CJ

I don’t know if I would say I own him.    

Am I his keeper? Yes.  Will I do whatever it takes to keep him healthy and happy for however many years he has? Yes. When I think of ownership I think of something I could buy, enjoy and then sell. He won't ever be sold or given up.  I don't have any biological children but CJ is a lifetime commitment. 

Biggest surprise? He is silent!  Only the tiniest little woof if he is startled by a loud noise.  Either that or the fact that he was never a chewer as a puppy.  He never really destroyed anything in the house.  CJ loves his stuffed animals.

In was December of 2009 and my ex-wife pointed at a computer screen with a few pics of puppies on it and asked which one I thought was cuter.  I pointed at the black one which turned out to be CJ.  She said ok, I’ll get him. I said, “No way.  It is the middle of winter with temps hovering around -15F. No one else except me will ever take the time to go outside and house train him.  Let’s get a pup in the spring.”

The pup I didn't want showed up a few days later and I will forever remember the date December 12th 2009. I was right. I was the one who took him outside, but he was a quick study!  He only needed to go outside at night about 2-3 nights and then he could make it through the night.

During the day he was small enough to go with me everywhere as he just slipped right into the hand warmer pocket on my hoody.  His first name was Diesel but it just didn't fit well and so I got to thinking about another name.  With permission from the parents, I ended up naming him CJ – the initials of their youngest son’s name. He took his own life a year earlier on December 12, 2008.  That quiet little dog showed up exactly one year to the day later to remind us not to forget those that are no longer with us.  It worked! It's been almost 6 years and not a day passes that I don’t think of CJ and smile.

CJ doesn’t know anyone that isn’t a friend.  He is almost 5 years old and I'm still trying to break him of the habit of jumping all over who ever might show up. It probably won’t happen until he is an old dog and no longer wants to greet people that way. 

I dread the day I have to make the decision to have him put to sleep. Actually, I hope he just passes in his sleep.

Trooper and Gunner

In 95’, I had been home from the Army for about a year and to say I was not adjusting well would be an understatement. I was having trouble fitting back into civilian life and just seemed to be angry or on edge all the time.  

I had grown up with dogs and pets and enjoyed my Parent’s dogs. A partner that I shared a beat with as a Cop had a boxer named Jake. He was a funny dog, a little wild, but a seemed to be a great dog. Jake was my first time learning of this breed and I was sold. So a short time later around Feb. 96’ I got my first boxer. He was a cute little guy, full of energy, and a typical “fawn” type boxer. I named him Trooper, because I had been a Paratrooper in the Army.  

Troop grew into a muscular, big boxer, going way over the typical male boxer weight scale, so I would often refer to him as “Muscle Boy”. At the time he was a bit aggressive, stubborn and pig headed, much like I was. I had trouble training him and could not have him around other boxers because he was overly aggressive to them. Dealing with him and trying to get him to be a better dog, helped curb my tendency to have those same traits. He always knew when I was not feeling well or dealing with something, which always calmed me down and kept me from “blowing up.” He was my buddy for almost 13yrs. Without him, I don’t know how long it would have taken me to get past the anger issues and stress I was feeling. 

In 2010, my then wife was preparing to deploy to Iraq for a year. While we knew about this and were preparing for it, it was going to be a tough go for our little family. I had been without a dog for a while now and desperately wanted another one. Also, my 9 year old step-daughter had been asking her mom for years to get a dog. So we discussed it and decided we would look for a boxer pup. 

As I was looking I found a little brindle that immediately caught my eye. I showed the photos and bio to my wife and she approved so we went to go take a look. On the day we got him, he came bouncing into the room.  My wife  looked over at me, took one look at my face and knew we were going home with him. We chose the name Gunner, because of our military backgrounds. 

He immediately took to my wife and step-daughter and is still a full-on “ladies’ man”.  Unfortunately my marriage did not last and I soon found myself moving and taking Gunner with me. It has not always been easy and at times, I felt very much alone….until he would come over and do that thing that, boxers do….wiggle. He, like me has, no poker face. You can read him very well. My ex affectionately named him “wiggle butt” and it’s stuck. 

I’ve had Trooper for 4 years now and along with his new sidekick Bubba (a Boston terrier) I never feel alone. He helped me through a tough time and made me understand a saying I’ve come to love…. “You have never known unconditional love, until you’ve owned a dog.” 

Without my two boxers, I’m not sure where or how I would be. At the very least it probably would have taken me much longer to deal with those inner turmoil’s than it did.  Our pets can be helpful in many ways and how mine have pushed me in so many ways to be a better person all around.

Togo

While we are waiting for a few of our stories to be processed, I thought I would take the time today to share the story of Togo with you.

Togo is one of the lesser known hero dogs (the most famous being Balto) in the story of the dog run that saved the children of Nome by delivering vaccine.  Together, the teams covered 674 miles in just a little over five days. At the time, this feat was a world record, and all of this in sub-zero temps and hurricane like winds.  This run ultimately ended up inspiring the annual world-famous Iditarod race.  

Togo, a Siberian Husky who initially was an unpromising pup, but would become Leonhard Seppala's favorite and lead sled dog.  Mr. Seppala would later say that Togo was "the best dog that ever traveled the Alaskan trail" and "I never had a better dog than Togo."

Togo was born to a Norwegian Leonhard Seppala, who worked in the gold fields of Alaska and also bred and raced the Siberian dogs originally from the Chukchi Inuit stock of Siberia.  The dogs also worked in the gold fields hauling freight.  Togo's eyes were ice blue and he was considered small for his breed, weighing in at about forty-eight pounds.  Seppala was known to refer to Togo in his prime as “fifty pounds of muscle and fighting heart”.

As a pup, Togo developed a painful throat disorder that caused his throat to swell.  Sepalla’s wife, Constance, spent many hours trying to comfort and ease Togo’s condition by applying hot rags to his  throat.  Togo grew into a mischievous puppy that would nip and harass the other pups in the kennel yards when Seppala tried to harness them.  At about six months of age, Seppala gave him away to a woman who was looking for a house pet.  Though the woman spoiled him, Togo would have none of it and escaped the woman’s house by leaping through a window and making his way back to Seppala’s kennels. 

Seppala took him back in but Togo’s trouble making was not over.  He still harassed the teams and would run up to lead dogs as they returned to the kennels from their runs.  This activity ultimately almost ended his life when he ran up to a team of trail hardened malamutes and was mauled.  Togo was rushed by dog sled to his kennels and treated. Togo lived and never again would pass another team without giving them a wide berth. 

Togo got his chance in the sled line rather by accident.  Sepalla was hired to deliver him to a new gold strike location.  Though Sepalla left him tied with instructions not to untie him, Togo freed himself, caught up with the sled team and continued to harass them until Sepalla harnessed him in to the wheel position directly in front of the sled.  The moment he slipped the harness around Togo’s body, the dog became serious and resolute.  He moved Togo up the line throughout the day until he was sharing the lead position  with “Russky”.  Togo ended up logging a suprising 75 miles that day, which was unheard of for an inexperienced young dog.

After the outbreak in Nome and the decision to use dog teams to deliver the serum, Leonhard Seppala and all the dog team drivers stepped forward to complete the task.

The conditions endured by the mushers were, from the beginning, no joke.  Once the shipment of serum arrived in Nenana, a musher named Wild Bill Shannon, grabbed the package, wrapped it in furs.  Despite a temperature of −50 °F, Shannon left immediately.  He and his team of Malamutes made their way down the Tanana River, led by Blackie.

The temperature began to drop, and the team was forced onto the colder ice of the river because the trail had been destroyed by horses.  Despite jogging alongside the sled to keep warm, Shannon developed hypothermia. He reached Minto at 3 AM, with parts of his face black from frostbite. The temperature was −62 °F. 

Edgar Kalland had arrived in Minto the night before. Shannon and his team arrived in bad shape at 11 AM, and handed over the serum. After warming the serum in the roadhouse, Kalland headed into the forest. The temperature had risen to −56 °F and according to at least one report the owner of the roadhouse at Manley Hot Springs had to pour hot water over Kallands' hands to get them off the sled's handlebar when he arrived. 

Many dog sled teams would take similar shifts along the treacherous route to deliver the needed vaccine to the children.

Meanwhile, Nome's best musher, Leonhard Seppala, was traveling eastward from Nome with Togo in the lead, to meet the serum.  The soon-to-be-famous Balto and a few other dogs were left behind at an outpost called Bluff to provide Seppala with fresh pullers on his return trip.   Togo lead his sled 91 miles from Nome from January 27 to January 31 into the oncoming storm. They took the shortcut across the Norton Sound, and headed toward Shaktoolik. The temperature in Nome was a relatively warm −20 °F but in Shaktoolik the temperature was estimated at −30 °F and the gale force winds causing a wind chill of −85 °F.

Henry Ivanoff's team had left with the serum out of Shaktoolik on it’s way toward Seppala and his oncoming sled.  Ivanoff’s team ran into a reindeer and the dogs, who often could be distracted by the or appearance of reindeer, got tangled up just outside of Shaktoolik. Seppala still believed he had more than 100 miles to go and was racing to get off the Norton Sound before the storm hit. He was passing the team when Ivanoff shouted, "The serum! The serum! I have it here!"

With the news of the worsening epidemic, Seppala decided to brave the storm once again.  The  blizzard had struck and was pushing water onto the Norton Sound ice, causing it to break up into floes. The fastest way to Nome was back the way he had come over Norton Sound.

Seppala set out back across the exposed open ice of the Norton Sound when he reached Ungalik, after dark. Sometimes Seppala could barely see Togo picking a path through the white mists, but he had to trust the dog's judgment. In places, the route they had previously used had vanished. They glided within mere feet of frigid waves. The the wind chill with the gale force winds was −85 °F .  Seppala gambled his life, the lives of his team and the fate of Nome, that Togo would lead them to safety.

Togo was an exceptional leader already famous throughout the region for numerous wins in the All-Alaska Sweepstakes and other Nome Kennel Club races. Togo took Seppala in a straight line across the Sound, in the dark and across ice floes, arriving at the Isaac's Point roadhouse at 8:00 p.m. Seppala and his tired dogs had traveled 84 miles in addition to the 170 they had undertaken before obtaining the serum.

The team rested, and departed at 2 AM into the full power of the storm.During the night the temperature and the wind increased to storm force (at least 65 mph). The team ran across the ice while following the shoreline and then crossed Little McKinley Mountain, climbing 5,000 feet.  After descending to the next roadhouse in Golovin, Seppala passed the serum to Charlie Olsen on February 1 at 3 PM.

Olsen was blown off the trail and suffered severe frostbite but delivered the serum to Bluff.  Gunnar Kaasen subsequently finished the daunting trip with the famous Balto, another of Seppula’s dogs, and became probably the most well-known leg of the trip. 

Togo was an amazing 12 years of age, which is considered old even by today’s standard, to run as far as he did during the Race of Mercy.  20 teams were involved in the relay.  Togo and his team ran nearly five times as far as any of the other nineteen teams that participated.  By the time they reached Bluff and the relief dogs, Seppala and Togo had covered an amazing two hundred and sixty miles!

Although Seppala and Togo covered the greatest number of miles, Gunnar Kaasen and Balto were the team that actually delivered the serum into Nome, lending them much glory and prestige. Balto became the famous dog of the serum run, although many - including Leonhard Seppala, who owned both Balto and Togo - felt that Togo, who was 12 years old at the time of the run, should have received more credit.

In December 1925, a statue of Balto was erected in New York City's Central Park. At this, Seppala commented: "It was almost more than I could bear when the ‘newspaper dog' Balto received a statue for his ‘glorious achievements.'"  A statue of Balto has also since been erected in downtown Anchorage.

Leonhard Seppala and Togo made many journeys together in the land of Alaska Territory but, without a doubt, their greatest journey was as major participants in the 1925 Serum Run to Nome. Togo lived until December 5, 1929, four years after the Serum Run, his most athletic endeavor, behind him. Togo sired multiple litters before dying in honorable old age of about 16.

In his old age, Seppala recalled, “I never had a better dog than Togo.  His stamina, loyalty and intelligence could not be improved upon.  Togo was the best dog that ever traveled the Alaska trail.” 

His mount is currently on display at the Iditarod Trail Headquarters in Wasilla, Alaska. 

The Serum Run Mushers of 1925

Musher         Leg of Serum Run         Miles

"Wild Bill" Shannon Nenana to Tolovana         52
Edgar Kalland     to Manley Hot Springs         31
Dan Green     to Fish Lake             28
Johnny Folger     to Tanana             26
Sam Joseph     to Kallands             34
Titus Nickoli     to Nine Mile Cabin         24
Dave Corning     to Kokrines             30
Harry Pitka     to Ruby             30
Billy McCarty     to Whiskey Creek         28
Edgar Nollner     to Galena             24
George Nollner     to Bishop Mountain         18
Charlie Evans     to Nulato             30
Tommy Patson     to Kaltag             36
Jack Screw     to Old Woman             40
Victor Anagick     to Unalakleet             34
Myles Gonangnan to Shaktoolik             40
Henry Ivanoff     to meeting with Seppala     -
Leonhard Seppala* to Golovin             91*
Charlie Olson     to Bluff             25
Gunnar Kaasen     to Nome             53

* Seppala set out from Nome, met Ivanoff outside of Shaktoolik, turned around, and carried the serum onward to Golovin, 91 miles away. With Togo, he traveled a total of 260 miles.    

Gus

We are Rachael and Clay Hendon of Dallas, TX.  Our oldest “son,” Gus, is a 4-year-old English Mastiff.  Gus goes by several monikers: Gus Gus, Gustopher, and Mr. Sir. Rachael will tell you that he is named after the fat little mouse in Disney’s Cinderella.  I like to think he’s named for Augustus McRae, Robert Duvall’s character in Lonesome Dove.  Either way, the name fits perfectly.

While he is just shy of 200 lbs., he is definitely “mama’s little man.” Gus adopted us in the late winter of 2010. At the time, I was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado preparing to depart on a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan (my second). Rachael would be returning home to Dallas while I was gone and we agreed it was time for us to have a dog.  We looked online for several weeks before finding Gus on the Paws website.

Gus was about 4 months old and we would be his fourth home.  The first, other than wherever he was born, was to a family who gave him away when they found their son was allergic to his slobber!  His next family decided after less than a month that he was growing too fast and would be too big.  The couple we got him from, an Air Force family at Cheyenne AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming, had found out they were pregnant within weeks of getting him and decided that a 200 lb dog and a newborn weren’t in their plans.  Lucky for us!

We drove the 3 hours in a February snowstorm to pick Gus up. He enjoyed his first car ride home by trying to make his way from the back of the Tahoe and into Rachael’s lap. One of Gus’ cutest features was his “snow nose.” Apparently, some dogs get a pink nose in cold weather – especially when they are young. Gus doesn’t get it anymore, but when he was younger, his nose would turn skin-color every time it dropped below freezing!  We additionally love his big, clunky feet and jet-black face and ears. Since the day we brought him home, Rachael and Gus have been inseparable.

The year I was gone was like a bonding experience for the two of them – and it stuck.  Gus responds to, protects, and follows Rachael like no other animal-human relationship I’ve seen…and when he feels like roughhousing, he comes looking for me! He definitely made that year more bearable for Rachael, and has served – and continues to serve – as her guardian and companion. Gus is a great dog, but I love him because he loves my wife and guards and protects her as I would.

Rachael and I both grew up with dogs, so having a dog around was nothing new. Rachael’s mother has served as President of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, the Animal Welfare League of Texas (a non-profit animal welfare group) for decades. I grew up with hunting dogs and companion animals. What was unexpected, as a soon-to-be-married couple, was how our lives would change as a result of adopting Gus. From when we could vacation to how long we could take at dinner, having a pup around the house changed the game! Gone were the nights out when we could spontaneously get a hotel room late in the evening; gone were the weekend getaways with no concerns beyond our ride to the airport; gone were the days of having pristine furniture, bed sheets, and carpets.  But what we gained was far more valuable. We gained an amazing companion who has one over both of our families.  We gained the lessons of responsibility for something we needed to care for as a team – a great experience during our young marriage.

Since Gus adopted us, we have added two more members to the family. Gus has two younger sisters, Annie (a 3.5 year-old Aussie-Shepherd/Corgi amalgamation we rescued from the Auburn, Alabama PAWS shelter who we affectionately refer to as “Hobo” or “Smee”) and Marge (a 2.5 year old Bloodhound from Columbus, Georgia usually referred to as “Ma’am” or “Crazy”).  

Gus lived with us in Colorado, and with Rachael in Dallas.  Once we reached Georgia, and added the other two, we moved to the Seattle, Washington area and then back home to Dallas.  All three of our dogs have seen all of the time zones in the continental USA.  They have all seen temperatures below freezing and over 100^oF; they have seen mountains and oceans.  Gus’ early history with multiple owners has left him skittish and weary of new people. This can be especially disconcerting as displease with Gus equals a 200 lb. dog giving you the “mean mug” and a low, gravelly growl. In the end, he has learned to be a great member of the family and protects his human and furry family members with equal vigor!

There is a quote on a bathroom towel in my in-laws’ house: “In a perfect world, every home would have a dog, and every dog would have a home.”  I couldn’t agree more. I hope everyone out there finds room in their home and their lives for a companion animal.  Please spay or neuter your pet and ADOPT! Teach your kids and friends that the mutt at the shelter can make as good a companion as the pure bred from the pet store.  If you must use a pet store, I ask that you do your research to ensure you are not indirectly supporting puppy mills or any other disgusting breeding operations. I’ll leave you with a couple of photos of Gus (and the girls) and one of my favorite quotes: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Ghandi

The Questions

How does this work?  The instructions are simple!  

1.  Choose a pet who made a difference in your life.

2.  Choose a picture of that pet, or you and that pet.  It will be posted on the blog http://waggishtails.blogspot.com and also the Waggish Tails Facebook page.

3.  Think about your pet and then answer the starter questions below - as many or as few as you like - no rules!

4.  Feel free to go freestyle if you have a story you want to share.

5.  SMILE!  People are going to love the story of you and your pal as much as you love theirs!

Many of these questions are phrased as if your pet is still alive but, I realize, for some of us the pet who was that one-in-a-million may no longer be with you.  Please apply the question as best fits your situation.  We want to share the experience of that pet, just as you think of it.

What is your first name, or our pseudonym of choice?  (We will refer to you by that name in the post) 

What is your pet's name?  Does it have a meaning?  Why did you choose that name?

Tell me a little about your pet.  What breed is it?  What is their personality?

How old was it when you brought it home?  Tell me a little about that.

How did you find your pet?  Was it a rescue or a breeder or ?  Why was that important to you?

How did you pick your pet?  How did you know this one was coming home with you?  What attracted you?

Tell me about the picture you are sending me?  Why do you love it?  What is the story behind it?

What thing(s)do you love most about your pet?

What is the most unexpected thing about owning a pet?  What did you not expect?

What has your pet added to your life that you did not have before them?  And/or How did your pet change your life?

What did your pet teach you? 

What have you taught your pet? 

Did your pet ever embarrass you?  Tell me a little about that.

Does your dog dog act differently when you are not around?  What do they do when you are not home? 

Does your dog have any surprising behaviors?

What is/was your favorite activity with your pet?

How does your pet make you smile or laugh or proud?

Do you speak in a special way with your pet or have a nickname for your pet?

Have you ever traveled with your pet? How was that?  Tell me a little about that.

If your pet was someone famous, who would it be?  Why?

Do you regret anything about choices you made with regard to this pet?

What advice would you give pet owners?

What else?

Test Post This Blog is Cool!

So many times we fail to try new things.

XOXO

Go For It!