It takes a lot to keep the dogs happy, healthy and whole….
…and we are really lucky to have an extended support crew.
Brianna in her first race.
Brianna Boisselle
For the past five years, Brianna has become more and more involved in our team, moving from a general dog sitter to a full on handler/ co musher/ vet tech/ dog whisperer. We wouldn't be where we are without Brianna: Squan and Jameson wouldn't have made it to leadership, Page wouldn't have ended up in single lead, and I’m still not sure how Hoss Orchid and Jumbo would have made it back from MI in 2020. I know the truck would never had been packed for Beargrease.
Brianna has a team of retired sled dogs mostly 12 years old and up, some retirees that I had run myself or knew their family (including one of the OG team members Happy). You can follow the motley crew's escapades here. My personal favorite is smiley Zima, who at times joined the puppy team for fall training.
Brianna and I split the week in Upton, training the dogs so they can run 7 days a week, and spend the full fall and winter up there without going back and forth. The dogs and I are really lucky that Brianna is part of the team and family.
Goose with Shucks and Fauci
Goose
Goose Goose is one of Brianna’s pack of young adopted dogs and older retired sled dogs. Goose is a team mascot/ unofficial team member, who has made friends with every single one of the dogs. Some of his best friends are Speck and Ariel. He tires out puppies, hauls straw uphill, and fearlessly runs through the dogyard saying hi to all his friends.Goose loves the sled dog lifestyle and the dogyard so much, he often refuses to come inside after playing with his friends all day.
In her own words, here’s what Brianna wrote about Goose: ‘I first fell in love with Goose when he was a small pup featured on a Facebook page for a Puerto Rican dog rescue. He was found abandoned and all alone at just a few months old. He was being transported to the shelter I worked at. There was something special about his innocent, scared face and GIANT ears. With a house full of senior dogs, juggling 2 jobs and getting ready to travel for the winter- getting a puppy wasn’t in the books. In September, I had to say goodbye to my Pit Bull that I had for 12 years-a dog that meant the absolute world to me. The exact day Bella and I said goodbye, Goose arrived in New Hampshire. It seemed like fate to me.
Goose has a heart of gold. He hasn’t met a person or an animal that he hasn’t made best friends with. He’s met soooooo many dogs and always somehow wins them over. He can run loose like a wacko in the dog yard with 30 other dogs. He has raised puppies and kittens. He’s always gentle and kind to tiny humans. He knows when it’s time to be silly and time to be a good boy. He is a very special dog and I’m so happy he is with us.’
Everybody loves Chuck.
Chuck Johnston
Chuck’s role is to bring the play: with puppies, with adults, with house dogs. Chuck loves each and every dog, even though he’s never set foot on the back of a sled. Who knew, when he said ‘I love dogs, how many do you have?’ 8 years ago what that would mean now. The dogs see Chuck coming and they all break out in big smiles.
Chuck’s other contribution is designing nicknames (or Chuck-names) for each dog: Hygge, Coco Chanel, Werm, GB, Infeugo, the Dawlins’, Rippers, Brewster, Haas, Hairy Buffala are only a small sampling. Chuck tries out a few names first before one sticks. And then, inevitably, the Chuckname becomes permanent.
Chuck, as Sally’s partner, is an integral part of the home life and the dog life and is an unbelievably kind and generous person. We (the dogs and Sally) are forever grateful for him being part of the team.