About Me And My Passion For The Alaskan Husky

My name is Kirsten, and before I became interested in the alaskan husky (sled dog) I had a passion for horses. I started riding horses as a young girl in pony club and 4H where I was introduced to eventing. I spent several years working with hunters and jumpers, and then dressage became my main focus. I shared my life as a young adult with my best friend...a horse named Punk, a thoroughbred/quarterhorse gelding, and the grandson of Secretariat. I found Punk another young girl to mentor, and I moved on to a beautiful 17 hand thoroughbred mare named Miriam. Miriam passed away at age 18.

From horses I made the transition into alaskan huskies. I never completely gave up horses though. I taught Pony Club riders for several years each summer in Alaska. It was in Alaska that I was introduced to mushing, skijoring, and sled dogs. It was during my first winter in Alaska that I adopted Kyra. It was thru Kyra that I found my alaskan husky passion.

Through the years I was able to have many mentors... human, horse, and canine. As my passion for alaskan huskies grew so did my thirst for more knowledge.

I found knowledge in several places. I worked as a technician at an emergency veterinary clinic. I handled and mushed dogs with Yukon Quest musher Jennifer Cochran. Jennifer runs a no kill racing kennel. Jennifer and her dogs taught me many things about sled dogs, Alaska, and life.

In this picture it is -60 degrees Fahrenheit. I have a down jacket underneath the parka you see pictured. I am wearing insulated carhartt bibs with 2 pairs of long underwear. I also have on two pair of wool socks with 2 hand warmers stuffed into each bunny boot (military arctic boots) and each mitten.

I have rescued and fostered several sled dogs. Along the way adopted 2 more alaskan huskies named Larry and Joe. I worked at the local animal shelter to help improve the lives of the alaskan huskies (which have a very high euthanasia rate).

During all of these experiences I wondered what I could do to get the word out about alaskan huskies. I wanted to reach more people. At the animal shelter I always felt like there was never enough time to answer all the questions people had about alaskan husky behavior. I thought creating a website would solve that problem, and husky owners everywhere (not just Alaska) could find much needed information.

Meet Our Dogs (while they roll in dead fish)

Update...

Many people have been writing and asking me, so here's the scoop...

We lived in Alaska for almost 10 years, but recently we have moved to North Carolina. Alaska is in our hearts and we visit as much as possible (I have a lifetime Yukon Quest handler position), but there are new adventures to be part of (we have been bitten by the surfing bug). Expect pictures of huskies on surfboards in the future!

Dog people are an amazing group of humans. It never ceases to amaze me at the outpouring of love and kindness from dog people. I am floored by the pictures, stories, and kudos I find in my inbox. I am also often asked if I take donations. While I am honored at the request, I do not. However, if you want to support this website, I am an amazon.com affiliate. That means when you shop at amazon.com through this website I get a small commission from the sale. I like win-win situations.

Click here for my dog care book.

PopShops™ affiliate stores