Life on the Iditarod

Gee! Haw! Hike! On By! Whoa! The famous Iditarod Trail has had some controversy and exciting final finishes over the past 80 years. The trail currently leads from Anchorage to Nome and historically has run from the mining camps at Ophir and Ruby to the port cities of Unalakleet and Elim. The trail originally carried mail and supplies into the mining towns and gold out to the ports.

These days, the trail has become an income generator for the Alaskan cities involved and a race for sport rather than utility or delivery. As the event continues on into its 35th year, there have been many changes to the race from its original inception. (Some of these changes can be found to the left of this article) The majority of changes are for the welfare of the dogs and their owners. With these extra precautions in place the dogs and owners should be safe for the long trail ahead (over 1,150 miles!).

Animal welfare organizations have opposed the race because of their claims of unfair treatment of the animals on the team. Although there is opposition, the racing tradition still goes on. Many of the teams have blogs and newsletters showing the teams together and happy, but there have been instances in the past of abuse that still cause some to disapprove of the event. Check out the event online to see for yourself.

The event starts March 3, 2010 and information is available at www.iditarod.com

Pooch Picasso?

Which one of these is not like the other: Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tillamook Cheddar. The obvious answer would be the last name on the list, right? Not so! Tillamook Cheddar is actually a famous artist in the canine art industry. She began her work as a small pup doodling on a legal pad and has evolved into working in oil on canvas using a specialized process. A canvas is laid out with lithographic paper that transfers paw, teeth, nose, and tongue marks onto the canvas underneath. It's amazing how each piece is different and the amount of intensity can be seen in certain canvases due to aggressive biting and clawing (sometimes ripping edges off the canvas or destroying them completely). Some of these works of art have fetched over $2,000; not bad for a dog artist. Tillamook Cheddar has had over twenty individual shows and also has collaborated with different impressionists at other exhibits. WOW that's our kind of art!

Images and biographical information can be found at www.tillamookcheddar.com

We've all heard the phrase "fighting like cats and dogs," but this certainly can not be applied to these pets. Some animals seem to forge friendships with the most unlikely counterparts. Here are a few of our favorites.

Sobe the iguana and Johann the cat were both saved from the streets of Brooklyn by Rina Deych. She had already rescued Sobe when she found a kitten near death. She took the kitten home with her and began nursing him to health. After Johann began to recover, she introduced him to Sobe. The iguana was defensive at first, but soon calmed down as the kitten snuggled up against him. The two quickly became best friends who take naps cuddled together. The duo met in 2003 and today they are still friends and doing well. Sobe has even bonded with more of Rina's pets, including another cat named Monte.