Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
217
THIS MUCH COUNTRY
218
THE YUKON QUEST
219
THIS MUCH COUNTRY
220
THE YUKON QUEST
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THIS MUCH COUNTRY
brown eyes, her slow and intentional face licks. Ferlin was the
other yearling on my team—a long-legged powerhouse with
a corkscrew tail and floppy ears. He rolled over for belly rubs
every time he got booties on his feet. Belly rubs were his toll
for being able to pull the hook on a run. And once we took
off, Ferlin never, ever looked behind him and never let off his
tug line. Brothers Ox and Iron were brawny and muscular,
and they leaped on their hind legs to hug each other and
play before I could put on their harnesses. Race photographers
loved Ox and Iron—Ox for his white and gray face mask
and Iron for his reddish coat tipped in white frost. Andy-dog
was a big blonde with daddy long legs and a sharp-ended tail
that stood straight up, or whipped around and around like a
helicopter when he was happy to see us. Though he’d already
finished the Yukon Quest before in Brent Sass’s team, Andy-
dog was a little nervous at the sight of all these people. He
tucked his face into my legs like a shy toddler. And he was not
happy about being partnered with Norton, who reared up like
a great black and white orca breaching from the ocean, mouth
agape, teeth gleaming. Norty was straight-up psychopathic
when it came to hookup. And with the added excitement of a
race, he was not to be contained.
“He will literally give you a black eye,” I warned Mandy.
“Or a bloody nose,” Andy added. “Just make sure you turn
your face away from him.”
Hoss, my eighty-pound gray and tan wheel dog, rubbed his
giant head against my leg and licked my hand. He was the
heaviest dog at Yukon Quest vet checks. He leaned up against
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