Norkin

From birth, Norkin was one of those dogs that I knew could be a mama’s boy if I wasn’t careful. It was his big friendly warm brown eyes, and his need for love and attention. With a body from his dad Jameson, and a shaggy coat from his mom Razz, Norkin is an interesting mix of his parents.

Norkin and Hutton had the most consistent harness breaking of any pups I’ve trained so far, with probably a dozen or so hookups in the winter into the spring. Norkin doesn’t have aptitude for the front of the team, but has aptitude for being a sled dog. When we would stop at the base of big hills, Norkin would send out two barks letting us know it was time to get going.

Norkin has matured nicely in personality, especially once I neutered him this past summer. He’s evolved into an easy-going guy, and I’m going to have to work hard to remember he’s only a yearling.

Born: 2021
Parents: Razz (B. Mackey) x Jameson (S. Manikian)
AMC Trails Litter (Hutton, Norkin, and Woodchuck/ Allagash)

On the day I decided to breed a litter in 2021, my former supervisor Andrew Norkin passed away after years of living with cancer. Andrew had a formative impact on my life, having a supportive leadership style that helped me find my way as a young woman working in a male-dominated field. Andrew was respectful, kind, gregarious, and trusted his staff to do their jobs well, a beast of a man he was a gentle giant. Andrew was also a musher, giving me permission to run my dogs when I probably could have been working instead, giving me the last of his dog sled gear, and always sending me a text after every Can Am. The last one I got was after the 2020 Can Am win. I still have a Norkin-built dog house in the dogyard, it’s one of the toughest houses and beloved by the lucky dog that gets to call it home. Because the perfect souls of dogs deserve the best humans we can offer, couldn’t think of anyone better than Andrew to honor with this litter.