Puppy Names Needed!

New Alaskan Husky pup with Sophie on the way home from the U.P. Please send me your ideas for puppy names! UPDATE: as of 2/24/08 his name is YETI!

We emerge this morning to a foot of new snow. I had planned on getting on the road early, but nature thought otherwise.

As I start digging my truck out, Jan tells me to wait, that the plow guy is coming and he’ll dig me out. So we go back inside for some hot tea. It's then Jan pulls out an inch-thick binder that contains the geneology of all of their huskies dating back 30 years. She even has the lineage of dogs in other kennels.

I am only now beginning to realize and appreciate the kind of reputation the Shaw’s have. Mention to a musher in the U.P. that you have a "Shaw dog" and it becomes clear what the dog looks like, in general. Our Mandy is a Shaw dog.

Bob's trophies I saw at the beginning of the season mean more to me now. First place in a 75-mile race is quite an accomplishment. In the den at the Shaw’s, photos of dogs are scattered among family photo collages. Dog booties and harnesses lie in front of the wood burning stove to dry. Their lives have centered around dogs for the last 30 years, starting with Siberians to their now well-known Alaskan Huskies.

Things move at their own pace here. With all this snow, there’s no moving too fast. Finally the plow man shows up at 10:30, digging out the Shaw’s half-mile long driveway. A half hour later, I’ve successfully dug my truck out, thanks to Bob’s help, and after short goodbyes and hugs, Sophie and I are off – our final U.P. trip of the season over.

After six hours, we come to Saginaw, and the first glimpse of a bigger city. There is little snow, but somehow people have driven cars in snow-filled ditches. Everyone is in such a damned hurry. By the time we reach Ann Arbor, people in other cars are tailing my ass. Being back in the city depresses me.

Back home, the new little guy sits on the couch panting with the other huskies. Coming in from the sub-arctic temperatures we’ve had lately, the huskies pant incessantly in the evenings when we let them in. And little guy (who now has a list of about 20 possible names! See below* ) pants, lounging on the couch right along with the big dogs. He will fit right in here at the Lazy Husky Ranch. He’s got long legs, good pads and a hearty appetite – all the makings of a good sleddog. And the best part is, we will raise him, so he’ll be accustomed to the routines of our kennel. I have high hopes for him, and I have already started thinking of next winter.

Possible Names:
*Petzel, Rosco, Rodeo, Diesel, Max, Hershey, Kodiac, Chance, Eagle, Valentine, Gonzo, Groucho, Scout, Nitro, Hawk, Trooper, Yooper, Cinder, Ernest, Orion, (Super) Nova, Sirius, Dagwood, Cedar, Apollo, Mister, (Captain) Morgan, Monty, Mario, Morell, Mervis, MacDougal, Murray, Stuey, Thad, Teva, Thor, Truman, Turner, Tristan, Dane
Zed, Fozzy, Iko, Lincoln, Eclipse, Lunar