Door County Sled Dogs
5/9/2019
The musical tones of a coonhound in full flight – burning up the trail -pulling a SLED?????? WHAT ?????? Door County Sled Dogs first caught my attention through a post from Anna Nirva on “Life With My Rescued Coonhound”. Also catching my attention was the fact that the sled pulling hound in question was from my home state of Kentucky, notoriously lacking in animal welfare laws in general and overwhelmed with hounds in need in particular. I decided to contact the Door County Sled Dog founders because I was so excited to see a coonhound in this very untraditional role. A PERFECT opportunity to say, “See? I told you – hounds can do anything!”
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Bonnie Ulrich, who along with her husband Rick Desotelle, founded the Door County Sled Dogs – “a real traveling circus” as Bonnie laughingly puts it!! I am so delighted that she has given me the information and opportunity to share this wonderful story on my coonhound blog. The DCSD cares for and maintains 36 sanctuary dogs, mainly husky and husky mixes. I learned SO much from her about sled dogs. I had no idea that “Alaskan huskies”, the racing sled dogs, are often mixed with pointer or some type of hound. But according to Bonnie, this makes total sense because hounds have the muscle structure, speed, endurance and good feet to excel at this sport. The Alaskan husky is a working dog category with the AKC, but not recognized as a breed since they are a mix.
Sooooo, when there was an opening in her sled dog team, she went searching for some type of hound. Enter Chewie, formerly Joker. Another hound lover sent the facts on Chewie to them and she decided to take a chance on him. Chewie was a major project. He was housed at a shelter for a solid year, then sent to a foster home for some much needed TLC. He was emaciated, with infected ears, and worms so bad it took six different medicines to get rid of them.
Bonnie says that when Chewie was first around the other sled dogs , when they were going out, he raised such a ruckus that they decided why not? Let’s see what he can do. Chewie, in typical hound dog fashion would NOT be left out of all the fun. Chewie is absolutely a star. He has assimilated into an awesome sled dog. Bonnie maintains that he is a critical component to their education and support for all breeds of dogs, helping to connect dog lovers with possible homes for hounds. Both Bonnie and Rick have a special place in their hearts for the coonhounds of the South, and her Chewie plays an important role as ambassador for coonhound breeds. He is becoming a vital part of the education of possible future “houndies” that might take a chance and appreciate the wonderful dogs we call coonhounds.
DCSD can be seen on the road with their crew, focusing on education about ALL dogs. This includes,the need for rescue, helping people know the difference between good and bad breeders, encouraging families to do the research to determine the right fit for their family when choosing a dog, good pet care, obedience tips, and more. The DCSD team works with thousands of young people about leadership qualities, and teambuilding. How lead dogs share the same characteristics as good people leaders, how to listen, follow directions, learn to plan ahead and care about their team members. They let everyone know that although it seems that the leaders get all the glory, by having them see and meet the team dogs, they understand that without good team members, there is NO team. Another important part of their mission is to mentor those who may be struggling with dogs they already have, to hopefully prevent the dog from being returned to a shelter. In addition, their focus on the historical contributions that dogs have made to our world, help people join in the celebration of the awesomeness of our canine companions.
The Door County Sled Dogs in action !!! Enjoy !!!
DCSD is currently gearing up for an exhibit celebrating coonhounds at the Door County Museum and Education center. Bonnie is definitely a woman on a mission. Please check out their amazing work at DCSD and find out how much you are missing by not embracing your inner “houndness”. If you are looking for a fun, joyful, goofball, then a coonhound is your dog !!!!
http://www.doorcountysleddogs.com/Education-Center—Ephraim.html
http://www.doorcountysleddogs.com/About-Us.html