Posted on 03/15/2020 12:37:05 PM PDT by Morgana
Under steady snowfall at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart in Willow last Sunday, veteran musher Matthew Failor's dog, Cool Cat, snuggled inside his warm trailer.
"She's kind of my spirit animal," Failor said, before giving her a pre-race kiss.
He said he was excited about racing to Nome with Cool Cat this year. He wanted to bring her last year, but she was pregnant with a litter of puppies during the 2019 Iditarod.
At 9 years old, Failor said Cool Cat is the "matriarch" of his kennel. She's a good lead dog, but she's also like a pet to him and sleeps in his bed at night.
"She was having a flawless race," Failor said.
Cool Cat was having a good time, barking, wanting to go and eating everything, according to Failor, by the time he and his team reached Takotna early Wednesday morning where they took their mandatory 24-hour rest.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktva.com ...
His Lead Dog is named "Cool Cat". I like that :)
ALASKA PING
A lead dog named “Cool Cat”
great story
great story
Great story, thank you for posting.
Great story. Thanks. That look on her face says so many things.
They talk about the loneliness on the trail. I just can’t see it. Not if you have your team with you. I believe I’d consider it more like serenity. There would always be plenty to do.
Some people just have more capacity to love their animals than others, I could tell he loved his dog. I have a German Shepherd that has stolen my heart. She is eight years old and in good health but if she goes before me I’m afraid it would just kill me.
I don’t know how it is that some humans can acquire such an attachment to an animal but it does happen and it is wonderful when it does until one has to say goodbye to the other. If the human goes first it is extremely hard on the animal and vice versa.
Thanks!
I read what you wrote about your German Shepherd.
I waited 35 years to get another GSD, but I think I may have bought the wrong dog.
I strove for a year to get him trained—or tamed, might be more accurate. He’s big and very rambunctious. He’s dealt me a number of minor injuries. I can’t walk him, because he jerks hard enough to extract my skeleton. I can’t let him run free in the house, because he trots from place to place destroying whatever he can reach.
Last month I put him with a trainer. When I went to see him Thursday, he wasn’t much better. They got him some calm-down meds from the vet, and that didn’t help either. I really don’t know what I’m going to do. 35 years I wanted another dog, and I’ve ended up with an uncontrollable monster.
I am so glad that Cool Cat made it and is OK now. Very heart warming story!
That's what a neighbor did at an abandoned airport. He used a baseball bat—later, a tennis racket. That ball rocketed-out into space, and tuckered the big dog out. "Fun" for both. :)
We have Australian Shepards all of them have been very good, one young rescue was wild and terrified of loud noise.
Our vet recommended Adaptil and that helped.
Not a knockout but seemed to take the edge off and she liked it.
Also, I no longer hold the leash in my hand but clip it onto a heavy belt, much easier on my back in the event of a firecracker. At 60+ pounds she can pull like a freight train, even with an underpull harness.
We put a few miles on every evening rain or shine and she is now much improved and so is my back.
She is a most excellent creature, 4th of July and New Years can still be hard but not nearly as hard as before.
It has been two years now and she is good as gold.
I hope it works out for you.
Great to hear!
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