The future of Iditarod dreams?

I have been looking forward to this day since I was in the Sierra Nevada foothills last summer to pick out a pup from a musher friend of mine. The goal was simple; find a pup that would have the potential to be a sled dog and become the beginning of something big.

When I first saw this little female that was small enough to cradle in my hands I thought to myself, this is going to be a good sled dog!

We named her Raegan and soon after I moved to Alaska I had her flown up.

Soon, I begin taking her to the dog yard so she could hang out with the big dogs and maybe learn a lesson or two. My plan was as soon as my kennel partner went on the serum run it was time to start harness breaking her and teaching her how to pull.

On Tuesday afternoon we did just that; I fitted Raegan into a harness, brought my little sled from home and hooked her up. First with Zak, then with Repel. Neither of them wanted to pull with the little one so I hooked up proven female leader named Katya and we hit the trail.

As soon as we hit the trail Raegan laid into her harness and began to pull! We only went about a 1/4 of a mile out but I wanted it to be a positive experience for her. She pulled the whole way (with the occasional quick sniff).

Could this be the future of Team Ineka? Could Reagan one day be part of the team that takes me to Nome? Could this little female help me run down a dream?

I think she could…

___________________

Robert Forto is a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular radio shows, Mush! You Huskies and Dog Works Radio Shows