A Day In the Life of: Mountains, Trees, Snow and Furry Tails!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take my friend Jay Korbelik out for a run with the dogs. Jay has recently graduated from Vet School and soon will be heading to Saskatoon for a year's internship. I think it is always gratifying for a Vet to see good working dogs in their element. As per the rule, if you come out for a ride you have to tell your story! Here is Jay's.

Tails wagging and tongues lolling in excitement, the seven Siberian Huskies yowl at me as I fumble to set up the sled. My fingers are cold, I have shaken off my gloves in frustration and am now regretting it. I finally finish, and Gwen, who has taken less than half the time I have to set up her sled, reminds me how to put the harnesses on the dogs. This will be my third time out with her and her team, the second time on snow. I’m looking forward to it, even if it did mean getting up at the crack of dawn and driving for two hours without my coffee; I am not a morning person. It takes me a couple of minutes to get the harnesses on the dogs: they are not cooperating in their excitement. I hook up the first dog, Kitkat, to the gang line. She will be leading my team of three, with Strider and Impi in wheel positions. Gwen is on the other sled with four dogs, waiting patiently as I clip the final dog into place. “Ready” she asks? I nod, a little nervous. The bridge spanning the creek is the first thing we have to cross, it has me a little spooked; there isn’t much of a railing to it. I can see the water swirling around the snow covered rocks from where we are. It looks cold. She rockets off in a chorus of barks. I give her a couple of seconds, then pull the quick release cord attaching me to the truck and take my feet off the break. We shoot off, the bridge forgotten in the exhilaration of the moment. Mountains, trees, snow and furry tails are all I’m focussed on now!