Life with Forty Dogs
MISADVENTURES WITH RUNTS, REJECTS, RETIREES, AND RESCUES
JOSEPH ROBERTIA
To Colleen,for always understanding so much.
Text and photographs © 2017 by Joseph Robertia
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Robertia, Joseph.
Title: Life with forty dogs : a memoir of Alaskan misadventures / Joseph Robertia.
Description: Portland, Oregon : Alaska Northwest Books, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016034187 (print) | LCCN 2016059900 (ebook) | ISBN 9781943328918 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781943328925 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Sled dogs—Alaska—Anecdotes. | Sled dog racing—Alaska—Anecdotes. | Robertia, Joseph.
Classification: LCC SF428.7 .R63 2017 (print) | LCC SF428.7 (ebook) | DDC 636.73—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016034187
Designed by Vicki Knapton
Published by Alaska Northwest Books®
An imprint of
Contents
A Mean, Mischief-Making Monster
A Broken Limb but Never a Broken Spirit
The Race Isn’t the Only Obstacle
“A bone to the dog is not charity.
Charity is the bone shared with the dog,
when you are just as hungry as the dog.”
—JACK LONDON
Acknowledgments
Writing a first book has a lot of PARALLELS to being a freshly whelped pup. You’ve spent months cramped in the same position in a tiny space; so much time has passed that when you see the sun, you squint at the light when taking those first few steps outside; and initially you’re completely unclear about what is going on and how to fulfill your role in it all. Because of this, I’m indebted to several people for making this process possible, or at the very least, more palatable.
The idea for this book was born when my father-in-law, Bill Morrow—after hearing so many of our misadventures and delighting in them—suggested that I compile a few into a collection for others to read and enjoy. He wasn’t the first person to say I should write a book, but he was the first to truly mean it, and I will always owe him for that.
I am equally indebted to his wife, Rusty, who after I had made the decision to lay down a few stories and began pedaling them, encouraged me to find literary professionals and a publishing house that believed in my work as much as I did. I have to thank Doug Pfeiffer and Jennifer Newens, the publishing directors at Graphic Arts Books for being those people and that publisher. Editor Kathy Howard, designer Vicki Knapton, and marketer Angie Zbornik also added to my success.
I have to thank Dean Osmar and Sarah Armstrong for hiring my wife as a handler, where for three years she learned the basics of mushing. Dean never took it easy on her, or me, when we first started running dogs with him, but we became better mushers because of his tough love teaching style. Also, despite being an Iditarod champion, Dean always treated us like equals, then and now.
Mitch Michaud and Jane Fuerstenau deserve a nod for also getting us into sled dogs through their public outreach while presiding over the Peninsula Sled Dog and Racing Association, and helping us build and constantly fix sleds we battered.
I am equally indebted to Kevin and Deb Hayes, Thera and Emma Mullet, and many other family and friends who gave Lynx attention, helped with dog chores, brought by meals, or offered simple support whenever I needed to work on this book or meet a looming deadline. Jim Frates of the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank also has, for years, aided our kennel by alerting us when large quantities of freezer-burned salmon and other meat were available for donation. These added rations meant far fewer drives north to Anchorage for dog food, which provided me more time to write, and had the added benefit of always making tails wag when these meals were offered in addition to the regular kibble.
My father, Joe Robertia Sr., deserves recognition too, for planting in me as a child the seeds of literary love that eventually grew to fruition in the form of becoming a freelance writer, and now author. Exhausted from the heavy demands of being a true blue-collar workingman, my dad somehow always rallied enough energy to take me to the comic shop, local bookstore, or library instead of just plopping me in front of a TV.
I am very appreciative of the editing efforts of Monica Mullet, Emma Mullet, Travis Wright, Amanda Burg, Kyle Ferguson, Kim Morgan, Ray Lee, and other witty members of my local writing group: The Kenai Peninsula Finer Things Club. Dave Atcheson also gets credit for giving me some writing tips and answering many of my questions about navigating the long