Under the light of the full moon, a chapter of my life silently closed as Kahlua slipped away in my arms. She graced me with almost 15 years of loyalty, companionship and being ever so present, like no other has ever offered me.
The dog sled is up for sale, the last of the team (my family since 1999) has passed on, and I realize this will be my first time living alone. Yet another challenge for my initiation into this new phase of my life.
I truly believe in what lies ahead (see previous blog) and the community and belonging I am already finding there.
Thank you, my dear Kahlua girl and to all of the team, for making my life so rich.
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A note about the Inuit Sled Dog (aka Canadian Eskimo Dog): They are one of Canada’s native breeds of dogs, and one of the rarest in the world. It was estimated that there were over 20 000 dogs in the 1950s, but with the introduction of snowmobiles and mass slaughtering by the RCMP and the Sûreté du Québec, numbers dropped to near extinction. Today, only a few hundred exist. I may not live with another of these dogs, but some things won’t change! Like dog – like owner 🙂
“hardy, staunch, hard-working, at times playful, at times brutal, always appealing, though sometimes aggravatingly moody, their stamina and pluck is something to marvel at.” ~Walter Bingham
“He is not to be viewed as a domestic pet but… Compared to modern domestic breeds, the Canadian Eskimo Dog has an almost over response to any stimulus whether it be food, work, fighting or play.”
