Don and Annie went to jr. high and high school together in Illinois, way back when. Life happened for the next 28 or so years, and they reconnected about 10 years ago on good old Facebook. They stayed in touch, updating each other on their lives, and with some persistence, Don finally got Annie to visit Wyoming in March of 2023. She landed in a blizzard, but that didn’t stop her from returning again in May with snow still on the ground. In June, Don drove down to sunny, warm South Florida with a trailer and packed up Annie and Max, her rescue from the Broward County Humane Society. They reside in Cody, Wyoming, with Max, the rescue, Scout, a GSP, and their nine sled dogs!
How it All Began
We picked up Oakley on November 3, 2023, from an Alaskan Malamute breeder in Clark, WY. While Annie had no previous experience with the breed, Don had a black-and-white male named Piton, who lived to 14 years. Don surprised Annie and said they were headed to dinner in Red Lodge, MT,, but she quickly grew skeptical when he took a different road than she knew was the way to Red Lodge.
We first saw Oakley, who was then Elva, and immediately fell in love with the little redhead. We left behind some siblings that broke our hearts and returned for Oakley’s sister, Ellie, a month later. FYI, Don again told gullible Annie that they were headed to Red Lodge for dinner, but made that same turn.
We took the girls up to the Big Horn Rush at Antelope Butte on Saturday, 12/30/23. They loved playing in the snow, and the idea came to mind that it would be pretty cool for the girls to do some sort of sled racing in the future. Later that morning, we met the rest of the family up on top of the mountain to ride snowmobiles and sleds, and to watch the rest of the dogs race by. Annie promptly broke her arm, and that afternoon, she ended up at the Sheridan ER. Surgery was scheduled for 1/8/24, but the idea was already in play to get 2 more pups.
On January 5, Don and Annie drove to Preston, ID, to pick up two malamutes, brothers Diesel and Ranger. Max was less than thrilled at this point with 4 more dogs in barely 2 months in the house, but the team was slowly being put together.
We then found a brother and sister husky/malamute mix in Riverton, WY. We picked up Lightning, with one blue eye, and River, with the longest white eyelashes, on January 27, 2024. Friends and family were thinking we were losing our minds, and they were not necessarily wrong.
And then we found Hank (the tank) in Thornton, CO, from a couple who had accidentally had an accidental litter of purebred AKC malamutes. Hank was picked up on March 16. On the way home, googling more dogs, Skye was spotted, our purebred red-headed husky with blue eyes. Don drove back to Cheyenne the next day to pick her up.
Still randomly looking on websites for pups just because you know, why not? Annie stumbled on the original website of the breeder we found Oakley and Ellie on and saw Hazel. Hazel has the same biological dad as the girls. She was an older pup, and we couldn’t believe no one had taken her home yet. When we saw her, she was in a kennel with another dog who had been bullying her a bit, and she was very skittish. She’s taken a bit of extra love and patience to become comfortable, but now fits right in.
Just when we thought we were done, we discovered that the perfect mushing dog was a mix of the Alaskan husky and a German Short Haired Pointer for speed and agility. Scout, a GSP, became the last family member, until further notice.
There you have it, and please look forward to future endeavors with the Sled Dog team!