Homer and Mary Kate and the great cheese standoff The updates are few and far between these days, I know.It doesn't mean our sleddie community is any less committed, it's just that we just don't get together quite as much. One group I do see more than others though is Deb's crew, currently made up of Apex (into care 2014), Mary Kate + Roo (into care in 2017) and Homer (into care 2024).Back on Oct 26 I went to visit them. Apex wasn't feeling well so I showed up with some cheese slices ..read more

The week marked the end of an era for one magical sleddie from our community.Ten years ago I first met Apex. July 23, 2014.A group of us went to the foster kennels to take him and his newly-arrived kennel mates out for a walk.Apex, Charlie, Colby, Dave, Felix, Mars and Punk.In the sleddie* world, there was no guessing for how "ok" or "not ok" a dog would be once it arrived into care. Some were ok with human interaction, some not so much.What we knew, was that every dog in this group was a ..read more

Some sleddies got together this morning to support their friend, Sparky, who recently lost her brother. Sweet Sparky has been a bit out of sorts after Buddy's passing so with help of a couple sleddie friends and a walk in the forest, she was able to have a break from her day-to-day and get some new sniffs in. Summer has hit us here in Victoria, BC, and it's been day after day of sun and warm temps, so a morning walk in the woods was refreshing and welcome. Joining Sparky was Blue and Zuzu (formerly Zouave) and low-riders, Frankie and Ollie.  I know I've said this before, but because I ..read more

I met Homer on June 29. He had arrived late on June 24 and was whisked away into a foster home. Not much is known about Homer other than he was running loose for about three weeks before being trapped. He then ended up at the SPCA in the NWT who then kennelled him at a dog boarding/day care/sled dog kennel where he's spent the last few months. And though it hasn't been confirmed he was a sled dog and if so, which kennel he may have escaped or been released from, between the video of him in harness attached to both a sled and a bike, he seems to know what he's doing in both situations, and whe ..read more

New arrivals Gadget (blue collar) + Penny (rainbow collar) are being fostered close to each other so I invited myself to the impromptu gathering yesterday afternoon. Penny had a dental a few weeks back which meant some extractions and now she has a bit of an Elvis snaggle-look. She's also had some other medical issues appear, so having some friends come over put a little pep in her step for a bit and she seemed to have a good time. Her foster family is all about the dogs -- they've had about 50ish fosters come through their home over the years and though Penny has a couple foster brothers cu ..read more

Gadget, Hailey, Junebug, Loretta, Oak, Penny, Shanti - seven sweet sleddies who arrived into care March 28. When the van pulled up to the shelter, Hailey was the first sleddie I saw, right there on a lap in the passenger seat. She was very much not a fan of being in her crate so she used her voice to express this to her drivers. Hailey probably would've preferred to ride in the driver's seat, but all parties came to an agreement and Hailey got the chance to show off her lap-dog skills. Gadget & Penny being besties, shared a kennel for the trip and Oak, Junebug, Loretta and Shanti had the ..read more

I heard my old friend Mr B (Bruno) was coming to town recently so of course I invited myself along for the visit! Those who know me know this is a common occurrence, though what they may not realize, is that it's not just for photo ops. I really and truly love meeting their sleddies, hearing their stories and just being around them. The visit was arranged with Shannon and Tica, Mr B's second foster home. It's very common in our sleddie world for fosters and adopters to keep in touch and it's that community and support that helps both the dogs and their new families navigate the good times, t ..read more

Five more sleddies arrived into care this weekend so warm welcomes go out to Goose (the hugger), John Snow (the shy boy), Patsy (the hound), Raven (the ears) + Star (the smiler). It was raining on arrival day - not hard, but enough that we weren't going to be outside much. Usually when I photograph sleddie intakes I just mill around trying to capture what I can amidst the goings-on. But because of the rain, I thought it was a good chance to try something different -- indoor portraits against a plain backdrop. That idea soon went out the window because even after doing intakes like this ..read more

Welcome Zouave! This handsome youngster just arrived this morning from Whitehorse, YT and is now officially retired! I had intended to tag along on his pick up with my camera in hand, but when flights changed and no one else was available, I put my big camera down and headed out solo.  You'd think it would be a no-brainer as I've done it so many times before. But knowing his pick up, collaring, harnessing, GPS'ing, transportation to his foster home, was up to me and me alone, was a whole new feeling.  I'm just going to say I'm thankful I wasn't photographing myself! Zouave was pe ..read more

There's always that excitement at the beginning of a sleddie walk. Anticipation. The hurry-up-and-wait.  It's pretty much hard wired into them from their days of pulling sleds.  Some of today's crew know the drill well having been on many walks over the years. Gather, wait, sniff, wait, photo ops, wait... and then let's go! For others, this was pretty new and maybe a bit scary. With 14 sleddies in today's group, it was an almost 50/50 split of experienced retirees to newbies. The weather held, though fall is starting to arrive with leaves falling and a crispness to the air. I had n ..read more