Introducing Lead Dog Mead

from Bear Creek Winery in Homer, Alaska

 

Proceeds from every bottle of Lead Dog Mead will go to Spitfire Kennels, home of dog mushers Jillian Rogers and Richard Savoyski.

Jillian, who has been driving dogs for about four years, is getting ready to run her first 1,000-mile Iditarod in March of 2011.

Bill and Dorothy Fry, owners of Bear Creek Winery, LLC, thought a special fundraiser wine would help get her there and have offered to donate $3 from every bottle sold to Jillian’s cause. Lead Dog Mead is a honeywine made with Alaskan Fireweed Honey and is sure to please even the pickiest of pallets.

 

Jillian’s Iditarod is now less than a year away and Rogers is working diligently to train her dogs and save money for this huge endeavor. She got her start as a dog musher after reporting on dog races for a newspaper in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. She moved to Fairbanks

where she learned how to care for and handle sled dogs from top Iditarod racer Ken Anderson and his wife, Gwen Holdmann. Now living outside Homer, with Rich, their 21huskies and a pet hound named Roy, Jillian is gearing up for a busy season of mid-races to qualify her for Iditarod. Keep track of her progress and the goings on at Spitfire Kennels though her weblog at wannabemusher.blogspot.com

Also this season, Spitfire Kennels will be open for business giving rides and taking guests on longer excursions via dog team. Check out their winter rates and schedule at www.spitfirekennels.com Spitfire Kennels is also sponsored by T.J. Seggy’s in Soldotna, Alaska, and Arctic Carts in Laguana Niguel,California.

 

Jillian is currently in Juneau doing mushing tours on the Mendanhall Glacier

SPITFIRE KENNEL DOGS are truly a motley crew. We don’t really do much of our own breeding so we have acquired many of our dogs from other mushers. Some we purchased but most we got for free as they weren’t a good fit for their original owners. We even have one who came from the animal shelter in Fairbanks. We are not a rescue kennel, but do enjoy seeing what these dogs are capable of in the right environment. Some are obviously better than others, but since we are a relatively small kennel, the dogs get a lot of attention regardless of their abilities in harness.

‘Our Number One’ ~ Bully is 11 years old. He was my first sled dog.   When I got him, I thought he would simply be a couch potato. Bully was injured on the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest in 2006 with another musher and the vets said he may never recover. I nursed him back to health and since then he has been my main leader and has finished several races with me. He’s getting close to retirement, though he still really wants to run and is still healthy, so next winter he’ll help us train pups and run short tours. Bully is brown and is one of the largest males in the kennel. Though we try not to pick favorites, Bully has a spot in the house every night. He lives up to his name, but only when in harness.

‘The Escape Artist’ ~Capiche is eight and came to us from Ken Anderson in Fairbanks. Ken and his wife Gwen own Windy Creek Kennel and that’s where I got my introduction to dog mushing. We purchased Capiche a few years ago because we needed another solid leader and she has proven to be a great investment to our team. Though sometimes she’s so smart it’s scary. Capiche is fence-climber, bowl-tipper, house-tipper and collar slipper. She can open doors and climb like a monkey. There’s definitely no shortage of entertainment with Capiche in our yard. She is brown and white and has a tiny head.

‘Everybody’s Buddy’ ~ Strider also came from Ken Anderson and is seven years old. With his big doe eyes and floppy ears, it’s hard not to fall in love with this boy immediately. Though Strider is a little soft-headed at times, he is strong and works hard in the team. He gets along with all the dogs and loves sleeping in the bed with us. Strider is brown and is what we call an ‘easy keeper’ because he can gain weight very quickly.

 

‘The Grabber’~ Sister is also out of Anderson bloodlines and is a very calm dog on the line. Cut her loose to frolic in the yard, however, and she sprints around for hours. One of my favorite things about Sister is when we’re in the yard she stands on her back feet and paws at the air until you come over to her. She’ll grab onto you until she’s had her fill of pets. Sister is black and white and loves to tip her bowl over to expose only the meat and kibble and get rid of the broth.

 

‘The Jumping Mouse’ ~ Hazel is six, comes from Anderson lines, and was a puppy when I started working for Ken in 2004. I got to name her and called her Hazel after my Gran. Hazel is the original Spitfire because she is fearless when it comes to taking on dogs twice her size. With age, she has calmed down a little. Hazel runs in lead but we found this year is better in the wheel position (right in front of the sled, at the back of the team). Hazel works hard when she feels like it and plays hard, too. Hazel is grey and can jump over five feet in the air from a standing position.

 

‘The Sneaky One’ ~ Sneaky Pete, who we now just call Peter, is four and has grown into a great sled dog. He is crazy for running and has proven to be a great leader. He is loyal and great loose in the yard. I got Peter as a six-month old pup from Ken. Peter is all black and is what we call a ‘hard keeper’ because he is always excited and therefore hard to keep weight on.

 

‘The Pretty One’~ Summer is six and comes from Bill Cotter bloodlines. We got her through Patty Imus in Fairbanks. Summer loves to run and is one of most loyal dogs in the kennel. She’s a little soft-headed in harness when the going gets tough, but she has finished a couple of races with us. Summer gave birth to Ruby and Alice last spring and proved to be a very good mother. She is golden with golden eyes to match her coat and is a very easy keeper.

‘The Hitchhiking Alligator’ ~ Sipsi is three and came to us from Patty Imus via the Fairbanks Animal Shelter. She is a little skittish and in harness she is really hit or miss. But when she’s on, she’s a really hard worker. When she’s not on, we unhook her from the team and she dives into the sled to hitch a ride home. Sipsi is all black and eats like an alligator, which for us is a very desirable trait.

 

‘The Ladies Man’ ~ Drake is around eight or nine and came to us from Dan Kaduce and Jodi Bailey in Fairbanks. He runs lead for us but is often better back in the team. Drake has proven to get us out of some tough situations out on the trail. He is extremely sensitive, and we’re careful not to show it if we’re having a frustrating time in training because Drake takes it personally. He loves affection and will burrow his head into your legs whenever you’re near him. Drake is all black with a few white markings and really, really loves the ladies.

‘The Cheerleader’ ~ Omar is three and is Drake’s son therefore is also out of Kaduce/Bailey bloodlines. He is the happiest dog in our kennel and it really helps on the line during races when dogs are a little tired, Omar is still screaming to run. He lifts everyone’s spirits, especially mine and Rich’s. When you approach Omar in the yard, he latches on and hugs you until you pry him off. Omar is grey, has a very hitch-pitched bark and is an honest dog. Like his dad, he loves the ladies.

‘The Dipper’ ~ Crush came to us in 2008 from Regina Wycoff in Healy. She is eight years old is an invisible dog in the team, which means she just works and we hardly notice her because she is so focused. She is super sweet and with her sleek black coat and blue eyes is stunning to look at. When the weather is warm however, Crush likes to dip for snow while she’s running which can be a distraction to her running mate.

‘The Dumb-Dumb’ ~ Doyon, or Sweet Dee as he is known, also came from Regina Wycoff in Healy. He is three years old and has a lot of potential. He has the drive to be good sled dog but can be a little dense sometimes. He is a big male with a black and white coat and blue eyes.

‘The Freak-show’ ~ Wayne is two years old and came to us with his three sisters from Greg Parvin in Big Lake. His lines are out of Ed Iten in Kotzebue. Wayne loves to run but putting him in harness and hooking him in the team is quite an undertaking as he squirms and rolls and basically freaks out because he is so excited. We’re sure he’ll grow out of it. Wayne is brown and loves to come in the cabin.

‘The Micro-Tiny’ ~ Mr. Lahey is the smallest dog in our kennel, weighing in at just 30 pounds, and is the sister to Wayne. She is our celebrity dog as she has her photo on our brochures, website and on the label of Lead Dog Mead at Bear Creek Winery. Lahey runs in lead and at just two years we’re excited at her potential. She is white and grey with blue eyes and is very sweet and friendly.

‘The Mouthpiece’ ~ Bubbles is the sister to Lahey and Wayne and always has something to say. She is a hard worker in the team and eats like an alligator. Bubbles looks like Lahey but is a little bigger and loves to play with the dogs around her in the yard.

‘The Tomboy’ ~ Maude is the sister of Wayne, Bubbles and Lahey and is the mother of our pups Audrey, Ty and Linus. She has a lot of energy and is very food motivated. She got taken out of the team in fall training to have her pups but was back in harness in the spring to help us run tours. Maude is tan and white with dark eyes and is always a source of entertainment. She is driven and hard-working but sometimes tends to work a little too hard as she hasn’t learned to pace herself yet. She loves to clown around with boys.

‘The Singer’ ~ Hitchcock came to us from Andrew Lesh in Fairbanks. She is constantly singing for attention, which makes me smile every morning. Hitchcock is the perfect tour dog because she loves to run for short distances and is super friendly and high energy. She has never raced with us because long runs aren’t really her thing. She’s fun to have in the yard and caught the eye of our pet dog, Roy, who is by her side constantly. Hitchcock has grey and white with huge blue eyes.

‘Super Nova’ ~ Nova is the newest dog in our kennel and is around six years old. We got her from Hugh Neff in Whitehorse and she has run several 1,000-mile races with him. Though we haven’t run her very much because we just got her this spring, she is proving to be a very solid leader and a really sweet-natured girl. Nova is a big female and is brown with dark eyes and white boots.

‘Ruby Tuesday’ ~ Ruby is one year old and is showing huge potential as a yearling. She inherited a steady trot and a huge appetite from her father Rohn, who belongs to Greg Parvin in Big Lake. Ruby has a sweet disposition and is a great loose dog in the yard. She is brown with golden eyes.

‘The Follower’ ~ Alice is Ruby’s sister and does whatever her sister does. Alice is also showing great potential but is a little more soft-headed than her sister, a trait she got from her mother, Summer. Alice is blond like her mother with dark eyes like her dad.

‘The Puppies’ ~ Audrey, Ty and Linus are nearly five months old now and were born to Maude and Omar. They are the friendliest pups we have ever known and we attribute that to all the guests we have had this winter. They play constantly and eat with gusto, a trait that we look for in sled dogs. They have yet to be harness broken but we excited to hook them up and see what they’ve got.

‘The Pet Dog’ ~ Roy came to me in Fairbanks as a sickly, skinny puppy. He somehow wandered into the dog yard and now, three years later, he has grown into a Saluki, which is a cousin to the greyhound. Roy is loose in the dog yard most of time and spends his nights in the cabin. Though most of the dog tolerate him, he does get beat up from time to time when he gets out of line. Roy often runs loose with the team on short runs and has boundless energy.