Anna’s Retirement to Florida
While helping Team Petit prepare for the 2023 Iditarod, I did not even consider bringing another dog home to join our pack. Anna is special. Anna had an amazing career coming in the top-10 in the Iditarod multiple times and has also been a lead dog on the team. Along with other members of the team, I had become familiar with Anna’s easy-going yet driven demeanor. She’s a sweetheart who can set boundaries with her teammates. She will put up with a good bit of nonsense, but is not a doormat.
When her musher asked if I would like Anna to retire to Florida, he explained that she was finished racing and would not understand that she could no longer work with her teammates—sled dogs want to have a job... Even though she was still able to go on some fun-runs, her knees just were not up to true training and competition standards. For any athlete, that’s a tough pill to swallow. She had no way to vocalize her frustration about no longer having a job and did not attempt to. Sweet Anna was willing to sit by and watch the younger generation take on her prior roles on the team. But, her musher knew she’d be happier if she could go somewhere that never had a “job” for her. After bringing Fiona and Grinder to Florida, he knew our home was just the place.
After a few beers, I said I would talk to my husband (who I was confident would say no, three dogs in a pack is plenty). Boy, was I wrong. After he heard Anna needed to retire, he didn’t hesitate and immediately started booking her travel! To date, we are partial to Alaska Airlines for transporting large dogs. In the meantime, the manager of Alaska Dogstead Yurt rentals gave me a used airline crate he was not sure what to do with (saving me over $100!). I picked up a leash, some kibble and a non-digestible chew bone for the flight, and started giving Anna extra attention as I helped with chores in Team Petit’s dog yard.
After the Iditarod re-start in Willow, I started to put the crate together and get organized for the flight that night. Unfortunately, the screws for the crate were not the right size so I had to head to Anchorage early in order to get to the hardware stores before closing on Sunday. When I took Anna out of the dog yard, it kind of broke my heart that she was leaving her whole family. I still tear up thinking about it. But, she was ready for adventure and eager to hop in my rental car. We drove down to Anchorage and after a few stressful and unsuccessful stops, I found the right size screws for the crate and replaced the other ones while Anna waited patiently beside me.
We stopped at a few places before heading to the airport so she could stretch her legs before the long flight. This was an interesting endeavor. Sled dogs are used to PULLING. She was on a leash for a pet dog for (likely) the first time and could not understand why I did not want her to pull me down the icy sidewalk. She is brilliant and figured it out quickly not to pull so much, but kept looking back at me like I was nuts for not asking her to go at full speed.
Anna thought the airport was pretty exciting and loved looking in the window before I checked her in. The Alaska Airlines staff were all wonderful when checking us in. And, as with all my past dog-flights, they let me know once she was on board.
We landed in Florida without incident and my husband picked us up. We first got her acclimated to the house without the rest of the pack and spent the night without them. After two days, we took her to our trusted boarding facility to meet the pack on “neutral” territory. Without any major scuffles, everyone came home.
So far, we are living happily ever after.
