Tap Tap

Tap (or Tappan Zee) left at four months old, with her brother Carlson, with the understanding that if they didn’t make Martin’s team they’d come back. In 2019, this was easy to say, as the border was open and free flowing, Martin only a few hours away. Tap was the best female in the litter of 9, and I regretted letting her go.

In October, Tap didn’t make Martin’s team. With the border closed, it seemed like the only option was to let Martin sell her to another kennel. My heart didn’t want to lose her, I wanted that little puppy back home. We needed a new solution.

Thanks to an introduction from my friend Christine, for four months, Maxime and Ann-Marie at the Ranch Canine Manitou hosted Tap. They built her confidence, cultivated her joy, and cared for her. Maxime and Ann-Marie are generous, but also principled in how they believe dogs should live. Tears come to my eyes thinking about how much they care, tears of respect and inspiration. They realized what Tap needed, as Max called her ‘sensitive and resilient,’ the perfect description of that family. In their home, under their care, little Tap thrived while a solution slowly came together.

Tap’s journey home is a story of love of these dogs, and of our community. Every person who helped get Tap home was someone I’m connected to, through the kinship and fellowship of Can Am, mushers and volunteers who help each other on the trail and in our lives. Maxime met Remy in Quebec, Kat managed to get Tap in for her updated vaccines at her clinic, Lea traveled to Remy and Kat’s to pick up Tap, Lea crossed the border as part of her day job, and met Sarah who drove the last leg to me in Newport off I-95.

When Tap came out of Sarah’s car, she made a little face of realization, the same face I’ve seen her mom Aurora make when seeing an old friend. Tap ran right up and sniffed and licked my face and the tears at the corners of my eyes. There are powerful emotions here, a glimpse of the humanity and community that is waiting to rise when the pandemic lifts, and a deep relief and gratitude that Tap wasn’t lost. That Tap could come home. It’s powerful.

Tap of the whole litter is the one who most resembles mama Aurora, a physical embodiment of the Disney Princesses. Once back home, she merged with Team Pagey (Page was still coming back from weaning her pups), and grew into confidence in the team. Tap certainly had an unconventional yearling year, between the hard training of Martin, the love and free play at Max and Anne-Marie, and then the short runs in the team here. But, then again, Tap is a special girl. Tap is upbeat, driven, and combines the fearlessness of her mom Aurora with the loud barks of her dad Zippo. Tap is a ‘mini Mama’ who woo-woos just like her mama Aurora.

Born: 7/25/2019
Aurora (Stielstra) x Zippo (Hendricks) (Jersey Shore/ Lilliputians)

Race Record

2022
Wilderness Race 35: 6th Place
Open Class World Championships Laconia: 8th place
Can Am 30: 12th Place

The Tappan Zee bridge was a milestone landmark when I was shipped to New Jersey to stay with my relatives as a kid. The drive from NH to NJ isn’t that bad, but as a 5 year old it is a lifetime, and the Tappan Zee bridge marked that we were almost to NJ. In later years, when we had cell phones (but before Google maps) and I was a college kid doing the drive solo, I’d call my family when we’d hit the bridge to get a sense of our arrival time. On a recent trip to NJ, using Google instead of the hand written directions I used to use, I was surprised that Google tried to send me through Manhattan rather than around NYC via the Tappan Zee bridge. I had to rely on my memory and followed the signs to the Tappan Zee bridge to avoid the cluster of driving through Manhattan and the GW bridge.