Here's a rundown of my dog's names:
Ajax
Bluto
Flounder
Flurry
Foxy
Nuka
Tucker
and ....
Bravo!!!
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| Just look at that crazy cute goon! |
Bravo is sweet, playful, energetic, cuddly when his energy tank is low, a bit rambunctious at times, not dominant in any way shape or form, curious, and wants to please.
He also has the longest legs I have ever seen on an Alaskan Husky.
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| I told you he was cuddly ... and spoiled :) |
Okay, to the beginning:
Bravo was born at Siku Kennel of Unalakleet, Alaska in January, 2012 during our streak of temps never reaching above -30 degrees.
Bravo's mom, Beauty, got knocked up by another dog from the lot. In essence, Bravo was not planned and I have only an inkling of who his father might be. Otherwise, it's not wise to have puppies in the middle of winter.
Beauty never had pups before and was quite young. With the extremely cold temps and her lack of mothering skills/know-how, three of her five pups did not last the night. Leaving two wee ones.
Now I had learned to not attach myself to any puppies due to previous tragedies earlier in the season where we lost a number of them to parvo. Don't get me wrong, I cuddled and played and cooed with all the remaining and new puppies, but tried to not get emotionally attached.
Bravo had a different plan. While his brother was not keen on being handled, picked up, or loved on (he usually tried to wriggle free from my arms), Bravo would melt into me. As he got older, he would follow me around all over the dog lot. I didn't know it at the time, or at least wouldn't admit to it, but I was falling for the little guy.
Then one day, Bravo was gone.
Pups at Siku Kennel run free until they are old enough (or start wandering too far from the dog lot) to be hooked up like the big dogs. Since Bravo and his bro weren't planned, all the other pups were older and much bigger.
Bravo had started wandering a bit further from his mom's house as the days went on. Apparently when no one was around, we suspect the bigger pups played with him when he got far enough away from his mom, but not the kind of playing one does with a small puppy.
When we got up to the lot to feed, I went to go say hi to the little man, but was quickly panicking because I did not find him where he was supposed to be. We scoured the lot and the perimeter. No sight of him.
Until finally he was found cowering, shivering, cold, and covered in frozen slobber from the older pups under a freight sled.
I brought him to my house that night to warm and clean him up. That's when I knew I had fallen in love with the little man. How can you not, just look at that face!
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| PURE cuteness. |
A few months later in the spring, Bravo got really sick. I started to get worried and panicked.
Luckily, Operation Arctic Care was in town. A team of military medical professionals make their way to western Alaska every year. In 2012 they came to Unalakleet. They also send a team of veterinarians to provide spay/neuters and vaccinations.
They also will take on a special few cases.
Bravo was one of those special few cases.
They had him for four days on an IV. He was quarantined and I wasn't allowed to see him. I really didn't think he would make it and I suspect they didn't think he would make it either. I checked in with them multiple times a day (I was also bringing the whole of Siku Kennel in a few dogs at a time for vaccinations and some spay/neuters).
On the fourth day, they told me he was eating again, good as new and I could take him home! I was more than excited. I gathered him up, brought him home and spent the rest of the day cuddling with him.
They never did figure out what he was sick with, but all I care about is that they saved his life. Thank you Arctic Care vet team!!
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| After they let me take him home. Such a cutie! |
Ever since that day, Bravo has had a special place in my heart ... and been quite the accident prone dog.
After leaving Siku Kennel, I headed to California to work for the family business for the summer. Kiana (my chocolate lab) and Bravo in tow.
I lived on a vineyard that was completely fenced in to keep out deer.
One day, Bravo discovered a hole in the fence and took off chasing wild turkey. Unbeknownst to him, the neighbors had cows ... and a barbed wire fence.
When I finally found Bravo, he was sitting a hundred yards away just sitting and watching me. He would not come when I called. I finally ventured off into the brush to try to lure him back (which is a brave feat in California when rattlesnakes are everywhere, especially that summer due to the extreme heat).
As I got closer, I once again started panicking over him.
Blood was dripping out of his mouth. He was sitting behind the barbed wire fence and would not go anywhere near it.
This is what I think happened. He was chasing the wild turkeys, and when he is chasing something he is fast and focused. I believe he was going so fast and was so focused on those turkeys, that he didn't even see the barbed wire. He ran straight into it.
The result? He caught his front four bottom teeth on the fence and almost broke them completely off. His teeth and the very front of his jaw were pointing forward instead of up. Eeek!
He obviously was rushed to the emergency vet. Luckily it was a clean break, so no surgery was required, but he did have braces for a while keeping his teeth up and in line so his jaw could heal.
See what I mean about being accident prone?!
I've just been saving his life left and right since the day he was born.
Okay, now moving on to Bravo as a sled dog.
He is now 19 months old and just a couple weeks ago was put in harness and into a team for the first time ever.
I was really anxious and nervous because I had NO idea how he was going to react and handle all of it.
Boy was I surprised!
He took to it right away! He's a natural. He knows what to do and does it well.
I keep things easy for him because he is young and definitely not as strong as my other dogs due to his lack of experience and training. However, he is a strong puller and doesn't quit! He's figuring out how to untangle himself if he gets his foot over the line. He doesn't chew on things. He waits for me to give the go ahead before lunging into his line. I'm just so proud of him!
His only downfall currently is when we pass other teams. He wants nothing more than to say hi to every dog on the team we pass, which is not good etiquette in the mushing world. Dogs are supposed to pass by like the other team isn't even there. If dogs always want to greet each other or worse, fight with unknown dogs, you end up with a tangled mess. You and your dogs could end up with some major injuries if they don't get along. So it's just best to keep the team moving right along ignoring other teams. Of course I always find it polite and enjoyable to acknowledge the musher as we pass, just as long as the dogs ignore each other.
Kristin and I will be practicing passing with our teams, so hopefully Bravo will start learning how to suppress his desire to greet every dog we come across.
I look forward to seeing how Bravo develops and what he is capable of! I think he has a pretty good future ahead of him as a sled dog :)
