It started with a little mostly-white siberian pup I bought after college as a companion dog. I named him Ollie. He was the cutest little thing in the world.

Ollie quickly became the center of my life. He was my reason for getting up in the morning. As he grew, he became quite an energetic little demon. Hooking him up into someone's team helped - he actually slept that night.

The meathook's been set, and I was sold on driving dogs. Unfortunately, Ollie is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a leader. So I decided to get another dog so I can drive him myself. Enter the Shadow. Things got moving a little better. And then Kheddar. Things got moving even better. Those three dogs were actually a well-behaved team that knew what work meant, passed rather nicely, and were well gee-haw trained. And almost painfully slow.

I got bored at work. So I filed for a leave of absence and went north with my dear canine companions. A long beautiful drive and a national deportation later, I made my way to the driveway of John Norris and Kari Skogen. They taught me the joys of hard work, the joys of being a dog handler, and a little about life in the last Frontier. It was the adventure of a lifetime. When I left to head back to the east coast (which I still consider my most regrettable mistake), I had with me a number of dogs far more suited to performance.

Ollie, now 6 years old, still sleeps in my bed, still grumbles playfully when I brush him, and is still the center of my life. Shadow still picks on him. They get hooked up, and are in pretty good shape. Kheddar still drives them down the trail. They are the soul of Team Ollie.

But the raw beating heart is the racing team put together every year. It's been a few years since that winter in AK, and I've learned a number of things through training and racing my dogs. They're a phenomenal bunch, and they've taught me many many things. They will continue to teach me, and their progeny will continue to teach me, mile after mile. They amaze me, and they humble me with their spirit.

Zevon said he'll sleep when he's dead. I think I might too.

I learned an incredible amount during my time as a dog handler. Heck, I'd never seen a large kennel (or heard a large kennel being fed) before I started slinging poop for one. It was a series of firsts - first dog ride over 20mph, first time double-sledding, first time behind 16 dogs, etc etc. All in all, it was an experience that cannot be summed up in words. So much education crammed into so little time - I'm still mulling over and thinking about the dogs, events, training, feeding, you name it, from years ago. If you're reading this and don't have a lot of dogs yet, but are considering getting into racing or just keeping a bigger dog lot, don't hesitate and spend the winter working for a larger kennel. You will never regret it.

On a completely related side note, Team Ollie is looking for a handler. Responsibilities include cleaning, training assistance, possible racing, and playing with puppies. Room and board included. Possibly a monthly stipend. Contact for more details.

Enough to feed a small nation, it seems.