even in real life, you think it’s just a bunch of dogs pulling a sled. But there’s a lot more to it than that. There are lead dogs and swing dogs and wheel dogs and they all have important jobs. When I first saw a dog team, I didn’t think I was smart enough to do any of those jobs. In fact I didn’t even want to be a sled dog, but my human had other ideas. Turns out there’s one more position called a team dog and they work in the middle of the team and just pull. That’s where I worked. But even then I have to admit I was a reluctant sled dog.
Since team dogs don’t have many responsibilities, I usually had plenty of time to look around and watch the other dogs. I always knew what they were thinking because I have a dog-given ability to silently communicate with other dogs. One day while I was hanging around the dog lot daydreaming I got this terrific idea: I should write a book about my life. I’m going to take you behind the scenes. You’ll read about team meetings, petty spats, and mended friendships. You’ll learn about amazing acts of courage and discover who the real heroes were on our team.
All the stories in this book are true. Well, okay, I admit I took a few liberties here and there, but mostly they’re true.
—Sojo, team dog
Our Journey across the Arctic
PART ONE
Mischief, Adventure, and Sled Dog School
Chapter One
I was born in the middle of a January night during some of the worst weather anyone has ever known. It was so cold my cries of “Mew, mew, mew” froze to the tip of my tiny puppy nose. It was so windy snowflakes big enough to cover a doghouse were falling sideways!
Okay, maybe I exaggerate just a little but what do you expect? I was so young when I was born it’s hard to remember exactly what the weather was like. But something totally amazing did happen that night … and this is no exaggeration … I got a human! That’s right, I got a real live adult human and her job was to take care of me.
You might wonder how I could claim to know anything about my first night because puppies are born deaf and blind. Well, I could feel the cold and I could feel the wind shaking my doghouse.
When I was about two weeks old, my eyes and ears opened and I could see and hear. For the first few days my vision was kind of blurry but my hearing developed really fast. So when another human visited our kennel, I was able to hear humans speaking to one another for the first time.
“Hi, Pam,” said the visitor. That’s when I learned that my human had a name.
“Hi, Joyce,” Pam replied. “Come see my new litter of puppies.”
“How is their mother doing?” asked Joyce.
“Oh, Alice is doing fine. She feeds them and licks them with that big, wet, sloppy tongue of hers and that keeps them clean,” said Pam.
“That’s good. When were they born?” asked Joyce.
“They were born in the middle of the night a couple of weeks ago during that warm spell when we got a light snowfall,” answered Pam.
Warm spell? Light snowfall? That’s not right. What’s the matter with her? I would later learn that Pam had no flair for drama and….
Wait a minute! There’s more than just me?
Well that explains something. Since the beginning, I’ve been bumping into a couple of warm, fuzzy lumps whenever I snuggled against my mom and I had no idea what they were. Now I get it! Those lumps are puppies. Turns out I have a brother! And a sister!
The humans kneeled down beside my doghouse and looked at us. Pam pointed and said, “The male hiding behind his mom is Roald. And this cute little fuzz ball with the waggly tail is Anna (AH-nah).”
When Joyce’s eyes fell on me, she gasped and asked, “Oh my! Who is this little beauty?”
“That’s Sojo,” replied Pam.
Joyce was obviously quite intelligent and much more observant than Pam. Running her fingers along the back of my neck and down under my chin, she said beaming, “Look at her sleek, black coat and those gorgeous long legs. What a pretty white face you have, Sojo. You could be a show dog!”
I had no idea what a show dog was but that’s when I first learned that I’m beautiful.
During those first few weeks, we enjoyed a quiet, happy life. Most of my time was spent playing inside our house with Anna and Roald and napping while my mom kept us warm and fed. Our doghouse faced a dense forest of spruce and birch trees and bushes sticking up through deep snow. My vision was still a little blurry but I learned to tell my sister from my brother by the way they smelled.
Obviously I had a father but I had no idea where he was or what he smelled like. Pam showed up four times a day to bring my mom a bowl of food and water and saw to it that the house was full of clean straw. While Mom was eating, Pam always showed us her teeth, which I eventually learned was something called a smile.
One afternoon when we were five weeks old, something really scary happened. We were playing inside our doghouse when Pam walked up and reached in with her bony, hairless hands. Without so much as a by-your-leave, she pulled me right out of the house and carried me off in her arms like I was a bag of dog food! I glared up at her in defiance.
How dare you handle me like this!
I had never been away from home before and had no idea what was happening. To make matters worse, we were completely surrounded by barking dogs, all lunging at the ends of their chains! They were so loud, I could hardly hear myself think! Without moving my head I rolled my eyes and counted them. Yikes! There were seven of them! I had no idea there were so many dogs in the world. I was absolutely petrified. I knew if I fell into one of those gaping mouths, it would mean instant death!
I squirmed and squirmed as hard as I could to free myself but Pam was holding me so tightly, I couldn’t get away. I began to panic! If I couldn’t save myself, I was determined to save Roald and Anna.
With all this racket, I knew even if I barked as loudly as I could, they probably wouldn’t hear me. I had to warn them using silent dog words and hope they were paying attention.
Roald! Anna! There are giant dogs out here trying to kill me! Quick! Run for your lives!
I don’t know if Anna and Roald heard me, but somehow Pam must have been able to read my mind because she looked at all those barking dogs and bellowed, “Quiet!”
Without another woof, every dog fell silent and sat down! Pam smiled at me and said in a gentle voice, “It’s okay, Sojo, I’ll keep you safe.” A couple of steps later she stopped and looked at me with a kind smile and said, “Sojo, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
She kneeled down and held me right up to the face of this huge, furry dog. He sniffed me all over with his big, cold, wet nose!
Pleeease, I beg of you! Pleeease don’t kill me!
“Be
