SP Kennel is Expecting!

We have some exciting puppy news.

Kennel Superstar, Yukon Quest Champion and Iditarod Rock Star: Chica is expecting a litter of puppies on or around the July 16th.

We are absolutely thrilled that we can perpetuate these amazing genetics. Chica is the daughter of Lance Mackey’s Zorro and the talented SP Kennel’s Venus. Venus’ lineage goes back to Jeff King’s Yuski and an Erhart sprint dog named Cream. Of course, Chica’s siblings are: the ultimate lead dog and two-time YQ Golden Harness winner Quito; YQ Champion, Iditarod swing dog and SP Kennel’s current main stud dog: Nacho; and the always Iditarod favorite: Bonita. Chica has had one previous litter five years ago. That litter includes the long-legged and magnificent YQ and Iditarod star: Mac; and the handsome and talented: Boris.

The BIG question is: WHO IS THE DADDY?

We thought long and hard before the breeding took place. The successes that SP Kennel has had over the last few years have been partially due to very selective combination of genetics. The ‘Zorro genes’ have played a crucial role but the dog that has contributed even more to the successful SP Kennel gene pool is ChaCha.

ChaCha was born at Husky Homestead in the summer of 2001. Her mother, Alberta, whelped the ‘Dances’ litter: Rhumba, Lindy, Tango and ChaCha. Her father, Yuski, was originally born at Susan Butcher’s kennel.

ChaCha ran Iditarod eight times, won multiple mid distance races and was SP Kennel’s ‘go to’ lead dog for many years. She has always been smart, fast and ultra competitive. She would bark outloud for miles when she was excited or if she saw competition ahead of her. ChaCha is also exceptionally friendly and sweet. She wags her tail at everyone and kisses anyone who will let her. Even more amazing is the fact that during her successful years as a sled dog athlete she also had four litters for a total of 25 puppies. For the past 5 years, her puppies have been the core of every SP Kennel team. They are well known because they are smaller, happy and fast!

So... back to the BIG question:

WHO IS THE DADDY?

The sire of this summer's litter is a ChaCha pup. He has an exceptional resume despite being so young. In 2013, he raced the Iditarod and finished in Nome at only 17 months of age. This year he became a Yukon Quest Champion and a 2nd place Iditarod dog at only at 2 1/2 years of age. He is strong-willed, loves to eat and gives ‘ChaCha kisses’ whenever he can. His sire is Paul Gebhardt’s exceptional lead dog, Lieutenant.

Clyde is the proud papa to the next generation of SP Kennel dogs.