Jax

‘He loves to be loved,’ said a former musher Tom, who helped in the relay of transport for Jax and Cobalt this past spring. When Brenda had reached out to me about Cobalt, a dog that I fell in love with from afar and told her to put me first in line always for when she’d sell him, I substituted Jax for Cobalt’s brother Royal. Dog deals.

Jax came right off Brenda’s Iditarod team, a strong loping four year old leader. Jax’s family tree is a mix of dogs I’ve had in the yard before, his mom Salt the mom of Inferno and his dad Kingpin Hawkeye’s brother, knitting him into the dogyard with his cousins. What I have always loved about Brenda’s dogs is the way they feel under my hands, solid, smooth, and capable.

It took a few months for Jax to warm up to me, having inherited a suspicion of new people from his dad Kingpin. I think it was the grooming gloves that finally got him to trust me, hours spent brushing out his coat, scratching his ears, putting my hands all over him to foster that bond of trust. I began to suspect, like many shier dogs I’ve had in the past, that we needed to spend time in harness for him to really trust me. Jax is his best self when he sees me walking towards him with a harness in my hand.

The first time I put Jax in lead, I felt it immediately. I felt the confidence, the drive, and Jax’s pure joy at doing what he loves. As when other powerful dogs took the lead for the first time, such as Aurora, Bayley, Wembley, I felt the electricity in my hands. Jax is one of those once-in-a-lifetime type dogs, and I’m so glad he's here.

Born: 2017
Kingpin (B Mackey) x Salt (B Mackey)

Race Record:

2022
Wilderness 35 1st Place (lead)
Open Class World Championships Laconia 8th Place (lead both days)
Can Am 100 1st Place (lead)

With Brenda Mackey:

2021: Iditarod

2020:
Nenana Ice Classic 40/40, 3rd place
Solstice 100, 2nd place

2018/19:
Solstice 50, 2nd place
Nenana Ice Classic 40/40, 2nd place