Dogs in photos: Tricky Mini, Lil Bear, Crosby and Tricky
Annie spent some time volunteering at Bacon’s Acres last summer. Here is a reflection she wrote sharing some of what she learned and experienced — Thank you, Annie! :) We loved having you here… and look forward to seeing you this summer after your high school graduation.
“While spending the summer working at Bacon’s Acres I learned many things from managing a kennel to keeping dogs happy and healthy. In regards to keeping a dog healthy, I quickly found out that there is more than meets the eye. There is a very fine line between feeding a dog too much and too little especially when they aren’t training as hard. At first, I thought that I was feeding them too little but I eventually realized that if I did feed them any more they would gain too much weight and it would put more strain on their joints. Nail maintenance is also important because if the dog’s nails are too long they can get torn and cause an injury. There is also somewhat of an art to trimming nails. You have to know which dogs are a little more squirmy than others and adapt to how each dog will react and get it done without cutting the nail too short. Taking care of injuries big and small is also a big part of taking care of the dogs. Before I got there Mimi had surgery to remove her infected uterus and while the surgery went well she still needed extra care to make sure she healed properly. Another thing that happened while I was there was Yoshi-Nomi’s nail falling off. While this was not as extensive as Mimi’s surgery it still needed monitoring and care. We cleaned the site with a warm salt water soak and put ointment on it and covered the foot with a bootie to prevent the ointment from rubbing off and to keep the injury clean so it didn’t get infected.
Another thing I learned is that the dogs love getting brushed. I would walk out with a brush and the whole yard would be filled with wagging tails and smiling faces. Some dogs are more enthusiastic about it than others but most of them appreciated getting the extra fur off of them in the sweltering heat. They also love running around and playing in the pen we built for them. Some of my favorite memories are from sitting and watching the dogs running around and playing in something I helped make for them.
The most important thing I learned is that trust is key in the relationship between musher and dog. You have to really trust that your lead dogs know what they’re doing when you are out on a run and they have to trust that you will keep them safe and guide them to where they need to go. When you are running a team you have so many lives attached to you so you have to trust yourself to make the right calls too.
Though I learned a lot I know there is much more for me to discover and I am excited to come back and experience more. I love working with all dogs, especially the athletes at Bacon’s Acres. I have fallen even more in love with the majesty that is mushing from taking care of dogs to kennel maintenance. The hard work, the dedication, the dogs, the people and, yes, even the gross fish has shown me a small part of what it is truly like but has made me even more excited to come back and learn more.”
Written by Annie Coniam