Matanuska

Matanuska ("Mattie") is an Alaskan Husky. She was born at Plettner Kennel in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley in Alaska and that's how she got her name.

Her birth mom is "Mitten" from Plettner Kennel and her birth dad is from Linwood Fiedler's kennel (but I don't know which dog), so her bloodlines on both sides are from Iditarod racing kennels.

I met Mattie when she was 3 months old and brought her to CA when she was 4 months old (I spent a month training with Lynda Plettner). While she isn't the latest addition, she is the youngest member of the Greenacre Gang.

She is shy in public (such strange places, sounds & people!), but put her on a gang line and she's all business and ready to run.

When I got Mattie, I considered her my "final exam." Getting her as a puppy and training her using everything I've learned, how she turned out would be a big reflection on me. The pressure was on!

Fortunately, Mattie has turned out to be a very good command leader. Her faults are due to what I haven't gotten around to teaching her - I know if I took the time to do more leash/ground work with her, she'd learn more very quickly. She usually runs lead with Button.

Freya

Freya is a Seppala strain Siberian Husky. She was rescued from a bad situation in a Canadian puppy mill and fostered for 2 years by Karen Yeargain (Karen Y) in Oregon.

Karen Y cared for & ran Freya while she waited for Freya to be ready to be placed into a Forever Home. When Karen Yeargain noticed that Freya was making enough progress and was adoptable to the "right" home, she posted a message. I saw that message and knew I'd seen Freya briefly a year early at the Shaver Lake race. She was so shy back then, I didn't get to go close to Freya.

Not sure why, but I tend to gravitate to shy dogs. It must be the early abusive backgrounds (which created their shyness) that cries out to me. Guess I'm willing to take the time to build the trust and confidence in these dogs. They must sense it.

Freya's first night with the Greenacre Gang, she slept alone by the back door. By her second night with us, she was sleeping less than a foot away from my head & with her new pack!

It's been a year since she joined us and she is still shy, but she has come such a long way in her trust and being able to relax (& play)! We've gone from my not being able to pet her to her coming up to me to take food from my hand and my being able to flip her upside down in my lap & massage her.

Freya just loves to run with the team. She is the Greenacre Gang's "Cheerleader." She can run in any position, but usually runs in swing/team or wheel (depending on how many dogs are on the gang line). During a break, she's always the first dog to start jumping & barking to get going again.

Cricket

Cricket is an Alaskan Husky from Plettner Kennels. Her birth mom is Termite and her birth dad is Lennon. She has a brother Dragonfly ("Dragon") that runs with Lynda.

Cricket ran the Iditarod as a puppy in 2006 with Katrina Pawlaczyk and again in 2008 with Rick Holt. Unfortunately I don't know how far she made it in either race. She even worked up on a glacier near Juneau giving summer tourists sled dog tours with Linwood Fiedler.

Cricket typically runs in wheel, but sometimes runs in swing/team. Cricket's stride isn't as long as the rest of the team, but she can keep up with their speed and she can go the distance. She is the most muscularly and solidly built dog on the team and she doesn't realize how much force and weight she has in comparison to the other dogs. Her playfulness can easily be overwhelming and often gets "too rough" for the more "slightly built" dogs. I often find myself slowing down the play before a dog gets hurt.

Cricket is the most recent addition to the Greenacre Gang. She is very friendly and just loves to play and cuddle.

Button

Button is an Alaskan Husky from Plettner Kennels. Her birth mom is Carla and her birth dad is Lookout.

Ani and I met Button in August of 2003 when we went to Alaska for the first time and trained for a week with Lynda Plettner.

Button was a very shy dog, but might have run the Iditarod in 2004 on a leased team. Unfortunately, there was no call for a lease team, so Button wasn't going to run in the 2004 Iditarod. Shortly after returning from Alaska, I got the e-mail message from Lynda confirming that Button wasn't going to run the Iditarod, so after some internet research, I decided it was mroe cost effective (and more fun) to do a quick turnaround trip to go get Button. So a month after my first trip to Alaska, I was headed back for less than a day!

I left Long Beach Airport around 7am on Friday, changed planes in Seattle, got picked up by a friend in Anchorage & another friend was to pick me up at Iditarod Trail Committee Headquarters (ITC) to drop me off at Plettner Kennels, then Lynda would drive me & Button to the Anchorage Airport for the midnight direct flight to LAX (with a scheduled landing around 7am).

While I was waiting at the ITC for my "connecting ride," Lynda Plettner called the ITC (she knew I'd be there waiting for my ride) and asked to speak to me (she was at the Vet getting Button's travel health certificate & needed my address for the certificate). You can imagine the impression I made on the woman who answered the phone to have Iditarod musher Lynda Plettner calling for me a person she thought was just another tourist! I can still see her surprised/perplexed/awestruck expression! :-D

Button quickly transitioned to the warm California climate - she was constantly out basking in warmth of the late September sun (we were even having a long, hot summer that year)! She also easily transitioned into running as a lead dog (in fan hitch) with Jiko and Ani on the California

sidewalks.

Button has come a long way in overcoming her shyness. While she can still be a tad tentative in public when she doesn't have one of her pack mates with her, she no longer grovels on the ground & rolls over in submission.

She co-rules the pack with Ani. While she won't hold the "line out" during hook-up, Button is "the enforcer" when it comes to others following her rule about behaving on the gang line - no excessive barking and no jumping when she's on the line!

Anika

Anika ("Ani") is a Siberian Husky rescued from the Orange County Anmal Shelter. She is my first northern breed dog and the reason I got into mushing. She is the classic talkative Siberian Husky and will "Awooo wooo wooooo!" to let you know she wants something. She is very vocal and extremely outgoing and friendly.

Very little phases her and she has to be in the front of everything and involved in everything (or everyone will hear about it).

I have to say Ani chose me, but I was lalready ooking for an all white dog anyways as I had a special situation at home. I had an older (16 yrs old) dog at home that was suffering from strokes & other health issues, who I figured would be passing soon but who only liked all white dogs (I'll post about Cassie later). I also had another dog (all white mixed breed also resuced from the OC Animal Shelter) who had separation anxiety (I'll post about Jiko later also).

As fate would have it, there was no line at the cashier/information line and there were no names on the waiting list for this dog. I had them bring her out to the meeting area & there was just something in her that said "Take me!" I paid the fees and then had to wait for them to spay her before they'd release her to me. I got home & realized I was going to bring home a Siberian Husky. I knew the breed had special exercise needs (lots of physical & mental exercise), so I spent the weekend on line doing research & ordering books.

I found out about "scootering," but decided to order a 4-wheeled cart instead of a 2-wheeled scooter (one of the better decisions I've made) and I started reading my books and setting about training my dogs to mush.

Between what must be my dogs' intelligence & natural abilities and my abilities to learn and adapt, we were "sidewalk surfing" with the cart on our neighborhhod sidewalks in no time. I figured there had to be more to it, so I got online again in search of additional training opportunities. I came across Plettner Kennels and sent a few inquiries to Lynda Plettner. I bought a video of a PBS Nature show episode "Sled Dogs: An Alaska Epic" that featured Lynda and her dogs and as I watched the video, I knew she was the one I wanted to learn from. So I took Ani to Alaska with me and left Jiko at home (he was too old to go on the trip). We learned so much in that week and met Button.

Lynda offered Button to me while we were there, but since Button had a slight chance to run the in the upcoming Iditarod, I didn't want to ruin that chance & we left Alaska without her. But a month later I'd be back to get her (see Button's posted story).

Ani ran lead for years with Jiko and Button and can still run lead, but she is rather A.D.D. and just loves to "sightsee" too much. When Mattie started training and running in lead in 2008, Ani was moved into wheel position and ran ocassionally in lead.

Ani is not as fast a runner as the rest of the team, but when the going gets tough on those uphills, Ani focuses, puts it in low gear, and she pulls hard in that wheel position! She and Cricket work very well together in wheel. When running with our "extended pack" (The Hunts: Cyndie, Randy, "Stormy" & "Jacob"), Ani gets to run co-lead with Jacob on Cyndie's scooter team.

Meet the Greenacre Gang

A Southern California Sled Dog Team

(aka: "Sun Dogs")

Yes, working sled dogs can be found even in "snow-challenged" Southern California!

"The Greenacre Gang" is currently an all female team that can't wait for the weekends for their fun runs and longs for cool weather (& even snow). We like running in the low 60's or lower, but will run in temperatures up to 70's (depending on other weather factors such as humidity & sun exposure).

(l-r) Matanuska ("Mattie"), Anika ("Ani"), Button, Freya, and Cricket

Each dog has their own individual photo and background posted, so for more information on each dog, please read their post. Following is a brief description of each dog.

Mattie is an Alaskan Husky (from the Iditarod running kennels of Lynda Plettner & Linwood Fiedler). She is the youngest of the team and she is a lead dog. Mattie is my "alarm" - if anyone approaches, she barks out the warning. She also loves to play.

Ani is a Siberian Husky I rescued out of the shelter. She is the one responsible for turning me into a musher. She is the talkative one of the group & is the "Co-Alpha Dog." No one can do anything, go anywhere or get anything if she isn't doing or getting it at the same time. She can run lead, but works best in wheel. Ani can sniff out a tiny crumb of food from what seems like 2 rooms away - that nose & tummy of hers is constantly getting her into trouble.

Button is my first Alaskan Husky (from Plettner Kennels). She is about 2-3 months older than Ani (making her the oldest dog in the pack) & is the other "Co-Alpha Dog". Button runs in lead. Button is the "rules enforcer" - if she doesn't like what's going on, she'll let everyone know it.

Freya is a Seppela strain (for racing/working) Siberian Husky rescued out of a puppy mill. She is shy around people, but is making good progress. Freya can run in lead, but usually runs in swing/team or wheel. Freya is enjoying playing with all the dogs in her pack (except Button) and she really loves to run.

Cricket is an Alaskan Husky from Plettner Kennels. She is my most recent addition and has actually run in the Iditarod twice! She loves to play and cuddle. She usually runs in wheel, but sometimes runs in swing/team.