Hudson

This is the old guy. He's been with me now since 1995 and he is still going strong. Okay, he can't jump into the back of my truck anymore, but I suspect that is more a "won't jump" rather than a "can't jump" issue. Like I mentioned on the sidebar, Hudson and his brother Benjamin were the pair that got me dogsledding in the first place.

Hudson has always made a better friend than sled dog, although he is quite strong when he wants to be. It is partly that stubborness that has always made life with him interesting. There are many stories about Hudson that I could relate, like the time I was ice-fishing and couldn't figure out where all my catch had gone until I saw him, one hundred yards away, with a frozen pike between his paws, eating it. Or the way he instigates a full-on yard howl after he has eaten. Or the way he waits until he thinks we are asleep before crawling onto the couch. He's always off of it before I make it out of the bedroom but I know he was there; the cushions are still warm. I think, though, one of the more interesting stories about Hudson is how he would not leave Jenn alone one day during the late stages of her pregnancy. We came home to the cabin that evening and brought Hudson inside; he followed Jenn around this tiny cabin relentlessly. She'd go to the sink, he'd follow. She'd go sit on the couch, he'd follow and lay down beside her, she'd get up to go outside, he'd whine at the door until she came back in. Normally, he's pretty aloof: he does his rounds of the cabin and then goes to his spot and lays down, so this behaviour was strange. We went to bed and still, Hudson was beside Jenn. Four hours later her water broke and eight hours later, Jenn delivered Hunter.

Hudson has run through the hillsides of the eastern part of the Shenandoah Valley, watched the Northern Lights in Whitehorse, Yukon, enjoyed a shady spot in a park just west of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and camped in Killarney Provincial park. He is tolerant of our puppies and gentle with Hunter. He has even managed to make a few friends in our yard. He really is a good boy.

Although not Hudson, I have to include this photo. This dog here (below) is Leo. Jenn and I were walking in Whitehorse around the time of the Yukon Quest and down a sidestreet was a team of Malamutes. Standing outside the truck was Hudson. Well, I thought it was him. The resemblance was unbelievable. Look: