During Gwennie's stay with Dr. Tim, he nicknamed her The Smiling Dog. He would give me regular updates on how she was adjusting to life in his kennel in Marquette, sending zen-like haiku-length emails: 'The Smiling Dog is well' like Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid. When I first contacted him, he said to me, "do you know this dog has no tail?" as if cautioning me about this anomoly.
Yes, it's true: Gwennie was conceived during the '07 Iditarod as a tryst between Gabby and a suspected Clumber, Jason's main man who also has a bobbed tail and throws bobbed tails in litters. Her pedigree includes Doug Swingley's Peppy and the famed Elmer. My Yeti is from similar lines, as well as Ruffian and Big Brown. I have high hopes already for this next winter season, and it's only June.
Gwennie is shy but coming around. She sits watching the rest of the pack during playtime inquisitively.
Gwennie watches the others quietly from the kennel
She's a very pensive little dog with an expressive face and keen, intelligent eyes. At first, when I let the other dogs out for play time, she looked pretty perplexed at the craziness of the rest of the pack (they get pretty wild). She did growl low quiet growls at the girls when they came up to check her out through the kennel. Tonight, however, she pawed at the sides of the kennel fence, whining at the other girls and wagging her little stump.
She's also bonding quite well with Elise.
She says with moist eyes again: I love Gwennie's smile. I love how Elise and Gwennie are bonding.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Gwennie's line has a little Aussie mixed in. That could explain the bobbed tail, which just makes the waggng hind end so darn cute.
She really is a beautiful dog. Are you planning to run her in lead?
Just wondering cuz my mushing mentor (Chris Heeter of the Wild Institute) has told me about a lead dog she once had who would go into her little shelter when the harnesses came out (rather than jumping and singing). Apparently, she took her job very seriously and needed to gather herself together for her big job. Chris would just wait, and when the dog came back out, she was fully ready to do her job in lead. Chris uses this as an example of leaders who are more the quiet, shy type, but are still excellent leaders
I have great hopes for you, too. What races are you planning to enter?