other; your attitude toward set-backs, winning and losing; your hard work and determination. All are just what Chloe and Indigo need to see and hear about.

You'd be surprised how often we talk about you all: "Aliy Zirkle wouldn't give up on that maths problem, she'd keep trying different things until she found a solution just like she did with her wet boots" or "I need to train like Allen Moore if I want to do well in my triathlon" or "I think Happy and Blue (one of our dogs) would be best friends, like Macgellan and Happy are" or "Allen Moore and Aliy Zirkle are probably having moose for dinner."

Our message to the kids is that, yes, terrible things have happened to them that weren't their fault, but they have a choice: They can waste the rest of their lives feeling sorry for themselves or they can be grateful that they are safe now and get on with having a great "Happy" life!

They have certainly experienced how horrifically humans can treat each other and how scary the world can be. Part of what we are trying to show and teach them is that the world is overwhelmingly full of caring humans, who are safe and trustworthy.

Normal parenting strategies don't work with children like ours, so when we find something that helps them modify their behaviour, we grab it with both hands. This is why we decided to go overboard and sponsor a dog for each of them.

The point to all this is just to let you know that while you are all way over there, looking after and racing and enjoying your dogs, you are also over here influencing and helping our kids. We just wanted to say "Thank you!"

We are all so very touched by this story, honored to be role-models, and delighted to welcome two wonderful young fans to the SP Kennel Team!

The truth is that despite our positive outlook and "can-do" attitudes, sometimes when it is dark, cold and difficult we do wonder if it's all worth it. Your story has given us a real boost, and in return we say "Thank you!"

Congratulations to Chloe, Indigo, Chica and Quito. We wish you all great success in life, and the strength to always overcome your obstacles. You are an inspiration to all of us, Happy too!

Girl power… "You go, girls!"

New Camera Test Run

As you know, Aliy has gotten pretty darn good at shooting video out on the trail. As you also know, the camera she has been using -- a little "point and shoot" -- has some serious limitations. Besides the wind noise that we've been battling, it has no zoom capability and Aliy has only been able to shoot when she could have a hand free to hold it.

Our goal is to bring you unprecedented footage from the trails, especially during upcoming races like the Denali Doubles next week and the Iditarod next month. So, I picked up a new camera for Aliy -- a "real" video camera -- and rigged up a mount for it to ride on the handlebar of her sled. She took it out for a test run yesterday, and we are pretty excited about the results. The objective for this test was just to see what kind of footage we could get -- to see if it provides a realistic sense of what it's like to "be there" -- so Aliy doesn't do much narration. You can clearly hear how she talks to the dogs from time to time, however, and I think you'll agree it gives you a pretty personal -- even intimate -- insight into their relationship.

We've got more tests ahead of us -- to try out different zoom settings, to work out audio levels for her narration vs. sled/brake noise, etc. -- but we wanted to share this early test with you. We hope you are as excited about the prospects for future Dog Log videos as we are!

Meet The Dogs: Moonpie

Aliy At Yukon Quest Banquet

The Yukon Quest starts this weekend, with a total of 24 teams running the 1,000 mile race. Because the race begins in Fairbanks this year, the Quest Banquet was held here tonight. The highlight of the evening was the mushers' drawing for bib numbers which will both identify them throughout the race and determine their starting order. Aliy was asked to emcee the drawing, and I thought you might like to view her opening remarks.