Pets & Oldies
Hi! How was your week? Ours was colder but mostly sunny. I'm sitting here on a couch with my laptop sipping coffee and my cheeks feel like they are burning after the day in a freezing wind and warming sun. What a strange mixture, right? Well that's the spring in Lapland! Today I'm going to continue with the dog introduction series and the category of the day is our pets and oldies. Lights, camera, action!
"They are always there for me and show their unconditional love no matter what."
Valo and Lotus
Born in 2017
We got Valo 'light' and her sister Lotus when they were 8 weeks old. We got engaged the day before our roadtrip to Southern Finland to pick them up and decided on the way that the girls are going to be our engagement gift for each other. They were the first puppies and the second huskies that we had and that is one of the reasons why our bond is so special.
Valo and Lotus are Siberian huskies but they
have never been that into being real sled dogs, probably due to their small size. But they have been super pets from the beginning, so kind, social and loving. We take them on the day trips with us and they get somewhat special treatment since they are not involved in the training and dogsledding.
Hyena
Born in 2016
Hyena is our hyper active girl and has more energy than the whole pack in total. She is half Alaskan and half Siberian. Hyena was 1 year old when we got her and she was one of our firsts. She is a bit tricky to 'categorise' since she is not an oldie but doesn't really work with the others either. Don't get me wrong; she is talented runner and loves it but since she has quite sensitive and fragile soul so she sometimes gets very insecure in a big team. She prefers running with her best friends in a small dog team when there isn't too much going on around her. That's why she is more of a pet than anything else.
Harmaa
Born in 2011
Harmaa 'grey' is our very own wolf soul. He is a mixture of Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute and grey wolf. He was born in Alaska and imported to Finland later on and came to us when he was 5 years old. Together with Hyena, Harmaa was one of our first dogs and has been the father and the leader of the pack from the beginning. He is calm, wise and kind spirit. Harmaa has been running in our sled team just like any other husky but nowadays he runs much less due to his age and quite heavy body structure. Although, every time he runs he's like a young wolf.
Ceevris
Born in 2011
Ceevris is the gentle giant with his chocolate brown eyes. He is sweet and kind and he has a puppy-like soul, playful and curious, even though he's already one of the oldest. We got him in February 2018 and he's been an important part of our team. Ceevris has always been shy with new people but once you get inside his heart he loves deeply. When he's running he forgets his shyness and he still runs with the team quite often. He is in a really good shape for his age and size. Ceevris is actually our biggest dog right after Harmaa.
Rávdna
Born in 2009
Rávdna, the royal queen of the pack. She has an amazing soul and spreads calmness and unspeakable love around her. Rávdna came to us at the same time with Harmaa and Hyena so she is part of the heart and core of our fluffy family. Rávdna has been one of our team leaders and a great teacher for the younger ones. Even though she doesn’t run with the team anymore she is healthy and full of happiness and gets to run with every now and then with the oldies team. There might not be too many years with her anymore but we will enjoy every moment together.
Näätä
Born in 2009
Näätä 'marten' or originally Avku is the oldest one at the moment, few months older that Rávdna. He is our Norwegian old man who joined our pack two and a half years ago to teach the younger ones what he had learned and experienced as a long distance race dog. Näätä is super social with humans and loves attention and to be pampered but prefers living by himself in his own fence and spends his retirement days eating bones. He would still love to run every day with the others but his legs and back are not moving as fast and well as his mind and soul.
What's next?
Isn't this gang loveable? At least I think so and I love them so much. To summarise a bit what I have told you; we got our first four dogs in the 1st of July in 2017 and they were Rávdna, Harmaa, Hyena and Maahinen (yet to be introduced). Few weeks later Valo and Lotus joined our family as little puppies and that's where our journey with sled dogs began. Next week I'll introduce the rest of the pack aka the working Siberians! Stay tuned.
Life is the best, enjoy!
xx, Inka