The Wandering GA Musher - Episode One

The Wandering GA Musher - Episode One
Oct 25th 2007
wolfmoonsleddog
Southeast
Location: Northwest GA
Time - 3:50pm
Temperature: 58 degrees F
Conditons: Partly cloudy, damp
Forecast: Partly cloudy today and tomorrow, with possible morning rain showers

The Wandering Georgia Musher is a series I’m starting that’s basically about being a Southeastern musher. I’ll see how this works out and, if I like it, I’ll write more episodes when I have time and something interesting to tell.

Last weekend, I was at Petco to return a wire dog crate that had a defect. Just outside the door, a rescue group had some of their dogs there for a Pet Adoption Day. They were all out in the sun, which I certainly didn’t think was the greatest thing in the world. At least it wasn’t as hot as it was during the Summer. In one small pen there were two puppies, one of which I immediately recognized as a husky mix. She was cinnamon-brindle and at that akward gangly stage that so many huskies go through. According to the sign on her pen, she was 15 weeks old, spayed and up to date on her shots. Her name was Hanna and she had been sprung from a shelter at the last minute.

I asked the lady working there. “Do you know what the husky pup is mixed with?”

“No,” she said. “It’s hard to tell when they’re young.”

“Oh, I know,” I said.

A few minutes later a young girl and her brother walked up. The girl looked about eight and had curly blonde hair and a pink shirt that said something like “Barbie” or “Princess” (or maybe it was “Barbie Princess”). She looked at the puppies and got all excited, saying. “I want that husky. I’m gonna’ get my Mom to buy it!”

And I stood there shaking my head. Why do you think the pup ended up at the shelter in the first place?

Hanna is still available for adoption from Jennifer’s Pet Rescue. Below is a picture of her from their website:


Click for larger image

The next day, which was Monday, I was at a clinic to get my flu shot and the wait took FOREVER. One of the three receptionists finally called my number and I got up and went over to the window and did the usual “have you been here before,” “sign here,” etc. etc., blah blah blah. Then the woman pointed at my “The Fast And The Furriest” T-shirt I bought at the Iditarod HQ and said “Did you go to Alaska?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Last August. Late last August. Saw lots of dogs”

And she said. “I went in May. We took a cruise up the Inside Passage and then drove on up to Denali. We saw one of the guys who runs the Iditarod. Oh, I can’t remember his name…”

“Jeff King?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s right!” the woman said excitedly.

“We went there too,” I explained. “Met him and lots of dogs…”

So here are two people at a health clinic in Northwest GA, talking about an Iditarod winner in Alaska.

Mush on!