The litter was in celebration of a century after the whelping of Chinook himself. I was fortunate to get permission to use the pictures and words from the book: The First Chinook, The Adventures of Arthur T. Walden and His Legendary Sled Dog, Chinook by David Pagel and Rick Allen.
It's so good to hear from you. I hope that in and amongst the chaos of life, that you are finding joy, smiles and laughter - and truly, when surrounded by a bunch of crazy Chinooks, it must be almost impossible not to smile!
We've been here in Montana for almost a year now - and while it's wild and open, it's certainly a big change from Alaska. And I've promised Toolik that I'll take him back - we're just not cut out for life in the lower 48 - we need the wildeness of Alaska - it's in our blood - and blood will not be denied. In the meantime, however, we're enjoying life here - we have a big piece of property, the dogs all run free within a HUGE fenced area and we take daily walks in the mountains and hills bordering the property. Toolik is a complete and total goofball - I've never known such a social and friendly dog in my life. He does a good job of alerting whenever someone drives onto the property and puts up a good show of being ferocious - right up until they walk through the gate - then he's all wiggles, paws and a big pink tongue - boy does he have the Chinook trait of licking everyone that's his friend - and everyone ends up being his friend! The gal that delivers the mail is covinced that he'll take a chomp out of her if he ever gets a chance - and I'm content to let her believe that. Little does she know that the only danger is Chinook saliva in excessive quantities.
He's doing great with the four month old Kuvasz pup - those two are best buddies and just play, play, play - and then collapse into happy dog naps in the shade of the trees. He even will bring a toy or bone to distract the pup when he's doing something that Toolik knows is bad. Amazing maturity from the eternal puppy himself. They have tons of fun.
~ David
Toolik at the ranch gate...
BrownStone Chinook Century Wind (Ullr) "It all begins with the alpine winds..."
Hi Kay Lee,
Cedar (Treadwell) continues to make us all smile and laugh
at his goofy smiles and comical vocalization. He is a very clear favorite
around the office and loves to go out on bridge inspections and surveys with
me. He also has been logging some serious trail miles, particularly this last
month on a trip up to the Sawtooth National Forest, where we hiked up to many
pristine lakes and an abandoned mining town! I'm fairly confident his favorite
part of the trip was finding some snow patches up around 9,900' for a good roll
in. When he's not out exploring, Cedar's favorite spot is either soaking up
some sun by our garden or laying in front of the fireplace during the cooler
months (for being a snow dog he sure loves the warmth of both). He also loves
playing tag with the young girls who live next door to us and their two french
bulldogs. Cedar has become a huge personality in our home and is constantly
amazing us with his intelligence and ability to shed; but the price of a good
vacuum is a cheap price for all the joy and love he brings us. We can't wait to
see where our next adventures take us and hope that the rest of the Centennial
Litter has a very Happy Birthday as well!
-Anna
BrownStone Chinook Century Kate (Tika) named for Kate Walden, Arthur's wife.
Hi Kay Lee,
Tika is participating in Nosework classes and really
enjoying it. She has filled our home with laughter since her
arrival. She is always smiling and wagging her tail. We describe her
as the perfect combination of "bull in a China shop" and an
utter clown. When she decides to lay down, she literally drops where she
is with a clumsy, loud thud! She will also get running in the house and
when she puts on her brakes she goes sliding across the hardwood floors without
a care in the world! She's so funny to watch! She has become quite
the cuddle bug and quite the Mama's girl. When I'm traveling to see
Danny, she won't leave my husband alone. Everytime he sits down she has
to crawl in his lap...which at 58lbs is a lot of dog in his lap!
She and her "sister" Kima are an adorable pair
constantly playing, cuddling, and looking out for one another. One of
Tika's comical moments is when she has had enough wrestling and Kima just won't
quit, Tika comes running to me and right up on me as if I'm her safe
zone!
Tika also LOVES to hunt for critters and birds on the
property, and she has been quite successful at it.
We have been working on her impulse control with many
different things in her life and she's coming along very nicely. She has
really come to love going to "work", which is their cue word for
training.
We are planning to breed Kima next summer so it should be
fun to see how Tika does as a nanny. I would guess then the following
summer, after Tika turns 3, will be her turn for breeding.
Have a wonderful trip and send our love to your pack!
Regards,
Kathy, Sean, Josh, Elijah, Danny, and Tika
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