Reflections is about those moments in our lives that make an impact on how we think, act and view the world around us.
Here, I will share some of those instrumental moments in MUSHING that altered my life.

The worst part of dog mushing is saying goodbye to one of your trusted friends. 
That is the case today with the passing of Nanook to an aggressive form of liver cancer. Nanook is the white dog in the photo running lead with her brother Leo.
However, as a tribute to her I am here celebrating her life with me & her team mates.
Nanook was born right here at Miortuk Kennel and spent her whole life living here with her companions in the northern forest of Quebec.
Nanook was always a sweet loving dog as well as an excellent Gee/Haw Leader. She loved to run up front leading her teammates right up to two weeks before her passing.
She was very respected by her teammates in the kennel and after running she would be set free to return to her house and she would slowly walk by the other dogs and demand their patronage. She would not take any crap from other dogs running lead with her & would get annoyed and bark if the other dogs were not running fast enough for her. 
Nanook & her brother Leo were a great pair at lead and when stopped showed sibling rivalry to get going again. 
Nanook felt she was able to sniff other dogs running next to her, however, she would not tolerate them to do the same. 
She was always special to me & I loved to stroke her soft white ears & run my fingers over her forehead & eyes.
My heat breaks just thinking of her.
I was with her to the end! 
Goodbye my friend, some day we will run together again!

www.consumerfreedom.com

The above website three times a year rate the charities on how they distribute donations received.
The Humane Society Of United States (affiliate Humane Society International) just received a "D" rating (A being the best & D the worst) on how these funds were spent. According to the report 49% of funds collected go to advertising & promotion to raise donations and less than1% goes to actual Animal Care Organizations. It must be understood that this organization has no affiliation with local Humane Societies. 
Also PETA receives only a "C" rating on the distribution of their funds. According to news media, PETA is now starting a "PORN" site that will include insertions of animal crulity during the porn programming. All this to raise more donations to their organization.
The sad part of all this is the some Government Agencies rely on these organizations to draft new laws for the welfare & protection of Animals. This being the case it brings to question the competency  of these officials to govern decisions on our behalf!
WHERE HAS HUMAN SANITY & COMMON SENSE GONE!
Now you know why I respect animals more than humans and choose to live in the forest isolated from the insanity of civilization! 

When we reflect on the those less fortunate than us , especially in light of the current disaster in Japan with the Earthquake and subsequent Tsunami, we have to realize how truly fortunate we are!
Why can't we all just get along with each other and appreciate our differences!
Bickering between neighbors is so petty, immature and such a waste of time! 
History has proven this!
Let us all just live in peace!
Anything else is such a waste of time!

It is with heavy heart that I announce the passing of Butch on April 6,2011.
Butch was a wonderful team mate & companion. He was a member of one of the first litters I had here at lac Charland.
He was one of the best Wheel Dogs that I have had the privileged of running. He never missed a run or was ever dropped in a race. He trained up to last Fall and through his life had trained many other dogs to run Wheel.
He was a dog that always performed his tasks in the team. He was an exceptionally smooth mover and very efficient in his stride. He never seemed to tire. 
He loved his attention and was always happy to greet visitors.
I will miss seeing those beautiful blue eyes looking up at me!

 We here at Miortuk celebrate the life of Aurora who passed away today! (Seen here leading the team at the age of 12, in the Fall of 2007)
Aurora was an exceptional dog who was my companion/friend, trusted leader and the boss of the kennel.
She was the dominate Alpha dog in the kennel and respected by all her kennel mates through her final days.
Aurora was born in Brampton, Ontario. Her mother was Missy (Runyan/Sutherland) and father was Jerry(McEwen).
She came from a long line of leaders on both sides of here pedigree and she upheld the tradition.
As pup, you could see here Alpha attitude and started leading teams at the age of 6 months.
"SHE WAS A NATURAL LEADER"
She was instrumental in training all of my current leaders.
She was only happy at the lead position and showed her displeasure if she wasn't running there. Aurora was a most reliable gee/haw leader, never missing a command.
One example was on a training run and  a plow truck had come and plowed in the turn into our return loop. The snow bank was at least 4 foot high and it had totally blocked the entrance to the loop.  I stopped the team on the plowed road and called Aurora to "GEE". She turned her head and looked at me, then the snow bank and then back at me, questioning my command. I called back, " Aurora-Gee". Aurora then made a right angled turn and lead the 12 dog team up & over the snow bank and onto the trail on the other side. 
THAT WAS THE QUALITY OF A LEADER SHE WAS!!!
We shared many trails and in her life ran over 10,000 running miles leading my teams. She was never injured and never dropped in a race.
AURORA WAS A SUPER STAR!
She will be sadly missed and a piece of my heart has gone with her.
May 1995 to August 30th, 2010

Aloak was my first husky( Siberian Husky ). He was a remarkable dog earning his Companion Dog Degree before he was a year old & in only 4 obedience trials.
But, although he was great sled dog, he was best known for his exploits in Weight Pulling Contests.
His last pull at the age of 12 was his most memorable pull.
For years he had been the champion of weight pull contests at the Hamilton , Ontario Sled Dog Races and had a large following of admirers/supporters that would come each year to cheer him on. His last pull was no exception!
Weight Pulling Contests were open to all dogs. The contest rules were easy: the dog that pulled the most weight on a sled the required distance won the event. After every round of a successful pull more weight was added to the sled. Each dog was eliminated if they couldn't make the pull in that round until you had the last dog pulling the most weight.
Aloak like normal was into the final round against his best competitor, Igor, a beautiful Chocolate Brown Siberian Husky.
Aloak( was the Classic Black/White, Blue eyed Siberian Husky) and Igor entered their final pull. Igor went first and could not break the weighted sled loose and was out of the competition depending on Aloaks pull.
I would stand at the finish line and call Aloak to "COME' and then he would start his pull.
After I called him, he bent down and with all his strength tried to break the sled loose from the snows icy grip.
Finally with all his determination, the sled started to move!
Slowly he made his way to the finish line.
Due the number of pulls through the contest the painted finish line was wiped out, so before the last pull a new finish line was painted on the snow.
Aloak, who was partially bind at this time due to cataracts, realized something was different and stopped at the finish line to investigate the change and thus stopped his pull before he crossed the line.
This meant if he was going to win the competition, he had restart his pull from that point and cross the line.
I bent down in front of him and quietly called his name and said " Aloak come."
He bent down again, with great determination, broke the sled loose for the second time and crossed the finish line.
His supporter were ecstatic and especially when I announced that was his last pull as he was going into retirement.
Aloak made an impact on me and what I looked for in all the great sled dogs the followed him.
LOYALTY, DESIRE TO PLEASE and that DONT GIVE UP ATTITUDE!
ALOAK had a great impact on my life and my philosophy of life!