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Sled dogs not exactly like The following drticle was submitted to the Scugog Citizen by SOS (Save our Sleddogs), Citizens for the Preservation of Sleddogs and Sleddog Sports. We felt it might be of interest to our readers in light of the recent Snowflake Festival Sled Dog Races, held in Port Perry on the weekend of January 22 and 23. 808 would like to introduce you to sled dogs, sled dog sports and the people who race and rain sled dogs. We feel that there is a need to better acquaint people with the facts about sled dog activities as the sport expands into populated areas throughout the world, thousands of miles form its remote, native home. (Vhether this was your first introduction to sled dogs, or you have visited a sled dog kennel or attended a sled dog sporting event, you may be interested in some of the facts about sled dogs that mushers (dog team trainers and racers) don't seem to have the time to explain because of their pre-occupation with their This is especially true at sled dog races where the driver's entire attention is on his dogs . . prior to, during and following their race. They come first, last and always. Although many sled dogs make good pets, they are not exactly like other domesticated breeds. They come from a long * tradition of running in harness. Being a part of a team fulfills _ Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, February 8, 1994 --33 _& their "pack" instinct, and to the sled dog's way of thinking, this is the most important, most exhilarating part of his life. Other sled dogs are a sled dog's "best friends," and he enjoys nothing better than running with his friends. He and his teammates naturally accept the leadership of the dog which has proven its capability at the front of the team. Unlike old tales that would have you believe that lead doge any other breed protects them, houses them, feeds them and best of all, takes them out as a team for training and racing runs. A team of dogs is much stronger than any single person can control physically, but by being fair, consistent and considerate, the driver earns the respect of his dogs which willingly respond to his every command. In order to earn a dog team's trust, the driver must truly love fight for their superi .they don't. They earn it in training runs by exhibiting their enthusiasm and intelligence. The "ultimate" leader of the dog team is the human being on the runners of the sled . . .the one who cares for the dogs, Everett Cameron, Chair of the Kawartha Rejjlon Conservation Authority, presents & Loon print to Robert Sarginson (right), recipient of the KRCA's 1994 Kawartha Conservationist Award. Mr. Sarginson Is a resident of Emily Township and an active conservationist well known for his involvement In projects to protect the ecosystem of Pigeon Lake. -- and app dogs and share in their joy as "partners" on a running sled dog team. Otherwise, the responsibility of him. Competitive sled dogs are among the best housed, trained, fed and conditioned canine athletes in the world. They receive veterinary care that compares with the medical care offered to Olympic athletes. Each dog on the team plays an important, individual role, so every effort is made to keep each one in top physical and mental condition in order to keep the team together. All rules governing sied dog competition - whether it is team racing, skijoring, weight pulling or cross-country trekking - are and training a team of dogs can be pure drudgery. Even for the most conscientious dog driver and kennel owner, there are no guarantees of glory and awards awaiting him at the end of the trail. Everything that the driver does for his dogs will determine what they will do for him on the trails. If he does not earn their trust as " their leader, the dogs will elect "their Own" leader . . .one of their own kind. When that happens, the dogs become a "pack" instead of a "team", so it is the wise trainer who does all that he can to maintain a healthy kennel of happy dogs that can place their confidence in designed to the well- being of the dogs as a top priority and secondly, to provide a fair contest, All competitors belong to one sled dog organization or another, and all of them were created to promote humane contests where "the best team wins," but actually, none of them are losers. As you look at all the sled dogs in kennels and sports arenas, you are looking at some of the best, most cared-for athletes in the world. And unlike many other dogs who don't have a choice, they can do what they like to do most under the safe supervision of a "good master" Duplicate Bridge February 2 - Afternoon 5 Table Howell - Avg. 54 1st - Harold Brown and Don Atkinson 69 1/2. 2nd - Doris Phinney and Judy Atkinson 59 3rd - Joyce Heard and Helen Mathieson 56 4th - Bea Chapman ar and Hoppy Carnwith 56. 1 HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS | Evening - 8 Table Howell Avg. 24. 1st - Don Zoller and Don Atkinson 82 172 2nd - Joan West and Anne Scott tied with Harold Brown and Harry Tripp 29. 3rd - Mary Alton and Gord Day 24 I ' The original rolling stone The man who wrote "The Cremation of Sam McGee" By Marsha Boulton WHITEHORSE, YUKON, 1906 What Canadian poet claimed 10 have been shot at while writing one of his most famous ballads? Robert Service was a bank teller in Whitehorse when he was invited to prepare a reading for a church concert. It a rowdy Wlondike Saturday night when he thought of the line: "A bunch of the boys were ping it up After returning to his apartment sbove the bank office, Service \ \ his autobiography Ploughmgg of the Modh,™ he pt downstairs to the quiet of | ge and commenced rk ceping guard awoke Wd med the midmight author Wi Fortunately. he wa poor hot « I'he Shooting of Dan McGrew" n ig never have been Crvice "With the bullet whizzing if a det tion ng 1 t |} [ | tl ul f Service emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1894 with $15 in his pocket and visions of becom ing a cowboy. He tramped about and took all manner of odd jobs, before he began a career in bank ing which led him to the Yukon His first book of verse, "Songs of a Sourdough was an acciden tal success. Ser vice had intend ed to print a shm volume of his poems as a sou and wealthiest writers in Canada In 1908, Service was trans ferred to Dawson City and he set tled in a rustic cabin, which is now a museum. He wrote his first nBvel here, "The Trail of "98." When it was finished he decided to déliver it per sonally to his publisher in New York We expected you lo arrive in mukluks and a a dog team down parka driving venir for his friends, and his Fifth Avenue," exclaimed the father forwarded the material to a publisher, we was surprised to publisher of hymn books in New find Service rather unassuming in York for printing sppearance. Far from the rough The book sold itself when press and tumble, hard drinking wom men were discovered laughing anizers and scoundrels he immor and reciting Scrvice's verse, talized, Service was a teetotaller including the classic "Ciemation and a physical fitness buff of Sam McGee The book sold Service returned to the over two milhon copies and made Klondike and wrote another col Service one of the best-known lection of verse Rhymesof a Watch for the Heritage Minutes on your local television statior Yor more information ahout the Heritage Project call 1.800.867 1867. © Rolling Stone." In the autumn of 1912, he took the last steam boat out of Dawson, and never returned His life remained action packed As a reporter, he covered the Balkan War, and during World War One he served as an ambulance driver and as an intel ligence officer for the Canadian Army. His collection of war poet ry. "Rhymes of a Red Cross Man." headed the non-fiction best-seller list in 1917 and 1918 Dispelling rumors of his death "Service published at least 10 books, while living comfortably in Monte Carlo and Brittany In 1958, Canadian television broadcaster Patrick Watson and journalist Picrre Berton inter viewed the 84-year-old self- pro claimed "rhymer" at his villa overlooking the Mediterrancan Say, wouldn't it be a sensation if | croaked in the middle of this interview?" asked Service with a twinkle in his eye. The Bard of the Yukon died a few months later, Waving legacy that is the ff of myth