CrackerJack (now Cracker)
CrackerJack, the day he came into our lives in April 2004, and before he dug this spot into a huge crater that to this day we have not finished filling in
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Cracker, confident leader, holding out the line as the team is hooked up in Kantishna, September 2007
Photo: Robert Drozda
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CrackerJack is a dog that came from the shelter and was in the exact same situation as Misty (see below). They were both in the back of the same ACO truck at the shelter waiting their turn to be euthanized. When the tenders opened the back of the truck and I had decided to take one dog I grabbed Misty...then I decided to grab a second dog and that was CrackerJack. (Why these two dogs grabbed at my heart out of 15 dogs, one never knows…)
He was terribly thin and very shy. But I could tell he was a kind and gentle dog. When I brought him home he pretty much ignored any advances by us for friendship but he LOVED to play with other dogs. He also loved to dig...dig...and dig as deep as he could until only his house was perched upon a mound of dirt. We started letting him loose every day and he would come for treats but what he really loved was to be with other dogs. There is not an aggressive bone in his body.
He turned out to be a good working dog but he was too slow for all the sprint dogs that we were putting him with. So he ended up at a distance musher's home who then got out of dogs, so CrackerJack needed another home. Up goes Robert Drozda's hand and Cracker ended up with Robert and Lenore, where they shortened his name to Cracker. For two summers Cracker has gone to Kantishna in Denali Park to be part of a small group of dogs that gives demonstrations to tourists. The summer of 2007 he really blossomed and was one of the main lead dogs.
His before and after pictures show his transformation. It was sad that he had to be passed around several times as I really hate to see that with sled dogs, but Cracker has ended up in a caring and wonderful home now. He is run regularly through the winter and has become part of a strong and bonded team.
Blackberry and Licorice
Blackberry and Licorice were brought to the shelter to be euthanized by the owner because he said he couldn't keep
weight on them. Both dogs were emaciated to the point that the lab, upon seeing their bloodwork, said "are these dogs still alive?"
Both are pointer mixes with very short coats that were living outside in uninsulated dog houses at -40 degrees.
The shelter convinced him to re-sign them over for adoption and I took both dogs. They had never been off a chain.
When let loose at our house they simply continued to circle within their chain area and when I would walk them out of
that "safe" zone they would return and keep circling around. I continued to work with them and soon they realized they
had a huge area to run in. They gained weight quickly and became healthy happy dogs. Licorice went to a new home in
Fairbanks after 6 months where he is a driving force in a winning 3 dog skijor team (including the Limited North
American 2007 3-dog skijor class). We kept Blackberry and she was in my winning Limited North American 3 dog skijor
team 2 years ago. She has become a house dog that has a sleek black coat and loves to run and be in lead. Her only
remnant of her early days are large chunks out of the tips of her ears where they were frostbitten off.
Misty
Misty came from a severe neglect situation. When I took her she was in the back of an animal control truck with 15
other dogs that were all going to be euthanized. I took Misty and another dog (that has since found a wonderful home!)
even though Misty tried to bite me. She was totally unsocialized and was missing fur on the majority of her underside, and
was mangey and thin. The owner had been feeding only lard.
It took Misty several months before I could even pet her. I fed her some of her food every day from my hand (for the
first 3 days she wouldn't get near enough to take a kibble out of my hand!) and soon she began to trust me. Once we
harness broke her she progressed in leaps and bounds. Seemed like she had found her "calling" and she had a job that
she loved. She soon progressed to living in the house. Her coat came back and is luxurious and thick white. She loves
to run and pull and runs lead. She has turned into a real snuggle bunny and loves to cuddle.
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