hollyantisleddog

The Infamous Holly Tales

Holly the Anti-Sled dog

Holly has never been the worlds greatest sled dog. Ok, the worlds worst is probably closer. She doesn't pull, she has no drive, and she just loves to sightsee. Don't get me wrong...she loves to run with the team. She just doesn't believe in working. When the going gets tough Holly starts looking for the couch and the bonbons :-)

Tonight, however, I think Holly managed to top even herself in the worlds worst sled dog category. I'm running the girls almost every night now...2 or three miles is our norm. Dee (my sibe) runs lead, and Kiva (the Jindo) and Holly run wheel in front of my scooter. It looks like a lot of dog power for a scooter but once you take into account that Holly doesn't pull, it really isn't that much.

Tonight we hit the half way point and had just made the turn to head back towards the house. We were cruising along at a good fast clip, when all of a sudden Holly dropped in her tracks. No, she wasn't hurt...from the scooter I could see she simply did a nose dive down a gopher hole. Momentum carried her whole body forward and stuck her head in the hole like a cork. Holly's comment on the situation sounded something like "SNERK".

Those of you who run dogs can already picture this I bet. Keep in mind we were running along at a steady lope, there were two other dogs hooked to that gangline with Holly, and one person on a scooter behind her. Graceful we weren't.

Poor Dee ended up on her belly. Kiva faired a little better and at least kept her feet. I, on the other hand, almost had a panic attack. With no time to even slam on the brakes, and Holly laying on the ground directly in front of me, I bailed. The scooter ended up on top of Holly and I ended up on by butt....and slid.

So there I am, laying on the cold ground on my backside with my feet in the air and my headlamp shooting for the stars. It took me a minute to get my bearings, and by the time I started looking at my dogs Holly was pulling her head out of the hole. Gulp, gulp, gulp down the hatch the gopher went, and then Holly gave me a huge Mally grin and thumped her tail on the ground. Oh, she was so proud of herself. In her mind, I imagine, that was our most successful run yet. The annoyed looks on Kiva

and Dee's faces were priceless.

Thankfully, all the dogs are totally and completely unharmed by Holly's unplanned stop. I didn't fair so well. Lets just say my backside was air conditioned for the rest of the run home...and I have a few scrapes to show for the experience. I'm guessing there will be some interesting bruises tomorrow.

And Holly...well, we "discussed" stopping midrun for snacks. She just kept licking her lips and smiling at me. Sigh. Little does Holly know that I've sent away for info on "Mushing Boot Camp". Ah yes, after

tonight I think boot camp sound like a very good place for Holly. We'll just see about her not pulling and stopping for snacks. (insert evil chuckle here :-)

I have several friends who think Holly would make a great lead dog. Gasp, sputter, groan. Heaven forbid...can you imagine what would happen????? I don't even want to think about it!



	The Infamous Holly Tales Holly the Anti-Sled dog



		Holly has never been the worlds greatest sled dog. Ok, the worlds worst is probably closer. She doesn't pull, she has no drive, and she just loves to sightsee. Don't get me wrong...she loves to run with the team. She just doesn't believe in working. When the going gets tough Holly starts looking for the couch and the bonbons :-) Tonight, however, I think Holly managed to top even herself in the worlds worst sled dog category. I'm running the girls almost every night now...2 or three miles is our norm. Dee (my sibe) runs lead, and Kiva (the Jindo) and Holly run wheel in front of my scooter. It looks like a lot of dog power for a scooter but once you take into account that Holly doesn't pull, it really isn't that much. Tonight we hit the half way point and had just made the turn to head back towards the house. We were cruising along at a good fast clip, when all of a sudden Holly dropped in her tracks. No, she wasn't hurt...from the scooter I could see she simply did a nose dive down a gopher hole. Momentum carried her whole body forward and stuck her head in the hole like a cork. Holly's comment on the situation sounded something like "SNERK". Those of you who run dogs can already picture this I bet. Keep in mind we were running along at a steady lope, there were two other dogs hooked to that gangline with Holly, and one person on a scooter behind her. Graceful we weren't. Poor Dee ended up on her belly. Kiva faired a little better and at least kept her feet. I, on the other hand, almost had a panic attack. With no time to even slam on the brakes, and Holly laying on the ground directly in front of me, I bailed. The scooter ended up on top of Holly and I ended up on by butt....and slid. So there I am, laying on the cold ground on my backside with my feet in the air and my headlamp shooting for the stars. It took me a minute to get my bearings, and by the time I started looking at my dogs Holly was pulling her head out of the hole. Gulp, gulp, gulp down the hatch the gopher went, and then Holly gave me a huge Mally grin and thumped her tail on the ground. Oh, she was so proud of herself. In her mind, I imagine, that was our most successful run yet. The annoyed looks on Kiva and Dee's faces were priceless. Thankfully, all the dogs are totally and completely unharmed by Holly's unplanned stop. I didn't fair so well. Lets just say my backside was air conditioned for the rest of the run home...and I have a few scrapes to show for the experience. I'm guessing there will be some interesting bruises tomorrow. And Holly...well, we "discussed" stopping midrun for snacks. She just kept licking her lips and smiling at me. Sigh. Little does Holly know that I've sent away for info on "Mushing Boot Camp". Ah yes, after tonight I think boot camp sound like a very good place for Holly. We'll just see about her not pulling and stopping for snacks. (insert evil chuckle here :-) I have several friends who think Holly would make a great lead dog. Gasp, sputter, groan. Heaven forbid...can you imagine what would happen????? I don't even want to think about it!