commented that Jim takes good care of his
customers, providing them with goggles
to protect their eyes and balaclavas to stay
warm.
Jim showed me the kennel, which is a
converted barn. The dogs are divided
into subpacks. Except for the lobby dogs
(that sleep inside), the dogs are housed in
large pens attached to the barn containing
individual doghouses with straw bedding.
Sometimes two dogs will curl up together
in the same doghouse to stay warm. A
separate pen housed Tuna’s 7-month-old
puppies, which jumped up against the
fence to greet us and chewed on my leather
mittens. Two-thirds of the dogs here were
raised from puppies.
The dogs’ food is prepared in the barn’s
kitchen. The sled dogs are fed high-
protein, high-fat kibble and raw, local
chicken. Supplements are added to their
food, including coconut oil for their skin
and paws, gelatin for healthy joints, and
yogurt as a probiotic.
In preparation for our dogsled ride, Jim
carefully chose our team, pairing dogs
that work well together. Eleven-year-old
Leonard (one of his favorite dogs, which
led his race team for many years) would
be a leader, along with the younger alpha
female Tuna. The other dogs on our team
would be Abby, Bandit, Arrow, Mitsy, Bri-
ma, and Llewellyn. After Jim demonstrated
how to put a harness on a dog, I helped
outfit several dogs. Cathy hitched the
dogs to the sled, and I sat down in it and
stretched out my legs. Jim covered me with
a wool blanket and warm comforter. It was
only 6 degrees on this February afternoon
and the sky was gray with an approaching
snowstorm. A couple of dogs barked excit-
edly, eager to run.
Standing on the back of the sled, Jim gave
the command, and the dogs took off, pull-
ing us along meticulously groomed trails
through a winter wonderland. Woods and
clearings sped by as the dogs pulled the
sled over rolling terrain. Occasionally, the
dogs kicked back tiny balls of ice that felt
cool against my face. Although it was cold,
I was warm enough beneath the covers. I
could imagine being in Alaska, traveling to
a remote village, and I thought about the
history of dogsledding.
56 VERMONT MAGAZINE
It is believed that the Inuit people of north-
ern Canada invented this mode of trans-
portation around 1000 AD. When pioneers
arrived at the Alaskan frontier, they found
a native culture that relied heavily on these
working dogs. At first, one to three dogs
were used to pull small sleds with cargo.
There was no lead dog, and the dogs ran
beside each other as equals. Russian ex-
plorers in the late 1700s made dogsledding
more efficient. They arranged the dogs in
single file or in pairs and trained a lead dog
to respond to commands. A well-working
dogsled team in those times could make
the difference between life and death.
Although aircraft and snowmobiles have
largely displaced dogsleds for transporta-
tion, they are still used in some rural
communities in Alaska, Canada, and
Greenland. And mushing and sled-dog
racing has become a popular form of
recreation in northern regions. Even those
who have never seen a dogsled have
probably heard of Alaska’s famous Iditarod
race.
The dogs barked as we approached their
kennel, but Jim gave the command to
continue and they pulled the sled past
the barn out into an open field with an
impressive view of Lowell Mountain. We
circled the field a couple of times, and then
the dogs pulled the sled uphill and back to
the barn.
I helped ladle “baited water” into stainless
steel bowls for each dog. The brown soup
contained kibble and chicken juice mixed
with water and was designed to encour-
age the dogs to drink and stay hydrated.
Then I distributed treats to the eager dogs.
After we were inside, one of the lobby dogs
cleverly carried several bowls, one by one,
between his teeth and lined them up near
his bed. Then he proceeded to lick each
bowl clean.
A small border collie mix named Polly
hung out by my side as I sat in the lobby.
“She hopes you’re going to stay over in
one of the cabins,” said Jim. I wondered
whether Polly was a sled dog. “She’s a great
sled dog. She jumps off the ground with all
fours when we start.”
Jim considers the dogs his family, and they
have a forever home with him. One dog,
Rose, is 17. She is the daughter of Luna
(not to be confused with Tuna). Luna was
a wise, affectionate white Siberian husky
with brown eyes that was Jim’s first lead
dog and helped him get started in
dogsledding. Rose climbs the stairs every
night to sleep with Jim.
Jim and his sister Deborah Blair (who
helps manage the business) are looking
into starting a nonprofit or trust so this
work, especially the promotion of ethical
dogsledding, will continue after they’re
gone. They “want people to see that love,
joy, and treating dogs as a co-species
wins,” commented Deborah. She hopes to
expand their educational programs in the
future.
Deborah Blair is a psychotherapist and
author of The Luna Tales, a work of fiction
about a girl who is healed through her
contact with sled dogs. According to
Deborah, some of their dogs seem to be
able to sense people who have special
needs and will cozy up to them. The dogs
have helped people with dog phobias and
autism.
Eden Dogsledding offers a variety of tours
of different lengths and prices. Vermont
residents receive a $100 discount on
all tours. The business also works with
schoolchildren. Guests interested in
learning more about dogsledding—
including how to drive a sled—can stay
at their Eden Mountain Lodge (fully
equipped cabins with kitchens) on the
property.
Several other mushers around Vermont
also offer dogsled rides. A listing can be
found at voga.org. The New England Sled
Dog Club, founded in 1924, organizes
dogsled races every winter, which are
open to the public for viewing. Races are
usually held on the Lamoille Valley Rail
Trail in Morrisville, Vermont and on Lake
Chocorua in Tamworth, New Hampshire.
Dogcart races and timed dog runs are held
in the fall. Information for those can be
found at nesdc.org.
Try a dogsled ride for yourself—there’s
nothing quite like it!